Missouri State Bears (12-6, 3-2 MVC) at Loyola Ramblers (12-6, 2-3 MVC)
Date and Time	Sunday, Jan. 15, 2017 | 3:00 p.m.
Location	Gentile Arena (4,963) | Chicago, Ill.
Tickets	Loyola Game | Next Home Game | MSU Season Tickets
Radio	KTXR (101.3 FM) (Art Hains, Mike Keltner) | MSU Radio Network | Listen Live
Television	ESPNU | (Wayne Randazzo, Mark Adams)
Series	Loyola leads 5-2 | Last Meeting: LUC 75, MSU 62 (2/21/16)
Live Stats	Live Stats
Game Notes	Missouri State | Loyola | MVC Notebook | MSU Media Guide
Follow	Facebook | Athletics Twitter | Basketball Twitter | Instagram | #MSUBears
Up Next	The Bears travel to Indiana State on Wednesday, Jan. 18 (6 p.m.) before returning home to take on Bradley at JQH Arena on Sat., Jan. 21 at 2:02 p.m. on Hall of Fame Weekend | Tickets

The Missouri State Bears (12-6, 3-2) kick off a key MVC road swing on Sunday with a trip to Loyola for a nationally-televised game at 3 p.m. against the Ramblers on ESPNU.

Series History
Loyola leads the all-time series, 5-2, including a 3-1 mark in Chicago. Since the Ramblers joined the MVC in 2013-14, LUC holds a 4-2 edge with the teams splitting their two meetings last season.

On Jan. 9, the Bears overcame a 10-point deficit in the second half to steal a 56-54 win behind 16 points from Dequon Miller, including the game-winner with 3.4 seconds left. Obediah Church also had 10 points and 6 rebounds in the win for MSU with Earl Peterson pumping in 18 for the Ramblers. In the rematch in Springfield on Feb. 21, Devon Turk posted 20 points, and Loyola shut down the Bears' offense for the last 10 minutes in a 75-62 Loyola win. The Bears got 16 points from Miller and 10 from Jarred Dixon but could not hold a 4-point second-half lead.
 
Scouting the Ramblers
Sixth-year head coach Porter Moser has three starters and six lettermen back from a 15-17 club that was 7-11 (8th) in the MVC last season.

The Ramblers come into this weekend's game with the same 12-6 record as the Bears and are 8-1 at Gentile Arena this season. Senior Milton Doyle leads LUC with 15.9 points per game to go with 4.7 rebounds, 82 assists and 27 steals. Junior forward Aundre Jackson has contributed 14.6 points and 4.0 rebounds per game, while junior Donte Ingram has tallied 13.2 points and 6.6 rebounds..

The Ten Count

• Alize Johnson (Jr., Williamsport, Pa.) leads the MVC with 10.1 rebounds per game. He has recorded 10 or more rebounds in six straight ball games and 12 times overall this season with a league-best 9 double-doubles.
• The last time a first-year MVC player led The Valley in rebounding with at least 10.0 per game was 1979-80 by Drake's Lewis Lloyd (15.0 rpg). MSU's Johnson is averaging 12.4 rebounds in league play through 5 games.
• In MVC games, Dequon Miller (Sr., Charleston, W.Va.) leads all Valley players with 37.8 minutes per game. He also ranks third with 4.6 assists per contest. The 2016 MVC Newcomer of the Year is averaging 11.2 points per game.
• Ryan Kreklow (So., Columbia, Mo.) is averaging 9.6 points per game with 14 3-pointers (.424) in road and neutral-site games this season. In comparison, he is averaging 7.4 points with 17 treys in home contests at JQH Arena.
• Head coach Paul Lusk announced on Jan. 7 that junior guard Ronnie Rousseau III (Jr., Cincinnati, Ohio) will miss additional time away from the team due to personal reasons. He has started 14 games and is averaging 11.6 points.
• With Wednesday's home win over Evansville, the Bears improved to 9-2 at home this season and locked up the club's 46th straight winning home campaign -- dating back to 1971-72 and encompassing three different home venues.
• The Bears are 12-0 this season when out-rebounding their opponents. MSU has not been out-rebounded in 6 games.
• Jarrid Rhodes (Jr., Palmetto, Fla.) has led the Bears in scoring two of the last three games and has scored in double figures three times in a six-game span. He is coming off a team-high 14 points in Wednesday's win over Evansville.
• This is MSU's third of five trips to the state of Illinois this season. The Bears are 0-2 in the Land of Lincoln with a two-point loss at DePaul (Nov. 23) and an overtime loss to Illinois State (Jan. 4).
• Austin Ruder (Jr., Nixa, Mo.) has hit a 3-pointer in 3 straight games and is MSU's active scoring leader (652 points).