How Good Are the Loyola Ramblers?

(St. Louis, MO) – Loyola is off to its best start in the six years under coach Porter Moser. The Ramblers are 9-2 and starting to be noticed nationally. LUC is 17^th in CollegeInsider.com’s ‘Mid-Major Top 25 Poll’ and are ‘receiving votes’ in the latest Associated Press Top 25 poll.

But how good are Moser’s Ramblers? Their two losses to St. Joseph’s and at North Carolina State provide some insight. They weren’t very good at the A-Ten Conference St. Joe’s and got blown out. They were very good at NC-State and lost by two points to the Wolfpack.

Perhaps their most significant wins have come against the Pac 12’s Washington State and the Mountain West’s San Diego State. They’ve won four straight and three of them without leading rebounder Donte Ingram.

Loyola is a talented team and they expect to score, but it is on the defensive end where the Ramblers have improved. They are the second best defensive team in the Missouri Valley (Wichita State is first) in terms of points allowed. LUC is holding opponents to 61.5 points per game.

Led by newcomer Aundre Jackson’s .776 shooting percentage, the Ramblers have the highest team shooting percentage of the ten Valley schools at .525. Speaking of Jackson, he has won or tied for the MVC’s ‘Newcomer of the Week’ award three of the five weeks it has been awarded.

Jackson (16.8), senior Milton Doyle (14.5) and Clayton Custer (13.6) are the three leading scorers for this year’s team. All three rank in the Valley’s top 20 in scoring. Doyle is fourth in the MVC in assists at 4.9 per game.

Many are withholding judgment on the Ramblers because of the weakness of their opponents. Loyola’s 289 strength of schedule rating has the skeptics still wondering about the significance of their 9-2 record.

The San Diego State victory seemed to quiet some of the critics. In their first game without Ingram they held off an talented Aztec team for the 65-59 win. Moser told LoyolaRamblers.com that he is excited about the resiliency of his team.

“We beat a really good and well-coached team today. I’m really proud of our guys and pleased with their effort,” said Moser. “We never lost our poise when we lost the lead. The thing I like most about this team is its resilience.”

Jesse Kramer of thecatchandshoot.com says the jury is still out on the Ramblers.

“Loyola’s win over San Diego State was huge for the program, but the Aztecs lost games to Grand Canyon and Arizona State right after that, which brings the quality of Loyola’s victory into question,” said Kramer. “It’s still a very good win. But is it a great win? Maybe not. The bottom line is Loyola is better than last year, but it’s hard to tell exactly how much better. The 9-2 record does not tell the whole story as the Ramblers have played one of the weakest non-conference schedules in the nation.”

What the Ramblers do have is some talented, veteran players. Doyle, a preseason all-conference player is having perhaps his best season. At 14.5 points, 4.5 rebounds and 4.9 assists per game, he is putting together the all-round game Moser has been waiting to see.

Jackson has burst on to the scene with amazing results. The McClennan Community College transfer has provided a scoring threat in addition to Doyle, that has been lacking for the past two years.

Iowa State transfer Clayton Custer is providing outside pop, by converting on 49 percent of his three-point attempts, and there are several other key components to Moser’s squad.

Kramer says we shouldn’t overlook Ben Richardson and Ingram.

“Milton Doyle has quietly lived up to preseason expectations,” said Kramer. “Aundre Jackson has been a model of efficiency, and he’s maintained that efficiency against larger teams as well. Clayton Custer has been another great newcomer, taking some pressure off of Doyle at point guard. Ben Richardson and Donte Ingram remain Loyola’s unsung heroes. Richardson is one of the Valley’s best defenders, and Ingram’s versatility as a 6’6″ wing who can play inside and out is invaluable. Keep in mind that Ingram missed Loyola’s win over San Diego State with a knee injury and could miss the first couple of MVC games depending on quickly he heals.”

The Ramblers have two road games to finish the non-conference schedule. They travel to Illinois-Chicago (5-5 after an upset win at DePaul Wednesday night) in a key Chicago bragging rights game. They then visit Toledo, before opening the Valley season on the road at Drake.

Three straight road games could test the Moser’s squad. They’ve played just one true, road game this season.

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