CHICAGO - Loyola Chicago's opening week wraps up in Hoffman Estates at NOW Arena against North Texas on Sunday at 4 p.m. CT. The Ramblers look to bounce back after a loss Thursday, while the Mean Green sit at 2-0 to open the year.

Sunday's game can be watched on Marquee Sports Network and ESPN+ with Jordan Bernfield (PXP) and Nick DiNardi (Analyst). The game can also be listened to Rambler Sports Network with Scott Sudikoff (PXP) and Christian Thomas (Analyst).

RAMBLINGS
• Loyola opened 2025-26 action earlier this week with a thrilling win over Cleveland State, 91-88. Deywilk Tavarez drained two clutch threes in the final 20 seconds to win the game for the Ramblers.
• Tavarez finished with a team-high 16 points, matching Miles Rubin and Kayde Dotson who also scored 16 each. Dotson set a new career-high.
• Chuck Love III made his career debut, scoring 14 points. He drained three threes for the Ramblers to start the second half.
• The Rambler then dropped Thursday's game to Mercyhurst, 75-65, despite a 25-point effort from Justin Moore. He added eight assists in the loss.
• Miles Rubin tallied 16 points, seven rebounds, and four blocks vs. the Lakers. He has 169 career blocks, needing just eight more to break the all-time record.
• 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.
• 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.
• 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.
• 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 is in his fifth season at the helm. He has compiled a 84-52 overall record as head coach.

SCOUTING NORTH TEXAS
The Mean Green enter the weekend at 2-0 after downing New Mexico Highlands (88-54) and Northwestern State (80-53) on their home court earlier this week. Prior to the season tipping off, the Mean Green were tabbed seventh in the American preseason poll. The team posted a 27-9 overall record and 14-4 conference finish last year. They made it to the NIT semifinals along with the Ramblers and fell to UC Irvine by two, 69-67.

North Texas has five players averaging at least 10 points a game over the first two games. Will Mcclendon leads the Mean Green with a 12.0 average. He finished with 11 points, seven rebounds, six assists and three steals in game one. Mcclendon added 13 points, five boards, and three assists in game two.

Daniyal Robinson is in his first season piloting North Texas.

SERIES HISTORY
Loyola leads the all-time series, 1-0. They met in 2020-21, and the Ramblers won 57-49.