CHICAGO (December 30, 2022) – Loyola University Chicago (6-6) rings in the New Year and the start of conference play on Saturday, December 31, when the Ramblers play host to George Washington in the program's inaugural Atlantic 10 Conference game. Tip-off inside Gentile Arena is set for 3 p.m. on NBC Sports Chicago.
 
Last Time Out
Braden Norris became Loyola's 46^th member of the 1,000-point club as the Ramblers dropped its non-conference finale, 75-62, to Stanford on Thursday, Dec. 22 in Santa Cruz, California. The Ramblers nearly erased a 21-point second-half deficit in the contest which snapped the team's three-game winning streak. Norris finished the game with a game-high 18 points and was 1-of-4 Ramblers in double figures as Marquise Kennedy added 14, including 12 in the final 4:37 of the contest, while Philip Alston (11) and Tom Welch (10) also reached double figures.
 
Loyola/George Washington – The Series
Saturday will mark the sixth meeting all-time between Loyola and George Washington, but the first contest between the Ramblers and George Washington in almost 84 years. The last time the two teams met was on Feb. 13, 1939, a 44-33 Loyola victory. All five prior meetings occurred in a two-year span, ranging from Feb. 22, 1937 to their last meeting in the spring of 1939. Loyola is 3-2 all-time against the Colonials, having won the first two meetings in the series history before their 11-point victory in the 1938-39 season.
 
Scouting George Washington
George Washington enters conference play 6-7 overall after dropping five of its last six games, including three games at the Hawaiian Airlines Diamond Head Classic over the Christmas holiday. James Bishop leads the Colonial attack, averaging a team and league-leading 20.5 points per game. Bishop is 1-of-3 players to average in double figures. Brendan Adams is averaging 16.8 points per game and Maximus Edwards is third on the team with 10 points per contest while Ricky Lindo Jr. brings in a team-leading 6.8 rebounds per game to go along with 9.5 points. The Colonials are led by first-year head coach Chris Caputo, who was most recently the associate head coach at Miami. Caputo was on the Hurricanes' bench for Loyola's 64-62 victory over Miami in the opening round of 2018 NCAA Tournament.
 
Up Next
Loyola opens the 2023 calendar on the road, heading east to take on Davidson on Wednesday, January 4^th. Tip-off against the Wildcats is set for 6 p.m. (CT) on CBS Sports Network.