CHICAGO - Loyola Chicago heads to Honolulu for the Diamond Head Classic. The Ramblers will play Oakland to open tournament play and advance to play Oregon State or Charleston on day two of action. The final game will come down to a field of Nebraska, Murray State, Charlotte and Hawaii. 

Loyola's games can be watched on ESPN2 and can be listened to Rambler Sports Network with Scott Sudikoff (PXP) and Christian Thomas (Analyst). 

RAMBLINGS
 • Loyola sits at 9-1 entering the tournament, which is the best start to a season since 1962-63. The Ramblers started at 6-0 in both 1963-64 and 1979-80 and at 7-0 in 2010-11 and 2017-18. Loyola's 8-0 start was the best since a 21-0 open to the national championship year.
• The Ramblers closed the 2024 home season with a 72-60 win over Canisius. Loyola was led by Sheldon Edwards Jr. who became the third player this season with a 20-point performance. He dropped a season-high 22 points with six three-pointers. 
• Des Watson upped his double-figure scoring streak to six straight games. He scored 15 against Canisius. Over the six-game stretch, Watson is averaging 16.3 points per game. He tied his career-high 24 points against Eastern Michigan.
• Edwards Jr.'s six made three-pointers vs. Canisius tied his career-high. He has now hit a three in every game this season and has six games with at least three made. His 38.6 percent from deep ranks second in the Atlantic 10 and 110th in the NCAA. He is also averaged 2.7 makes per game, ranking fifth in the league and 103rd in the country.
• Loyola tallied their fifth game this year with at least 20 assists against Canisius. Watson and Jalen Quinn had career-highs with six assists each, while Edwards Jr. dished out four.
• Averaging 18.8 assists per game, the Ramblers rank 14th in the NCAA. According to KenPom, Loyola is sixth in the country with a 65.6 assist percentage. 
• Miles Rubin blocked at least two shots in the last three games, including a season-high five swats vs. San Fransisco. It marked the fourth game of his career with five or more blocks. 
• Rubin is 13th in the country with a 12.24 block percentage. He's 26th overall in total blocks, while his 2.3 blocks per game average ranks 16th in the NCAA.
• Justin Moore suffered a season-ending knee injury, while Kymany Houinsou faces at least four weeks out with a lower leg injury. Jayden Dawson aims for a Jan. 4 return after an ankle injury earlier this month.
• Head coach Drew Valentine is in his fourth season at the helm. He has compiled a 67-40 overall record as head coach.

SCOUTING THE FIELD
Oakland is 3-7 heading into the opener after dropping its last three games to Cleveland State, No. 20 Michigan State, and Youngstown State. DQ Cole leads Oakland, averaging 12.8 points per game. He scored double-figures in the last three games, including 22 points vs. Cleveland State earlier this week.

Charleston has won its last four games, entering the tournament at 8-2 overall. The season started out with three straight wins, including a double overtime win over FAU. Ante Brzovic leads the offense, averaging 19.5 points per game. He's scored at least 10 in all but one game this season. Brzovic dropped a season-high 39 vs. FAU.

Oregon State is also on a four-game win streak and heads to Diamond Head at 8-2. The Beavers held Sacramento State to just 45 points in a win earlier this week. Michael Rataj is the leading scorer, averaging 16.7 points per game on over 50 percent from the field. Rataj has five double-doubles after posting 23 points and 12 rebounds vs. Sac State.

Nebraska sits at 7-2 this season and dropped its lone neutral site game of the year to Saint Mary's back on Nov. 17. The Huskers beat Indiana last week after dropping their Big Ten opener at Michigan State. Brice Williams is averaging 18.9 points per game for Nebraska and had 10 in at least every game. He dropped 30 vs. Indiana on 10-of-15 from the field last week. 

Murray State is 6-4 overall and dropped its last two games to Western Kentucky and Indiana State. The Racers are 1-0 at neutral sites with a 79-66 win over UT Arlington. Four players are averaging double-figure scoring, but the Racers are led by JaCobi Wood at 15.0 ppg. Over the last four games, Wood has dropped at least 15 points and scored over 20 in three. 

Charlotte won its last two, improving to 6-4 ahead of the tournament. They took down Georgia State and West Georgia last week. Nik Graves leads the team with 16.7 ppg and has scored double-figures in every game this season. Graves has four 20-point performances, including a season-high 23 points two times this year. 

Hawaii is 6-3 overall after beating Texas A&M - Corpus Christie last weekend. All three of the team's losses came in the last two weeks to North Carolina, Grand Canyon, and Long Beach State. Gytis Nemeiksa leads Hawaii, scoring 14.0 points per game on over 53 percent from the field. Nemeiksa dropped a season-best 24 points vs. Grand Canyon.