CHICAGO (February 18, 2022) - Loyola, which has won its last two outings and four of its last five, welcomes Drake to Gentile Arena Saturday in a battle of the teams picked for the top two spots in the annual Missouri Valley Conference Preseason Poll. The Ramblers, who have never lost to the Bulldogs in Chicago since joining the MVC (7-0), are an incredible 40-3 (.930) at home in Valley play since the start of the 2017-18 campaign and have captured 37 of their last 38 games overall on their home floor. 

Seventy points has been the magic number for the Ramblers this season. Loyola is an unblemished 15-0 when scoring 70 or more points, but is only 5-5 when failing to hit that benchmark. 

Wednesday's 71-69 decision at Valparaiso gave Loyola its 20th win of the 2021-22 campaign. The Ramblers have won 20 or more games in five consecutive seasons for the first time in program history and, counting this season, are averaging 23.8 wins per year during that stretch.

Drew Valentine, the youngest coach in NCAA Division I basketball at 30 years of age, is the second skipper in program history to pilot Loyola to 20 wins in his first season on the job, joining Tom Haggerty, who guided the Ramblers to 23 victories in 1945-46.

Current Loyola video coordinator C.J. Rivers played at Drake from 2014 to 2018, averaging 4.1 ppg, 3.9 rpg and 2.1 apg in 111 career appearances for the Bulldogs.

Loyola – Drake – The Series

This will be the 38th meeting between the Ramblers and Bulldogs in a series that started in 1934. Loyola possesses a 22-15 edge in the series and has won 11 of the last 16 meetings between the teams.

Loyola is 13-4 all-time against Drake in Chicago and has captured each of the last nine contests on its home floor since a 70-62 setback on December 2, 1995. The Ramblers have never lost to the Bulldogs at Gentile Arena (7-0) since joining the Missouri Valley Conference for the 2013-14 season.

The game is a rematch of the 2021 MVC Championship title game, which was won by the Ramblers, 75-65, in St. Louis on March 7, 2021. When the teams hooked up in Des Moines last month, Chris Knight provided 15 points and 10 rebounds, but it wasn't enough for Loyola in a 77-68 loss. D.J. Wilkins led the Bulldogs with 20 points.

Scouting Drake

Since picking up a 77-68 decision over Loyola three weeks ago, Drake has won just two of its last five contests, but put an end to a three-game slide with a 73-51 pasting of Evansville Wednesday night.

The Bulldogs are 6-2 on the road this season and have won four of their six league games in enemy territory, including five of the last six, although they dropped a 68-59 slugfest at Bradley on February 12. 

Five Bulldogs average 10 or more points, highlighted by forward Tucker DeVries, the likely MVC Freshman of the Year, who is tallying a team-best 13.7 ppg. Senior guard Garrett Sturtz contributes 11.0 ppg and a team-best 7.5 rpg, which ranks third in The Valley, while converting 60 percent (111-for-185) of his field goal attempts.

Up Next

Loyola continues a busy season-ending stretch of games Monday night (Feb. 21) when it travels to Illinois State for a game that was originally scheduled for Jan. 5 but was postponed due to COVID-19 concerns within the Redbirds' program.