CHICAGO - Loyola Chicago men's basketball heads to Colorado for a two-game road trip this week. The Ramblers open at Air Force on Wednesday at 2 p.m. CT.

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RAMBLINGS
• Loyola went 2-0 to open the season at home last week. The Ramblers beat The Citadel (77-52) and West Georgia (76-53) in Gentile Arena.
• The last time Loyola beat two Division I opponents by at least 20 points back-to-back was in the 2024-25 season. The Ramblers beat Tulsa (89-53, +36) on Nov. 23 and Eastern Michigan (76-54, +22) on Dec. 3.
• Dayan Nessah led the Ramblers over the two game stretch, averaging 17.0 points per game. He had a game-high in both contests. Nessah scored a season-best 19 points and grabbed nine boards in his Maroon & Gold debut, and he followed up with 15 more vs. the Wolves.
• Jason Schofield and Jayden Dawson scored 12 each against West Georgia, while Malick Diallo played his first game in the Loyola uniform and scored 10.
• The Ramblers opened the season with a 77-52 win over The Citadel. Four Ramblers finished in double-figures, including two double-doubles by Schofield and Guillaume Grotzinger.
• It marked the first pair of double-doubles in a game since the 2022 MVC Championships. Schofield had 10 points and 12 rebounds. Nine boards were on the offensive glass. Grotzinger had 10 points and 11 assists.
• After the first two games of the season, Schofield leads the country in offensive rebounds with 7.0 per game. He had nine in the opener vs. The Citadel and grabbed five more vs. UWG.
• As a team, the Ramblers rank in the NCAA top-20 in defensive field goal percentage (29.9 percent), and opponent points per game (52.5). They land in the top-50 in turnovers forced per game (18.0) and top-75 in offensive rebounds per game (15.0).
• Nessah is among the league's top scorers, averaging 17.0 ppg and ranks tied for 12th. He's also tied for eighth with 8.0 rpg.
• Grotzinger has 17 assists over two games, averaging 8.5 per game and ranking first in the league and eighth in the country. His 11 assists against The Citadel were an A10 game-high so far this year.
• Loyola went 1-1 in exhibition play with a 110-49 win over Calumet College and a 72-65 loss to DePaul. Six Ramblers scored double-figures vs. the Crimson Wave, while Guillaume Grotzinger dropped 20 vs. the Blue Demons.
• Loyola was tabbed 11th in the A10 Preseason Poll, while VCU was the favorite with 11 first-place votes.
• Drew Valentine enters his sixth season as head coach and 10th overall with the Ramblers. At the helm, he holds a 94-75 record.

SCOUTING AIR FORCE
• The Falcons are 2-1 after opening week and have home wins over Idaho State and Calumet College. Air Force dropped the season opener at Wright State, 102-71.
• Air Force was tabbed 10th in the Mountain West Preseason Poll after an 0-20 showing in league play last season. The Falcons finished the year 3-29.
• Grant Best was named the Mountain West Freshman of the Week after his performances in the opening three games. He averaged 19.3 ppg, 4.0 rpg, 3.0 apg, and 4.3 spg. He had 17 points in his debut against Wright State and followed up with another 17 points and seven steals vs. Calumet. He capped the week's efforts with 25 points and set a program record, going 16-16 at the free throw line vs. Idaho State.
• Joe Crispin is in his first season as head coach with Air Force. He spent the last six seasons at DIII member Rowan and holds a 116-55 career head coaching record.

SERIES HISTORY
Loyola leads the all-time series, 5-2. They haven't met since the 1981-82 season when the Ramblers won, 76-65.