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The Penguins celebrate their upset victory over the Ramblers.
Loyola initially started the second half right where the left off in the first half. But halfway through they hit a snag and it cost them dearly.
Star forward Ben Averkamp got into foul trouble early, Loyola’s defense had difficulty defending the outside shot, and they missed key shots down the stretch.
The Ramblers had led by 14 midway through the second half, and that’s when the trouble began. YSU outscored LU 38-31 in the second half.
They also shot over 50 percent from the field, scored 10 points off of Loyola turnovers, and took advantage of a nearly three minute stretch where Ben Averkamp wasn’t on the court because of the foul trouble.
Many of those foul calls were questionable. Especially when Averkamp was getting pulverized inside the paint and no calls were made. The Rambler nation was not happy with the officials when this one was said and done.
The Penguins hit key shots when they needed to and in the end, Loyola couldn’t keep up. Ben Averkamp had a chance to tie the game with free throws just under the two minute mark but he missed them both.
Loyola also got the benefit of a foul call with one second remaining but they couldn’t turn that into points which could have sent the game into overtime.
The end result is a 68-66 loss. The Ramblers now drop to 10-4 (1-1 Horizon League), Youngstown State moves up to 9-6 (1-1 Horizon League).
Loyola’s four-game winning streak comes to an end, and they are now 6-2 at the Gentile Center. Here is the box score from today’s game:
After the game Loyola guard Joe Crisman and forward Ben Averkamp spoke with the media:
Head coach Porter Moser also held a press conference:
Loyola forward Ben Averkamp (24) leads all scorers with 13 points.
Ben Averkamp was the driving force behind Loyola’s first half comeback. Loyola took an early 6-2 lead, but missed shots, lack of defense in the paint, and the inability to rebound put Loyola in a hole.
Turnovers also assisted Loyola in their first half downward spiral. YSU took advantage of every opportunity Loyola’s mistakes gave them. At one point the Penguins led by as much as nine.
The Ramblers however would not be denied as their star player {Averkamp} would put his team on his back as he’s done so many times. His 13 points and 5 rebounds would push the Ramblers in the right direction.
Eventually Loyola would tie the game late in the half. And as Youngstown State frantically tried to regain the lead, they began to make mistakes which tipped the scales in Loyola’s favor.
The Ramblers would finish the first half on a 6-2 run and here we stand at the half with Loyola leading 35-30. Let’s see if Loyola can keep up the pressure in the second half.
Here is the halftime box score:
You can continue to follow me on Twitter @GabeSalgado82 #Q101Sports
The 2012-2013 Loyola Ramblers men’s basketball team has been quite the story. Head coach Porter Moser has delivered one heck of a turnaround in Rogers Park.
Last year the Ramblers finished with a dismal record of 7-23 (1-17 Horizon League). This year the Ramblers find themselves in a much better position.
Currently they are 10-3 and won their conference opener against Valparaiso on Wednesday night. The Ramblers have won four in-a-row and have not lost since December 8th.
Today the play Horizon League game No. 2 as the Penguins of Youngstown State make their way to the Gentile Center on Chicago’s North Side.
YSU is wrapping up a two-game Chicago road trip. Earlier this week they lost to the UIC Flames at the Pavilion on the West Side by a final score of 65-60.
They have now lost two of their last four, and they are hoping to get back on the winning track this afternoon. But that task will be easier said than done as the Ramblers are 6-1 on their home court this year.
Now that the nitty gritty of the conference schedule is here, this Loyola team will be truly tested. How they perform in the Horizon League will set the tone for the rest of the season.
You can follow me on Twitter during the game @GabeSalgado82 #Q101Sports
Halftime:
DePaul finished the first half on a 11-2 run.
The Blue Demons have exceeded everyone’s expectations with an outstanding first half. DePaul leads the Panthers from Wisconsin-Milwaukee 45-27 at halftime.
Cleveland Melvin, Donnavan Kirk, and Jamee Crockett lead all DePaul scorers, while Melvin leads all rebounders. The Blue Demons started the game on a 20-6 and never looked back.
The Panthers looked lost on defense and are getting dominated in the paint. Their offense can’t break through DePaul’s defense and have been highly dependent on jump shots.
Last year, the Blue Demons had a tendency to blow second half leads. I can only hope that this 18 point lead does not go to waste.
If the Demons can keep up this tempo and can keep UWM out of the paint, they will increase this winning streak to four games.
Here is the box score thus far: http://stats.statbroadcast.com/statmonitr/?id=13624
You can continue to follow me on Twitter @GabeSalgado82 #Q101Sports and you will hear from me again after the game.
Post-Game:
DePaul and Wisconsin-Milwaukee shake hands after the game.
The Blue Demons came out firing on all cylinders in the first half and did not led up in the second half. DePaul owned the UWM Panthers for the entire 40 minute stretch, and come out on top with an 84-50 victory.
This is the Demons’ biggest win of the season to date, and they now add to their winning streak which stands at four games. Four of DePaul’s five starters finished in double figures.
They also got 33 points from their bench, and they shot 50% from the field. That was just on the offensive side, the defense was just as good if not better.
DePaul held the Panthers to just 25% shooting, and only one UW-Milwaukee player reached double figures this afternoon. Overall it was a great day and a big victory for this DePaul team which is finally starting to come of age.
Oliver Purnell’s squad is now 6-3 this year, but the real test will come once the conference schedule begins in January. Next up for the Demons is a trip to the Desert Southwest.
On Wednesday night DePaul will take on Arizona State in Tempe and it will be a very difficult challenge. Aside from the headaches of traveling out west, they will play a Sun Devils squad that is 8-1 and winners of their last four games.
DePaul will have a tall order ahead of them as they try to win their fifth straight game. This is will be a major opportunity for the Demons to show college basketball that they are the real deal.
Seven days from now, they will return to the Allstate Arena to face Northern Illinois.
Here is Oliver Purnell’s post-game press conference:
Here is the box score from today’s game: http://stats.statbroadcast.com/statmonitr/?id=13624
The Blue Demons stretch before practice.
The DePaul Blue Demons men’s basketball got back to work on Friday as they prepare for the arrival of Wisconsin-Milwaukee on Sunday afternoon.
The Demons extended their current winning streak to three games after an amazing comeback against Chicago State on Wednesday night.
As great as that victory was, the Blue Demons are not satisfied. They remain hungry and they are well aware that this is just the beginning of a long season.
The Big East Conference portion of their schedule begins on January 2nd. Head coach Oliver Purnell has said that he only focuses on one game at time.
So far the Demons have defied expectations, the only questions is can they continue this winning streak?
How will will they perform once the conference schedule begins? But for the Demons, their more immediate concern is the UW-Milwaukee Panthers on Sunday.
Tip-off is at 4PM on Sunday from the Allstate Arena in Rosemont. You can follow me on Twitter during the game @GabeSalgado82 #Q101Sports
After practice coach Oliver Purnell spoke to the media:
I also had a chance to speak with DePaul forward Donnavan Kirk:
This is a solid athletic Blue Demons team that is looking to take college basketball by storm.
It will be fun to watch……
Yesterday afternoon I had the honor and privilege of attending the Chicagoland Basketball Kickoff Luncheon. DePaul University hosted the event at Maggiano’s Little Italy in Downtown Chicago.
Even though this was a DePaul sponsored event, Northwestern, Loyola, Illinois-Chicago, and Chicago State were also in attendance. Coaches, players, administrators, and special guests from each school were present at this star studded event.
Before lunch was served, some coaches elected to speak to the media before hand. One of those coaches was DePaul head coach Oliver Purnell.
The Blue Demons return 10 players from last years squad along with six new freshman. Once again DePaul has depth at the guard position, but this year they also invested in the front court.
When the Demons take the court for the 2012-2013 season they will have seven players that measure 6’6″ or taller. This was something that was lacking over the last few seasons.
Coach Purnell is confident about this years team, and he expects to see improvement on the court. Here is what he said in his pre-event press conference:
After the press pool, Coach Purnell spoke with me exclusively:
Next up on press row was Chicago State Cougars head coach Tracy Dildy. Historically the Cougars have not been a great basketball program.
Since they began play in 1966, the Cougars have compiled a record of 516-777. Coach Dildy has compiled a record of 10-52 in his two seasons as CSU head coach.
The Cougars have always been at the bottom of the Chicago college basketball barrel. They have never participated in the NCAA Tournament or the NIT.
In the mid 90′s,CSU came close to making the post season on two occasions when former Chicago Bull Craig Hodges was their head coach.
Aside from that, CSU has always been a doormat for teams like DePaul, UIC, and Loyola. Coach Dildy is looking to forever change the landscape of Cougars basketball.
Here is what he said before the luncheon began:
Right before lunch was served, other coaches spoke to the media set including DePaul Women’s head coach Doug Bruno, as well as the women’s coaches from Illinois-Chicago, Loyola, Chicago State, and Northwestern.
The host for Friday afternoon’s festivities was WGN Radio and Comcast Sportsnet personality David Kaplan. Here was his introduction as the event started:
Each coach would speak in a panel setting, beginning with Loyola head coach Porter Moser and Chicago State’s Tracy Dildy. Earlier this week, I spoke with extensively with Coach Moser at the Horizon League’s media day: http://q101.com/2012/10/horizon-league-media-day/
On Friday, Coach Moser would bring his message to a bigger audience. Coach Dildy would talk about the changes that are taking effect at Chicago State:
Next up on the panel was Northwestern’s top assistant Fred Hill. Northwestern is entering it’s 14th season under Bill Carmody, Coach Carmody was on a recruiting trip which is why Coach Hill was in his place.
Last year the Wildcats barely missed the NCAA Tournament, they made a mini-run in the NIT before being eliminated. Coach Hill told the luncheon guests that “Chicago’s Big Ten Team” is primed to make a serious run in 2013.
And finally, Oliver Purnell would close out the event with his speech. Coach Purnell spoke about his optimism for his team this year, his recruiting efforts, the improvement of his players, and the expansion of the Big East Conference:
After the event was over, DePaul forward Cleveland Melvin was kind enough to speak with us exclusively:
This year will be a defining moment for college basketball in the Windy City. It’ll be interesting to see how DePaul, Loyola, and UIC improve from last year.
Chicago State will have a huge microscope on them, Can coach Dildy lead his team out of the dark? But I do think that Northwestern will make another post-season appearance.
The only question for them is, can they get into the NCAA Tournament?
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On Tuesday I had the privilege of attending the Horizon League’s annual media day. It is a preseason event hosted by the college basketball conference every October as a way to promote the upcoming basketball season.
For the 2012-2013 season the Horizon League will have nine teams: Illinois-Chicago {UIC}, Loyola, Valparaiso, Wisconsin-Milwaukee, Wisconsin-Green Bay, Detroit, Youngstown State, Wright State, and Cleveland State.
The notable absence is Butler University who has now moved onto the Atlantic 10 Conference. But despite the loss, the conference is still going strong.
Horizon League Commissioner John LaCrone, and Director of Communications Bill Potter hosted today’s event. Among the many topics that came up at the event were the state of the conference, the legitimacy of the conference, the strength of the conference, conference expansion, competing with the bigger conferences, and recruiting players in the Big Ten’s back yard.
While all of the teams were present, I did attend the press conferences involving UIC, Loyola, and Valparaiso. After all, Q101 is a Chicago station.
I also attended the introductory press conference by Commissioner LaCrone, and here is what the commissioner had to say:
As for the local teams:
The UIC Flames were the second worst team in the Horizon League last year. They finished with a dismal record of 8-22 (3-15). Out of those 22 losses, eight of those games were lost by five points or less.
In those particular losses, the Flames defense collapsed in the second half. Head coach Howard Moore is looking to improve on the defensive side of the court.
He returns four starters this year, and also boasts two young seven footers looking to make an impact. Coach Moore was joined by his star point guard Gary Talton at the media day festivities:
Onto the team who finished last the Horizon League last year, UIC’s arch-rival the Loyola Ramblers. Head coach Porter Moser brings back six upperclassmen, including forward Ben Averkamp. Here is what they had to say in regards to their program:
And finally we have last season’s regular season conference champions, the Valparaiso Crusaders. Bryce Drew’s group is looking to repeat as regular season champs, and to get their vengence against Detroit for last seasons conference tournament championship loss.
Here is what Coach Drew and forward Ryan Broekhoff had to say:
The Horizon League will have 39 of it’s game on national television this year. It will be fun and interesting to watch.
It’s starting to become a regular thing around these parts. Year in and year out, the men’s college basketball teams in the state of Illinois are dissapointments {Well at least at the Division 1 level anyway.}. Starting with the Northwestern Wildcats. They complained about not getting into the NCAA Tournament {Something they have never done in school history.} but let’s be honest they don’t deserve it.
After a hot start at the beginning of the season, things cooled off once conference play began.
The Problem: Northwestern lost way too many games that they should have won. They lost against teams that were weaker than them.
What caused the problem: The Cats depended way too much on the outside jump shot, not enough presence in the paint, lack of big men, too much pressure on the defense.
How can the problem be fixed: I’ve been saying this for a few years now, FIRE BILL CARMODY! His “Princeton” offense just has not worked in the Big Ten. He’s not a great recruiter, he starts three guards against teams that start players 6’5″ and taller. And he just can’t motivate this team. He needs to go and has been needing to go for quite some time now.
The Solution: Get a coach who understands the Big Ten game, can recruit top level players, and bring in some desperately needed big men. Preferibly guys who are taller than 6’8″. Why do I emphisize this? Jared Sullinger’s game winning layup in the Cats final home game of the season. He jumped over EVERYBODY and Northwestern was powerless to stop it.
Good luck in the NIT guys, your gonna need all the help you can get.
The Illinois Fighting Illini:
They started the season 10-0 and just collapsed from there. Now Bruce Weber is out of a job, and as a result the Illini turned down an invite to the College Basketball Invitational {The NIT’s redheaded step child.}.
The Problem: No motivation what so ever! Bruce Weber’s early success at Illinois was simply because he still had Bill Self’s recruits. He had no problem keeping them in line and getting them to win and make strides in the game of basketball. Once Self’s recruits were gone, the Illini struggled from there. They’ve only been in 2 NCAA Tourney’s and 1 NIT since Weber starting bringing in his own recruits.
This lack of motivation and direction has cost the Illini dearly this season. Blown leads in the 2nd half, foul trouble, laziness on defense, and just looking dead out there on the court. Plus it doesn’t help when the coach becomes the prophet of his own demise.
How the problem can be fixed: Get a new head coach to start. VCU’s Shaka Smart and Indiana’s Tom Crean are a couple names being thrown out there. Smart however is on everybody’s wish list. He’s only been a head coach for three seasons but he’s been a winner every time. During the 2009-2010 season, he coached Virginia Commonwealth to a 27-9 record and the 2010 CBI Championship.
Last season, the Rams made that historic run to the Final Four. Even though they were eliminated by Butler {UIC and Loyola’s arch enemy}, Smart proved that he can coach winners with lower level recruits. And this season, VCU is back in the tournament and many have them going to at least the Sweet 16. They also managed to win the CAA conference tournament championship as well.
The Solution: Whoever the coach is, they need to restore the identity of the Fighting Illini program. They need to make Illinois one of the top schools again. Someone who can either recruit, or turn no namers into winners. Someone who can keep the team motivated and focused. It’s going to be an interesting spring in Urbana.
The DePaul Blue Demons:
They went 9-3 in non conference play. Then when they won their Big East opener against Pittsburgh it looked like DePaul was finally turning the curve. But then just like that, the Demons went on three huge losing streaks of 2, 5, and 9 games the remainder of the season. They finished the 2011-2012 season 12-19 and only 3-15 in Big East and again being the 16th seed in the Big East tournament.
This year they were eliminated by UConn.
The problem: Holding onto 2nd half leads. Out of the 19 games that the Demons lost this year, 14 of those losses were games in which their defense can not hold up in the 2nd half. And in those games, turnovers and missed shots also screwed things up for them. And out of those 14 games, in 10 of those games the Blue Demons pissed away double digit leads.
How to fix the problem: Play fundamental basketball, put more focus on the defense, maybe start two forwards and a center instead of three guards, and have a bigger presence in the paint.
The Solution: Replace Krys Faber and Jeremiah Kelly with players who are just as good if not better. They were the heart and soul of this Demon’s team. Give Jaime Crockett the ball and let him run with it. And bring a few more big buys on board as well.
The Southern Illinois Salukis:
I don’t know what happened to that program. They used to be one of the more competitive teams in the Missouri Valley Conference. But now they have just completed their 4th straight losing season. Perhaps maybe both a coaching and administrative change are an order.
The Eastern Illinois Panthers:
After finishing 19-12 two years ago, they have had two straight losing seasons since then. Hopefully better recruiting can help them out.
Loyola, UIC, Chicago State, Northern Illinois, and Bradley:
ALL five of these teams have been in the gutter for quite some time now and nothing seems to be changing. These programs needs to be rebuilt from the ground up, changes need to be made from top to bottom. Both coaching and administrative changes need to be made because these programs have been terrible for far too long.
The only programs have accomplished anything of significance this year are Western Illinois and Illinois State. WIU only missed the big dance by one game, but they did get into this years CBI. It’s not the big time but it’s a start. And ISU also missed the dance by one game. They took mighy Creighton in overtime in the Missouri Valley tournament title game.
They lost but they proved that they can play with the rest. And my beautiful wife who is a proud ISU alum, is glad that they made it into the NIT. It is their first post-season bid in two years. But overall, I’m really praying for a new day in Illinois Division 1 college hoops.
You can follow me on Twitter: @GabeSalgado82 Hastag: #Q101Sports
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