MVC Basketball: Conference tournament preview and predictions

By Doug Winkey | Mar 1, 2016

Mar 8, 2015; St. Louis, MO, USA; Northern Iowa Panthers head coach Ben Jacobson reacts in the game between the Illinois State Redbirds and the Northern Iowa Panthers during second half in the championship game of the Missouri Valley Conference basketball tournament at Scotttrade Center. Northern Iowa Panthers won 60-69. Mandatory Credit: Jasen Vinlove-USA TODAY Sports /

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Jan 16, 2016; Cedar Falls, IA, USA; Loyola (Il) Ramblers guard Milton Doyle (35) celebrates with guard Devon Turk (4) during the second half against the Northern Iowa Panthers at McLeod Center. Loyola won 51-41. Mandatory Credit: Jeffrey Becker-USA TODAY Sports /

7: Loyola Chicago Ramblers

The Loyala Chicago Ramblers started rough, but won four of their last seven to finish 7-11, good for eight in conference play. Their first game is against Bradley, who split the regular season contests. Interestingly enough, the two teams won on each other’s homecourts, so anything goes in the rubber match.

Loyola starts to represent the conferences mediocre teams. The Ramblers finished 184th in KenPom overall, 284th in AdjO, 98th in AdjD, and 231st in RPI. Another three players average double figures, Montel James, Milton Doyle, and Devon Turk lead the team in scoring. They are average shooters, bad rebounders, but good at slowing down the pace to an almost slovenly 65.6 possessions per 40 minutes.

Against a horrible offense team like Bradley, Loyola should have little trouble in keeping the Braves from dictating pace, though both teams prefer to play snail ball.

Nobody stands out as a leader among the Ramblers, but senior Earl Peterson is one of the team’s best outside shooters and scored 15 points in a near upset over Evansville in the team’s regular season finale.

Next: 6: Illinois State Redbirds