Back home again in Indiana. Glad to be back. Here's a look at the game with Loyola.
FIVE POINTS
? ISU is 6-4 at Hulman Center this season. Not bad, but some bad home losses are the difference between 9-10 and inching away from .500.
The loss to Butler can be forgiven. The Bulldogs were clearly superior. The other losses? That's not as clear.
Eastern Illinois has started 6-1 in the Ohio Valley Conference. That's a solid start for the Panthers, but it's still a game and a team ISU should beat at home.
The UMKC loss sticks out like a sore thumb. It was the only win in seven games for the Kangaroos. Yes, Martez Harrison had a great day, but that's a team ISU should have beaten.
Surprisingly, Saint Louis is sticking out as a bad home loss too. The Billikens are 9-10 and have won just one Atlantic 10 Conference game. SLU's win at Hulman Center is its only road win of the season.
ISU, of course, hadn't come together as much for those three home losses as it has in recent weeks.
Loyola, however, is not to be overlooked. The Ramblers won't be intimidated by playing in a hostile environment as they're 4-3 so far in true road games. ISU can't have any slippage.
? The ISU coaching staff seems to gradually be putting more trust in Grant Prusator. After playing semi-regularly early in the season, Prusator's minutes dropped off dramatically. For example, he played for just a minute against Missouri State and Southern Illinois in games two weeks ago.
Prusator has since been counted on to play between a timeout here and there, especially in the first half, and of course, if ISU puts a shooting unit on the floor, he's in it. He's never afraid to shoot and he connected on his first 3-pointer since December against Northern Iowa on Wednesday.
Defense is the bugaboo. It's tough for Prusator to prove his defensive worth with limited minutes, but he'll have to find a way in his limited time or prove he's improved in practice.
? The running joke going around the Missouri Valley Conference is to compare Loyola's RPI to Creighton's, the team the Ramblers replaced in the MVC.
The tally right now is Loyola 91, Creighton 149.
It's not a fair comparison of course. The Bluejays are winless in the Big East Conference, unfortunately living down to expectations of a collapse after Doug McDermott graduated, but the Big East is a step up in class over the MVC. How would Creighton do in this year's MVC? Probably middle-of-the-pack, but they wouldn't be winless.
Loyola is middle-of-the-pack and has been one of the nicer MVC stories. The Ramblers were hot-as-a-pistol in December and early January. Loyola won seven in a row, including the championship of the Las Vegas Classic, played in the same Orleans Arena ISU played at during its November Vegas sojourn.
What has Loyola done right? Shooting is the simplest answer. Loyola is rated 41st nationally in field goal percentage at 47 percent. The Ramblers are stout from long-range, converting 39.9 percent, good for 18th nationally as well as the best MVC conversion rate.
While it might be a stretch to call Loyola deep, the Ramblers are parceling out minutes more so than they did last year when they essentially had a seven-man rotation. That means fewer minutes, but more quality minutes from the likes of Christian Thomas, Devon Turk, and when he's healthy, Milton Doyle.
One thing is certain. The MVC office must be breathing a sigh of relief to see Loyola pulling its weight this season. There were plenty of doubters as to Loyola's readiness after it struggled mightily in its first MVC campaign a year ago.
? Doyle has struggled with injuries all season. He sat out Loyola's Wednesday home loss to Evansville with an ankle injury. He was already playing with a torn labrum suffered in preseason practice.
Doyle, the 2014 MVC Freshman of the Year, is a fantastic talent. The thought has been that as he goes, so go the Ramblers.
But let's not forget about trusty 6-foot-5 senior forward Christian Thomas.
Thomas is, after all, Loyola's leading scorer at 12.6 ppg. He's their best shooter at 54.7 percent. He's their best rebounder at 4.2 rpg. He can also spread the floor with his outside shooting as he's made half of his 28 3-point attempts.
With Doyle missing, teams can laser-focus their defense on Thomas, but he's talented in his own right. Whether Doyle plays today for Loyola or not, Thomas should not be overlooked.
FIVE POINTS
? ISU is 6-4 at Hulman Center this season. Not bad, but some bad home losses are the difference between 9-10 and inching away from .500.
The loss to Butler can be forgiven. The Bulldogs were clearly superior. The other losses? That's not as clear.
Eastern Illinois has started 6-1 in the Ohio Valley Conference. That's a solid start for the Panthers, but it's still a game and a team ISU should beat at home.
The UMKC loss sticks out like a sore thumb. It was the only win in seven games for the Kangaroos. Yes, Martez Harrison had a great day, but that's a team ISU should have beaten.
Surprisingly, Saint Louis is sticking out as a bad home loss too. The Billikens are 9-10 and have won just one Atlantic 10 Conference game. SLU's win at Hulman Center is its only road win of the season.
ISU, of course, hadn't come together as much for those three home losses as it has in recent weeks.
Loyola, however, is not to be overlooked. The Ramblers won't be intimidated by playing in a hostile environment as they're 4-3 so far in true road games. ISU can't have any slippage.
? The ISU coaching staff seems to gradually be putting more trust in Grant Prusator. After playing semi-regularly early in the season, Prusator's minutes dropped off dramatically. For example, he played for just a minute against Missouri State and Southern Illinois in games two weeks ago.
Prusator has since been counted on to play between a timeout here and there, especially in the first half, and of course, if ISU puts a shooting unit on the floor, he's in it. He's never afraid to shoot and he connected on his first 3-pointer since December against Northern Iowa on Wednesday.
Defense is the bugaboo. It's tough for Prusator to prove his defensive worth with limited minutes, but he'll have to find a way in his limited time or prove he's improved in practice.
? The running joke going around the Missouri Valley Conference is to compare Loyola's RPI to Creighton's, the team the Ramblers replaced in the MVC.
The tally right now is Loyola 91, Creighton 149.
It's not a fair comparison of course. The Bluejays are winless in the Big East Conference, unfortunately living down to expectations of a collapse after Doug McDermott graduated, but the Big East is a step up in class over the MVC. How would Creighton do in this year's MVC? Probably middle-of-the-pack, but they wouldn't be winless.
Loyola is middle-of-the-pack and has been one of the nicer MVC stories. The Ramblers were hot-as-a-pistol in December and early January. Loyola won seven in a row, including the championship of the Las Vegas Classic, played in the same Orleans Arena ISU played at during its November Vegas sojourn.
What has Loyola done right? Shooting is the simplest answer. Loyola is rated 41st nationally in field goal percentage at 47 percent. The Ramblers are stout from long-range, converting 39.9 percent, good for 18th nationally as well as the best MVC conversion rate.
While it might be a stretch to call Loyola deep, the Ramblers are parceling out minutes more so than they did last year when they essentially had a seven-man rotation. That means fewer minutes, but more quality minutes from the likes of Christian Thomas, Devon Turk, and when he's healthy, Milton Doyle.
One thing is certain. The MVC office must be breathing a sigh of relief to see Loyola pulling its weight this season. There were plenty of doubters as to Loyola's readiness after it struggled mightily in its first MVC campaign a year ago.
? Doyle has struggled with injuries all season. He sat out Loyola's Wednesday home loss to Evansville with an ankle injury. He was already playing with a torn labrum suffered in preseason practice.
Doyle, the 2014 MVC Freshman of the Year, is a fantastic talent. The thought has been that as he goes, so go the Ramblers.
But let's not forget about trusty 6-foot-5 senior forward Christian Thomas.
Thomas is, after all, Loyola's leading scorer at 12.6 ppg. He's their best shooter at 54.7 percent. He's their best rebounder at 4.2 rpg. He can also spread the floor with his outside shooting as he's made half of his 28 3-point attempts.
With Doyle missing, teams can laser-focus their defense on Thomas, but he's talented in his own right. Whether Doyle plays today for Loyola or not, Thomas should not be overlooked.
