clock menu more-arrow no yes mobile

Filed under:

The Other Top 25: Loyola University Chicago continues to bludgeon its opponents

The Ramblers have broken into the KenPom top 25.

By Russell Steinberg
NCAA Basketball: Loyola-Chicago at Wisconsin Mary Langenfeld-USA TODAY Sports

The Loyola University Chicago Ramblers have won nine of their last 10 games, and in doing so, have become the favorites in the Missouri Valley Conference (sorry Drake). It’s what we’ve come to expect from Porter Moser’s crew.

What we haven’t seen is a Ramblers team that demolishes opponents like this one. Each of their wins over their five-game winning streak have come by double-digits, including a 42-point victory over Northern Iowa and a 36-point win over Valparaiso just three days later. Cameron Krutwig has been the best player in the league and is 15 for his last 18 from the field.

Loyola won at Bradley on Sunday and plays there again Monday night before heading to Missouri State next week.

Elsewhere in The Other Top 25, Davidson has finally broken through. KenPom has liked the Wildcats all season, and a close win at UMass was enough to finally get them into the rankings. Kellan Grady has scored 46 points and hit 10 threes over his last two games.

Here are the full rankings:

Week 10

Rank School Record Change Our reasoning
Rank School Record Change Our reasoning
1 Gonzaga 15-0 - Gonzaga humiliated Pacific in its only game of the week, jumping out to a 31-8 lead and never looking back. The Tigers managed just 0.66 points per possession.
2 Saint Louis 7-1 - SAINT LOUIS IS SCHEDULED TO PLAY A BASKETBALL GAME THIS WEEK! SLU hasn't played since Dec. 23 and had its scheduled game against St. Bonaventure postponed but will (hopefully) face the Dayton Flyers on Tuesday.
3 Boise State 13-1 - Boise State ran its winning streak to 13 with a 22-point win over Fresno State. Derrick Alston had 21 points and Marcus Shaver scored 17 in the victory.
4 BYU 13-3 - Not much to talk about with the Cougars this week, as they took care of business against a pair of middle-of-the-pack WCC teams. Their next big test is Saturday at home against San Francisco.
5 St. Bonaventure 8-1 - This was a statement week for the Bonnies, who beat VCU and Duquesne. At 6-1, they are alone in first place in the Atlantic 10.
6 Loyola University Chicago 12-3 3 Loyola isn't just beating teams. The Ramblers are demolishing them. Thanks to five straight wins by an aaverage of 23 points per game, they are up to 21 overall in KenPom.
7 Utah State 12-4 -1 There's no shame in a split against Colorado State. The Aggies' win came by 19 points behind a 6-10 three-point performance from Brock Miller.
8 Western Kentucky 13-4 - The Toppers are 6-2 in CUSA and are building an interesting at-large resume. Wins over Alabama and Marshall (twice) look good but that loss to Charlotte still hurts.
9 Belmont 16-1 2 Belmont won again. Big whoop. Belmont beat SIU Edwardsville, 114-62. Holy Moses.
10 San Diego State 11-4 - The Aztecs rebounded from their two losses to Utah State by, expectedly, sweeping Air Force. They scored 98 and 91 points respectively in those games.
11 Winthrop 15-0 1 Rank. Winthrop. You. Damn. AP. Cowards. The Eagles are 15-0 and only received 16 points in this week's poll. For context, No. 25 Louisville received 117. What are you guys doing?
12 VCU 11-4 1 The Rams beat Dayton and lost to Bona this week. In the process, they solidified their position as No. 1 in the nation in block and steal percentage.
13 Drake 13-0 1 Hi, I'm a national sportswriter and I think it's hilarious when I refer to Drake as "The Drake." This is a reference to the popular sitcom, Seinfeld, which you've probably never heard of because you're not as cool as I am.
14 Colorado State 11-3 2 Colorado State is 8-2 in the Mountain West and is in third place. The top part of that conference has been murdering the bottom.
15 Richmond 9-4 -8 Remember when Richmond was ranked in the Top 25? Remember when the Spiders didn't just lose to La Salle? It's been a rough run for Chris Mooney and Co., but they're still in the thick of the A-10 race.
16 Toledo 13-4 2 When I was in fourth grade, my elementary school decided to call itself the Rockets. We didn't have any sports teams. Anyway, Toledo has won 10 out of 11 and leads the MAC.
17 South Dakota State 10-3 2 South Dakota State has won five in a row and has scored 83 or more points in each game. Right now, it doesn't look like the Jackrabbits have significant competition in the Summit.
18 UAB 12-2 4 Shoutout Tavin Lovan, who posted: 32 points, 11 rebounds, 5 assists, and 2 steals against Rice on Saturday.
19 Saint Mary's 11-5 2 A week ago, the Gaels were in free-fall after losing four out of five games. Now, they're back on track (for now) with wins over Loyola Marymount and San Francisco. Portland and Pacific should be two more wins this week.
20 Marshall 9-4 3 If Marshall can win seven of its next eight games, maybe with a loss to ODU thrown in there, it will set up a huge weekend with North Texas to end the regular season.
21 Abilene Christian 12-3 -4 It isn't fair to knock Abilene too much for one loss to Sam Houston State. Blips on the radar happen. Unfortunately, we have to knock the Wildcats a little bit because there's still not much substance to a great record.
22 Furman 10-5 -7 It's been a rough week for Furman. The Paladins lost twice to conference opponents and are now on COVID-19 pause.
23 Davidson 10-5 NR Our staff has wanted to rank Davidson for a while now but has hesitated on pulling the trigger. No more! The Wildcats have won four in a row, including a 69-60 victory at UMass on Sunday.
24 Wright State 11-4 NR Wright State played seven guys over four minutes Saturday against IUPUI and six of them scored in double figures. Welcome to The Other Top 25!
25 Dayton 8-4 -5 It's OK to lose to VCU. It's not OK to lose to VCU by 23 points in a game that was never competitive.

Also receiving votes: UC Santa Barbara, Missouri State, Liberty, Colgate, Louisiana Tech.

More From Mid-Major Madness