College basketball preview: Loyola, UIC look to make leaps in new leagues; DePaul remains buried in Big East
Out with old rivals Illinois State, Bradley and Drake.
In with anticipated new ones Dayton, Saint Louis and … VCU?
After a nine-year run in the Missouri Valley Conference, Loyola University is all set to step up in class and compete in a new league - the Atlantic 10 Conference.
"Obviously, we're super excited about joining the Atlantic 10," Ramblers coach Drew Valentine said. "The history, tradition of basketball in this conference is very high level. We're not completely going to change our philosophy as far as what we believe in and what makes Loyola special."
The Ramblers started attracting national attention during the 2017-18 season when they advanced to the Final Four while going 32-6 under head coach Porter Moser.
Moser got Loyola back to the NCAA Tournament in 2020-21 before leaving for Oklahoma, but the program remained formidable last year under Valentine.
At age 30, Moser's former top assistant was the youngest head coach in Division I basketball. Valentine made a smooth transition while guiding the Ramblers to a 25-8 record and another trip to the NCAA postseason.
Loyola, which opens this season with a Nov. 7 game against Fairleigh Dickinson at Gentile Arena, was picked to finish fourth in the Atlantic 10 in a preseason poll of the league's coaches and selected media.
Senior guard Braden Norris is the Ramblers' top returning player after averaging 10.4 points and 3.9 assists a game last year.
Other key returnees are senior guard Marquise Kennedy, junior center Jacob Hutson and senior forward Tom Welch, a Naperville North High School product.
Loyola also welcomes four transfers, headed by forward Bryce Golden (Butler) and guard Sheldon Edwards (Valparaiso).
DePaul
The Blue Demons went 15-16 last season under first-year coach Tony Stubblefield.
Not great, but pretty good for a once proud program that has managed only one winning season (19-17 in 2018-19) in 15 years.
A non-factor in the Big East since joining the power league in 2005-06, look for the trend to continue this season.
DePaul had three players average 10 or more points a game last year and they've all departed - guard Javon Freeman-Liberty (21.7) and forwards David Jones (14.5) and Brandon Johnson (10.5).
Jones (7.4) and Freeman-Liberty (7.3) were also the Blue Demons' leading rebounders.
Center Nick Ogenda does return, and the 6-foot-11 Canadian averaged 8.7 points and 4.3 rebounds per game as a junior a year ago.
Junior guard Jalen Terry is also back, and Stubblefield will look to transfers Umoja Gibson (Oklahoma) for help. South Florida transfer Caleb Murphy is a projected starter at guard but he's out until December following wrist surgery.
UIC
Along with Belmont and Murray State, the Flames are joining the Missouri Valley Conference this season.
It's looking like UIC, which spent the last 28 years in the Horizon League, will have its hands full in the new league.
The Flames lost their top four scorers off last year's team that went 14-16 under second-year coach Luke Yaklich. Guards Damaria Franklin and Kevin Johnson will be especially missed after combining to average 30.9 points, 9.9 rebounds and 7.4 assists per game.
Yaklich will look to returnees Jace Carter and Filip Skobalj for production and leadership. Top newcomers include Idaho transfer Tre Anderson and freshmen Christian Jones, Steven Clay and 6-foot-10 Cameron Fens.