CHICAGO - Loyola Chicago men's basketball is set for its final exhibition game against St. Francis (Ill.) on Tuesday. Tip-off is set for 7 p.m. inside Gentile Arena.
Live stats can be followed via loyolaramblers.com. Video and audio will not be available for Tuesday's contest.
QUICK HITS
• The regular season is set to tip-off on Nov. 3 vs. Cleveland State at home at 7 pm.
• The Ramblers were tabbed fifth in the Atlantic 10 Preseason Poll and received two first-place votes. VCU was tabbed the preseason favorite, racking up 11 votes and 342 points. Saint Louis trailed in second with 11 votes, while Dayton and George Washington placed third and fourth respectively. Dayton had the remaining three first-place votes.
• Junior center
Miles Rubin was tabbed to the Preseason First Team and All-Defensive Team. The preseason accolades come after two consecutive All-Defensive nods for Rubin. He started all 37 games last season, averaging 9.6 points, 5.5 rebounds, 1.3 assists, and 2.3 blocks per game. His 71.4 field goal percentage set a single-season program record.
• Rubin enters his junior season as one of the nation's top shot blockers. He finished his sophomore campaign ranked 12th in the country with an 11.4 shot blocking percentage. Rubin also set Loyola's single-season block record back-to-back seasons.
• Also returning for the Ramblers is starting guard
Kymany Houinsou. He made 28 appearances for Loyola, averaging 5.8 ppg, 4.6 rpg, 3.1 apg, 0.7 spg, and 0.2 bpg. He shot nearly 53 percent from the field and posted four double-figure scoring performances.
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Justin Moore is back from a season-ending knee injury. He made nine starts, averaging 7.7 ppg on 41.9 percent from the field. He was second in the A-10 at the time of injury with 5.3 assists per game.
• Loyola added eight newcomers to this year's roster, including five transfers, two freshman, and one international athlete.
•
Deywilk Tavarez joins the Ramblers after playing her sophomore season at Charleston. He averaged 12.9 ppg and 3.6 rpg while there. He dropped double-figures 20 times, including a career-high 32 points against Northeastern.
•
Joshua Ola-Joseph,
Kayde Dotson,
Dominick Harris, and
Xavier Amos join him as transfers.
•
Nic Anderson and
Chuck Love III look to make their collegiate debuts in their rookie seasons, while
Alexander Richardson came from oversees where he played in Germany.
• Loyola is coming off a 25-12 campaign last season that saw a trip to the NIT semifinals in Indianapolis. The Ramblers finished 12-6 in A-10 play and beat No. 5 Saint Louis to advance in the A-10 Tournament where No. 1 VCU bested Loyola. The Ramblers beat San Jose State, San Francisco, and Kent State to reach Hinkle Fieldhouse in the NIT.
• Head coach
Drew Valentine enters his fifth season at the helm. He holds an 83-51 record as head coach.
SCOUTING ST. FRANCIS (ILL.)
The Fighting Saints are coming off a 25-6 season last year with a 16-4 finish in CCAC play. St. Francis won three games for the tournament title, punching its ticket to the NAIA National Tournament. The Saints lost in the first round to No. 20 Pikeville in overtime, 86-84.
The Saints lost their top two scorers from last year, but return redshirt senior Merrick Small. Small averaged 9.2 points per game and 4..6 rebounds per game. He averaged 58.2 percent from the field and 73.4 percent at the line.
