Loyola Chicago routs Southern Illinois, 73-49, in Missouri Valley Conference Tournament quarterfinals
Loyola Chicago got its work done early Friday.
The top-seeded Ramblers easily dispatched No. 9 seed Southern Illinois, 73-49, in the first quarterfinal of the Missouri Valley Conference Tournament in St. Louis, moving the Ramblers one step closer to their first tournament title since 2018.
The Ramblers’ overtime upset loss to Valparaiso in the MVC Tournament quarterfinals last season seems like eons ago now.
No. 20 Loyola (22-4) is considered safely in the NCAA Tournament, unlike other seasons in which even with solid resumes they’ve needed to win the MVC Tournament for an invite in what often is a one-bid conference.
Loyola looked like a team primed for a March greatness against the Salukis, jumping to a 10-0 lead behind its stifling defense. The blowout victory allowed coach Porter Moser’s to rest his starters and receive career highlights from his bench.
Freshman center Jacob Hutson, who averaged 2.9 points heading into Friday’s game, scored 13 points on 5-of-7 shooting.
He even hit both of his 3-point attempts, earning a smile from Cameron Krutwig from the sideline.
Krutwig, the MVC Player of the Year, paced the Ramblers early, scoring all eight of his points in the first half to go with his six rebounds for the game. Lucas Williamson and Braden Norris added 11 points apiece, while Norris had nine assists.
Ten Loyola players scored.
The Ramblers advanced to Saturday’s semifinals and will play the winner of Friday’s second game between No. 4 seed Indiana State and No. 5 Evansville.
Loyola, which won the regular-season title for the third time in four seasons, shot 48% from the field and outrebounded the Salukis 37-26.
Southern Illinois, coached by former Loyola assistant Bryan Mullins, beat No. 8 seed Bradley in Thursday’s opening round.
Loyola narrowly beat Southern Illinois in back-to-back games to end the regular season, winning 60-52 on Feb. 26 and 65-58 in overtime on Feb. 27.
On Friday, the Salukis were without injured guard Lance Jones, who scored 14 points and 30 points, respectively, in those games.
Anthony D’Avanzo’s career-high 18 points led the Salukis.
Loyola’s Marquise Kennedy went down twice with an ankle injury. He left the game with less than four minutes remaining in the first half and headed for the locker room. Kennedy returned about four minutes into the second half.
He finished with two points on 1-of-5 shooting.
The Ramblers defense, ranked first in the nation by allowing only 52 points, have allowed only four opponents to score more than 60. The Salukis were no exception, shooting only 33% in the first half and allowing only 4 of 18 3-pointers.
