TX-Rambler

Loyola alum and fan living in Texas (The Woodlands) checking in here. First and foremost - I’m really glad you guys agreed to play this game. It’s not easy scheduling a game on short notice, and the fact that your coach was willing to travel all the way to Chicago is awesome. Going through all the protocols, travel, etc. is no easy task, and your team was already at a disadvantage from the tip because of it. We were equally as happy to get this game as you, given the circumstances. Second - y’all should know our fans respected your team going into this one. It’s my hope we return the favor since you were gracious enough to come to Chicago during the pandemic. If you guys want it, we should return the favor and come to Denton next year. Our coach (Moser) has struggled to schedule games with quality opponents in the wake of our Final Four appearance and he appreciates anyone willing to give us a game. I suspect you guys have issues getting teams like TCU, Baylor, etc. to play you. We have the exact same problem trying to get DePaul, Northwestern, and Illinois to play us. We, and you, are victims of our own success when it comes to scheduling. Two solid 20+ win averaging teams playing each other is a good thing, and I hope we see you next year. From a game perspective - despite the outcome, there is a lot of respect from our fans regarding your team’s defense. You guys play as a unit, and your players listen to their coach’s game plan. You did to krutwig what no Missouri Valley team has figured out out how to do - contain him. The biggest issue you had was Uguak, who put up 26 points. For what it’s worth - his game tonight was a phenomenon. He averages about 4 points per game over the last 2+ years. Normally, he is our weakest starter. This was a fluke. Like you guys though, we pride ourselves on defense. We’ve been the best defensive team in our league the past 3 years. This was exactly the battle we expected, and you held our top 3 scorers under their average tonight. Since our teams don’t know each other that well, you might not realize what an accomplishment that was. Also - we aren’t idiot fans. We know that you guys can play better offensively, and it didn’t help your cause that Hamlet want 5-17 from the field. It’s obvious from looking at his stats that he’s better than that. Also, the 4th foul on Bell was crap - he went straight up and got tagged with one that shouldn’t have been. Y’all aren’t deep enough to lose him with a lot of time left in the half, and that one hurt. My only criticism of your team is not adapting a new strategy in the last 10 minutes. If you are going to go all in on defense and try to keep the game in the 50s and slow it down - If you’re losing by 10 at the under 12, you’ve got to change the offensive game plan against a veteran team. Running the shot clock down to 10 each time isn’t going to make up ground when the other team has already bested you by 10 in the first 30 minutes, playing YOUR game. Offense in college basketball is streaky and can be dependent primarily on individual talent. Defense is more intricate though and is a product is team discipline. Before getting mad at coaching - I’d caution you to remember that you held a top 100 team to 57 points. How many times do you hold a team to 57 points and lose? Not a lot. Your guys’ future looks bright. We are rooting for you to dominate C-USA. We aren’t any better than you, overall, just a little better tonight. Best of luck to you the rest of the way! Thanks again for making the trip! That was ballsy!