Missouri Valley Basketball: Preseason power rankings for 2020-21 season
By Tim Edmonds
2. Loyola Ramblers
After a shocking loss in the conference quarterfinals last year at the hands of Valparaiso, Loyola and head coach Porter Moser head into 2020-21 with their best roster since reaching the Final Four three years ago.
With all five starters returning to the fold, the MVC Sixth Man of the Year in guard Marquise Kennedy and an MVC Player of the Year candidate in center Cameron Krutwig, the Ramblers are absolutely loaded from the top to bottom of their rotation with over 95 percent of their minutes returning from last season.
Additionally, the Ramblers return plenty of scoring in redshirt senior guard Tate Hall (12.7 PPG, 1.8 3s per game) and will see sharpshooter Cooper Kaifes return to the fold after a hip injury kept him out of the 2019-20 season. Kaifes adds another knockdown shooter to Moser’s rotation after he buried 53 three-pointers as a freshman in 2018-19.
This ability to find scoring from a number of contributors paired with the type of defensive play the Ramblers get on a nightly basis from veterans like Keith Clemons and Lucas Williamson is a recipe for success in the Missouri Valley Conference. A league Moser has found unparalleled success since the 2017-18 season.
After a pair of seasons where they failed to gain a bid to the NCAA Tournament, this year’s team seems primed and ready to return to the Big Dance and make plenty of noise once they get there.