GAME 12
LOYOLA (MD) GREYHOUNDS (8-2)
DECEMBER 22, 2011 – 1:00PM
RUPP ARENA – LEXINGTON, KY
TV – FOX SPORTS SOUTH
FIRST MEETING BETWEEN SCHOOLS
Friends, this is the class example of a trap game. Kentucky will be playing their second game within about 40 hours and it is a 1PM game right before the players leave on Christmas Break. No doubt, some players will rush right from Rupp after the game to the airport to catch a flight home or load up their cars to be with their families for the Christmas Holiday. Students are already home and the atmosphere of these 1PM Thursday games have been pretty much non-existent. Kentucky likely will be short-handed, as it is doubtful that Terrence Jones will play and they face a pretty hungry opponent in the 8-2 Greyhounds.
Loyola is a member of the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC) and Kentucky has a 13-0 record against the conference with wins over Canisisius (2), Iona (6), Rider (3), Marist (1), and Niagara (1). Kentucky opened their season with a 108-58 win over Marist. By comparison, Loyola beat that same Marist team 76-63 this year. Loyola has played one “big conference” school this year and lost to Wake Forest (7-4) 75-63. Loyola has beat some teams this year that are traditionally tough, but are suffering down years. Examples of this are wins over Siena (3-7) and George Washington (4-6). Loyola is coming off a 76-66 loss to 5-4 St. Bonaventure.
PROBABLE STARTERS
#12 – G – R.J WILLIAMS – FR – 5’8, 155
3.7 PPG, 2.2 RPG, 2.1 APG
#3 – G – DYLON CORMIER – SO – 6’2, 172
16.8 PPG, 4.9 RPG, 2.0 APG
#25 – G – ROBERT OLSON – JR – 6’4, 189
9.0 PPG, 2.9 RPG, 1.7 APG
#24 – F – ERIK ETHERLY – JR – 6’7, 225
12.4 PPG, 7.6 RPH, 1.9 APG
#5 – F – SHANE WALKER – SR – 6’10, 225
11.8 PPG, 6.8 RPG, 1.6 APG
THE BENCH
#2 – G – JUSTIN DRUMMOND – SO – 6’4, 187
11.7 PPG, 4.5 RPG, 0.8 APG
#1 – F – ANTHONY WINBUSH – JR – 6’7, 194
2.3 PPG, 3.0 RPG, 1.3 APG
#15 – F – JORDAN LATHAM – SO – 6’8, 249
1.5 PPG, 1.4 RPG, 0.3 APG
NATIONAL STAT RANKINGS/OTHER STATS
POINTS PER GAME
KENTUCKY: 81.8 (12TH)
LOYOLA: 69.5 (153RD)
REBOUNDS PER GAME
KENTUCKY: 41.6 (8TH)
LOYOLA: 37.5 (91ST)
ASSISTS PER GAME
KENTUCKY: 14.7 (73RD)
LOYOLA: 12.0 (242ND)
FG %
KENTUCKY: 49.6% (15TH)
LOYOLA: 41.7% (245TH)
3-PT SHOOTING
KENTUCKY: 69-184 (37.5%)
LOYOLA: 50-148 (33.8%)
FT SHOOTING
LOYOLA 183-266 (68.8%)
KENTUCKY 165-242 (68.2%)
A/TO RATIO
KENTUCKY: 1.18
LOYOLA: 0.83
Despite the nice record coming in, this is not a team that should threaten Kentucky, even if Terrence Jones does not play. They are not a good shooting team and have more turnovers than assists on the season. They are also a pretty thin team and really only play eight players. And of those eight players, only five players can be considered scorers. Williams, Winbush, and Latham play about 55 minutes a game (out of 200) and average just 7.5 points and 6.6 rebounds a game. Of the remaining players, I look for Justin Drummond to get the rare start possibly over Williams as Loyola will need his height and Williams is just 5’8. Dylan Cormier and Robert Olson account for 54% of the Greyhounds made three-pointers on the season and are shooting the ball pretty well, at 42.4% and 35.1% respectively. As I mentioned, this is not a good shooting team, but Cormier and Drummond are pretty active under their own glass and both have more offensive rebounds than defensive rebounds.
Once again, not knowing the status of Terrence Jones, this could be a good opportunity for Wiltjer and Vargas to get some minutes. Loyola, aside from Walker is not a big team, and have been pushed around a good bit by better rebounding teams. This is also a team that does not handle the ball very well and if Lamb and Teague apply the pressure on the guards, that can result in a lot of easy baskets for Kentucky from turnovers. I am not 100% sure of the starting lineup for Loyola, but the biggest mismatch could be Michael Kidd-Gilchrist over Robert Olson if he plays the three. Olson is not very quick and not a good rebounder. MKG or Darius Miller could have big games if this is the situation.
To be honest, the only thing that can beat Kentucky in this game is Kentucky. If they come out slow and uninspired and their minds on Christmas vacation, this could be closer than expected in the first half. I would not expect any lackadaisical play to continue by half however so I would not worry about Kentucky being on upset alert because this is not a team that can launch and make 15 three pointers. Lets say Kentucky starts slow for the first ten minutes, get a good earful from Coach Calipari and head off for Christmas with an 87-63 win.