CHICAGO - Loyola Chicago wraps this week's action on the road at VCU. Tip-off between the Ramblers and Rams is scheduled for 8 p.m. CT. on Friday.

Friday's game will be on ESPN2 with Mike Corey (PXP) and John Giannini (Analyst) and can be listened to Rambler Sports Network with Scott Sudikoff (PXP) and Christian Thomas (Senior Analyst).

RAMBLINGS
• Deywilk Tavarez scored 12 points against Saint Joseph's earlier this week, surpassing the 1,000th career point mark after his first basket of the game. Tavarez has 210 points and counting for the Ramblers.
• Joshua Ola-Joseph and Xavier Amos joined him in double-figures. Ola-Joseph scored a team-leading 13 points, while Amos added 11.
• Miles Rubin is on a three-game double-figure rebounding streak. He grabbed a season-high 12 at St. Bonaventure and 10 in the last two games.
• In the month of January, the Ramblers are led by Ola-Joseph, who is averaging 11.4 points per game. He's also pulling down 5.4 rebounds per game.
• During this stretch, Ola-Joseph has two 20-point outings. He went 7-14 with four threes at George Washington to record a season-high 20 points. He had 20 again at St. Bonaventure on 6-12 from the field with five threes.
• Caleb Reese has stepped up into the starting point guard role with the injuries the Ramblers face. He's logged over 165 minutes over the six games, which saw four starts.
• In Reese's four starts, he's logged nearly 120 minutes of action and is averaging 2.8 rebounds, 3.3 assists, and 0.5 steals per game. He had career-highs with six assists and five rebounds at St. Bonaventure.
• Rubin is having his best season average wise with 10.7 points, 7.4 rebounds, 1.8 assists, 0.8 steals, and 2.4 blocks per game. Rubin has five double-doubles with points and rebounds and eight games this season with 10 or more rebounds. His five double-doubles is fourth most in the A-10 and 69th in the NCAA.
• Rubin has 53 blocks and counting this season. He needs 67 blocks to take over third on the single-season list. He will then hold the top three spots on the single season charts.
• Rubin's 53 blocks leads the A-10 and ranks ninth in the country. He's averaging 2.41 blocks per game, falling 14th in the nation and also leads the A-10.
• Head coach Drew Valentine is in his fifth season at the helm. He has compiled an 88-68 overall record as head coach.

SCOUTING VCU
VCU is 15-6 overall and is riding a four-game win streak into Friday. The Rams sit third in the A-10 standings with a 6-2 record. They're also tough to beat on their home court with a 10-2 record in the Siegel Center this season. VCU has one of the best scoring benches in the country, averaging 37.1 bench points per game to rank 6th in the NCAA.

Terrence Hill Jr. is the reason for the bench scoring success. He's come off the bench in all 21 games and leads VCU with 14.4 points per game. He is on an 11 game streak with at least 10 points tallied. He has 16 double-figure outings this year.  Hill Jr. dropped a season-high 22 points vs. Samford. It is one of three 20-point games this season for the sophomore guard.

Head coach Phil Marteli Jr. is in his first season with the Rams.

SERIES HISTORY
The Rams lead the all-time series, 4-0. Rubin had 12 points, eight boards, two steals, and a block in last season's A-10 tournament match-up.