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Photo by Justin Casterline/Getty Images The Loyola Chicago Ramblers look to make their second consecutive appearance in the NCAA Tournament this year.
The reigning Missouri Valley Conference Tournament champion Loyola Chicago Ramblers will take on the Bradley Braves in an MVC Tournament quarterfinal matchup on Friday afternoon in St. Louis, Missouri.
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The game (3:30 p.m. ET start time) will be televised locally on NBC Sports Chicago, but if you don’t have cable or live out of market, anyone in the US can watch Bradley vs. Loyola Chicago on live on ESPN+:
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Avance Bradley vs Loyola Chicago
The winners of the last four Missouri Valley Conference tournaments will meet on Friday afternoon in an MVC Tournament quarterfinal round matchup when the fourth-seeded Loyola Chicago Ramblers and fifth-seeded Bradley Braves meet at St.Louis.
Loyola has won two of the last four MVC tournament titles, winning the 2018 and 2021 editions. The Ramblers had an NCAA Tournament run following last year’s conference tournament title, defeating top-seeded Illinois on the way to a trip to the Sweet 16.
Bradley took home the conference tournament championship in 2019 and 2020. The Braves lost to No. 2 Michigan State in the first round of the 2019 NCAA Tournament and did not get a chance to play in the NCAA in 2020 when the tournament was canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
The two teams split the regular season series, with each winning on their home courts. Bradley leads the series all-time, 37-32, but Loyola has won 15 of the last 20 matchups between the two programs.
Here’s a look at the breakdown of each team as they head into Friday’s critical win-or-go-home quarterfinal contest:
Loyola Chicago Ramblers (22-7, 13-5 MVC)
Loyola posted its fifth straight 20-win campaign this season and finished tied for second in the conference standings, just one game behind northern Iowa.
The Ramblers came close to winning their fourth straight regular-season title on Saturday when they lost to Northern Iowa, 102-96, in overtime.
In that game, grad student Lucas Williamson scored a career-high 29 points and grabbed seven rebounds. Williamson was named the MVC Defensive Player of the Year for the second straight season and was an All-MVC First Team selection. He averaged 14.1 points, 4.8 rebounds, 2.9 assists, and 1.2 steals per game during the regular season.
Loyola head coach Drew Valentine is the youngest coach in NCAA Division I basketball at 30 years old. Valentine became the second coach in program history to win 20 games in his first season.
Bradley Braves (17-13, 11-7 MVC)
Bradley won nine of his last 12 games before the MVC Tournament and his 11 conference wins are tied for the most by the program in the past 21 seasons.
Leading the way for the Braves this season has been junior guard Terry Roberts, who averaged 14.4 points, 5.0 rebounds, 4.2 assists and 1.5 steals per game in his first season with Bradley. Roberts, who played the previous two years at Florida SouthWestern State College, was named Valley Rookie of the Year and was honored with the All-MVC First Team.
Bradley won his regular season finale on Saturday against Valparaíso, 79-55. Sophomore Rienk Mast posted his eighth double-double in the win with 22 points and 11 rebounds.
Freshman Connor Hickman added 14 points, including a career-best four 3-pointers. Hickman was named to this season’s MVC All-Freshman team.
Missouri Valley Conference Tournament Schedule
The winner of Friday’s game will advance to Saturday’s semifinals, where they will meet the winner of the Northern Iowa vs. Illinois State. The two semifinal winners will meet in the MVC championship game on Sunday.
Quarterfinals (Friday, March 4) No. 1 Northern Iowa vs. No. 8 State of Illinois, 1 p.m. ETNo. 4 Loyola vs. No. 5 Bradley, 3:30 p.m. ETNo. 2 State of Missouri vs. No. 7 Valparaiso/No. 10 Evansville, 7 p.m. ET No. 3 Drake vs. No. 6 Southern Illinois, 9:30 p.m. ET
Semifinals (Saturday, March 5) The winners of the quarterfinals will meet in semifinal round matchups at 3:30 p.m. and 6 p.m. ET
Championship (Sunday, March 6) Semifinal Winners, 2 p.m. ET
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