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CHICAGO (February 17, 2018) - When Loyola travels to Evansville Sunday, it will have a chance to claim at least a share of its first-ever Missouri Valley Conference title and its first conference crown since 1986-87. The Ramblers have prevailed in five of their last six road games and in their last three road tilts are averaging 74.0 points per game and shooting 42.6 percent (26-for-61) from three. Loyola's senior class has guided the program to 79 wins, the program's most over a four-year period since the Class of 1986 (79 wins).
 
Series Stuff
Sunday's game is the 46th meeting between long-time rivals Loyola and Evansville. The teams first met in 1979 and the Purple Aces own a 26-19 edge in the all-time series and have won four of the last six meetings.
 
When the teams met in Chicago on December 30, the Ramblers, who played without injured guard Clayton Custer, erased an eight-point halftime deficit to capture a 66-59 victory, thanks to 19 points from Marques Townes.
 
Loyola is 9-14 all-time versus Evansville on the Purple Aces' home court and the Ramblers are seeking their first win in Evansville since a 71-70 victory on January 7, 2015. Since the 1987-88 season, Loyola is just 2-10 in Evansville, and last season suffered a heartbreaking 60-58 setback at Ford Center despite 18 points and seven rebounds from Clayton Custer. The Ramblers wiped away a 15-point, second-half deficit in that game, but Jaylon Brown's bucket with two minutes remaining put the Aces ahead to stay.
 
Scouting Evansville
Evansville, which has been hit hard by injuries this season, has dropped three of its last four games, all on the road. The Purple Aces have struggled at the offensive end of the floor lately, averaging just 48.0 ppg in their last two contests. The Ford Center has provided a distinctive home court advantage for Evansville as it is 13-2 at home this season, including 5-2 in Missouri Valley action. The Purple Aces' two setbacks on their home floor came versus Illinois State and Indiana State.
 
Evansville, which ranks second-to-last in The Valley in scoring offense (66.1), leads the circuit in three-point field goal percentage (.426), just ahead of Loyola (.413). Redshirt junior guard Ryan Taylor leads the Purple Aces, and the MVC, with 21.4 points per game, while adding 3.7 rebounds per outing. Injured guard Dru Smith adds 13.4 ppg and 4.7 apg, while shooting 58 percent (87-for-150) from the field, while Blake Simmons pitches in 11.0 ppg.
 
Up Next
Loyola plays its final road game of the 2017-18 regular season when it visits Southern Illinois on February 21.