Murray State and Loyola Knock off Big Boys
(St. Louis, MO) – It is seemingly becoming a nightly thing for us to hear of an Ohio Valley or Missouri Valley Conference team knocking off a team from a more highly rated conference. Friday we had side by side power 7 wins in our two conferences.
As Isaiah 40:4 says, “Let every valley be raised up.”
While Loyola Chicago was defeating the Southeastern Conference’s Vanderbilt in Nashville, Murray State was in Memphis edging American Athletic Conference power, the Memphis Tigers.
On Tuesday, Belmont was nosing out Atlantic Ten Conference contender Saint Louis and last Saturday the Ramblers took care of cross-town Big East rival DePaul. Earlier in the week I wrote a piece for BustingBrackets.com saying this could be the week the OVC turns some heads and climbs up the NET.
After Belmont’s win on Tuesday and Friday’s Murray State victory two of the league’s best three teams came through perfectly. This week we watched the Valleys raised up.
LUC’s Third Power 7 Win
Loyola has already defeated Arizona State (Pac 12) and DePaul (Big East) and now you can add the Southeastern Conference to the list. LUC defeated Vandy 69-58. Coach Drew Valentine’s team came within two points of defeating the Big Ten’s Michigan State or the Ramblers would be nationally ranked this coming Monday. They may reach the top 25 anyway.
Loyola (9-2) had to overcome a 19 to 6 free throw attempt disadvantage, which they did by making 17 three-pointers and scoring 15 second chance points.
Braden Norris led the way with 18 points and nine assists. All 18 points were scored on six long distance bombs. Lucas Williamson scored 11 points and grabbed a team-leading nine rebounds. Ryan Schwieger racked up 14 points.
The Ramblers led throughout the game. They trailed briefly in the first half (17-16), but quickly regained the lead and took a 30-27 lead with them into the locker room at the half. They never looked back.
LUC entered the game with a 24 NET rating and this road win against the Commodores (108 NET), is a resume builder. Loyola has won five straight games and play a 9-2 Norfolk State at home and Davidson (51 NET) on the road before opening Valley play.
Williamson eclipsed the 1,000 point career scoring mark.
Closer look at 1⃣,0⃣0⃣0⃣
Congrats @lucasw2424! 👏👏 pic.twitter.com/eSYfBfoXa1
— Loyola Men’s Basketball (@RamblersMBB) December 11, 2021
Murray’s Second Big Win This Week
Murray State (8-1) earned their biggest win of the season and their second big win this week. After defeating Middle Tennessee on Saturday, a game in the FedEx Forum and a chance to celebrate Ja Morant was on Friday’s agenda.
Defeating the Memphis Tigers was hoped for, but not expected by many.
The Racers trailed by 14 at the half. In a similar way the Racers had to overcome a road, free-throw disadvantage. Memphis shot 22 free ones and Murray just ten. Five minutes into the second half, Matt McMahon’s squad cut the deficit to five points (47-42) with a 16-7 run.
As in Loyola’s game, the three-ball was huge. Murray connected on 14 from long distance. Justice Hill made five of six from deep and Tevin Brown was six of 13. Brown led Murray with 22 points and his triple gave the Racers a 59-56 lead with 8:03 to go and they never yielded that lead. 74-72 was the final.
Hill scored 20 points, with 17 coming in the crucial second half. Coach McMahon said Hill’s game will go down as one of the great ones in Murray State history.
Coach Matt McMahon comments after Murray State’s 74-72 win at Memphis. pic.twitter.com/2SY8XATH1n
— Murray State MBB (@RacersHoops) December 11, 2021
K.J. Williams struggled with foul trouble in the first half and finished with 13 points, nine coming during the second stanza. The Racers handed out 18 assists (six from Hill) while handing Memphis (5-4) its first home loss of the season.
What Lies Ahead
During our BustingBrackets.com article we said the OVC had five Quad 1 games coming up. So far the OVC squads are two-for-two. Chattanooga (29 NET) plays both Belmont and Murray in what, by current rankings would be two more Quad 1 opportunities. Morehead State plays Xavier next Wednesday and side-by-side, Belmont is playing Chattanooga.
These three OVC teams and Loyola Chicago are winning key non-conference games. They are climbing up the national metrics and seeing the Valleys raised up.
Drake all-conference guard Roman Penn is out indefinitely with a foot injury and the Bulldogs play Clemson on Saturday.
Do Good
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As we near the closing of the portal window, we've reached 1900. Some of them never to play college basketball again, earn a college degree and some to play at a much lower level than they did last season.
I guess we'll be seeing this in a @RacersHoops uniform this year. Glad AJ is staying in the @ValleyHoops.
