WHO: Loyola Chicago Ramblers (6-4)
WHEN: 5:00 PM CT (Thursday, December 21)
WHERE: Carver Hawkeye Arena (Iowa City, Iowa)
TV: None
RADIO: Hawkeye Radio Network
ONLINE: https://www.bigtenplus.com/en-int/page/home
MOBILE: https://www.bigtenplus.com/en-int/page/home
FOLLOW: @IowaAwesome | @IowaWBB | @IowaonBTN
NOTE: This is the final Iowa game scheduled for Big Ten Plus. Iowa does have 7 other games currently scheduled for Peacock, NBC's streaming service, however.

Loyola Chicago was terrible last year. The Ramblers finished 6-24 overall and 1-15 in the Atlantic 10 Conference.

This year, Loyola has been improved. The Ramblers sit at 6-4 overall, and have a 73-68 win at Northwestern on their resume. They've won twice more on the road, beating Chicago State and Bradley.

While Loyola is certainly more competitive this year, on paper this doesn't look like a game that should be close. The Ramblers lost at home to Cleveland State 74-66. Iowa just beat Cleveland State by 29 in a game that was over by halftime. Loyola also got blown out by DePaul 93-72 in late November. Iowa beat DePaul 94-72 in the Crossover at Kinnick exhibition in mid-October.

All statistics from this preview are from HerHoopStats.

5'7" guard Alyssa Fisher leads the team in scoring averaging 13.1 ppg, 2.6 rpg, 2.9 apg, and 1.7 spg. She isn't particularly efficient from the field, however, shooting 46.4% from 2 and 28.8% from 3.

5'8" guard Sam Galanopoulos is a very good shooter from 3 -point range(45.5%), but is also inefficient on 2-point attempts (38.9%). She averages 12.6 ppg, 5.0 apg, 3.3 rpg, and 1.4 spg.

6'2" forward Sitori Tanin is the team's best rebounder and shot blocker. She averages 11.3 ppg, 6.9 rpg, and 1.6 bpg. She's also inefficient from the floor, averaging 41.9% on 2-point shots.

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Loyola is averaging 70.0 possessions per 40 minutes this season, which is on the slower end nationally. In Allison Guth's first season as coach of Loyola last year, the Ramblers were even slower, averaging just 66.7 possessions per 40. Loyola might try to play slower in this one to try to keep Iowa out of transition.

Offensively, Loyola averages 64.7 points per game, which ranks 170th nationally. A key reason for that is two-point shooting. The Ramblers shoot just 41.4% on 2-point attempts, which ranks 268th.

Turnovers also cause issues for Loyola. The Ramblers average 17.1 turnovers per game, which ranks 220th nationally. On the positive side, the Ramblers have assisted on 69.8% of their made shots, which ranks 8th.

Defensively, Loyola surrender 63.2 points per game, which ranks 129th. The Ramblers have several glaring defensive weaknesses that Iowa could exploit. The first is rebounding. The Ramblers average just 21.7 defensive rebounds per game, which ranks 320th. They allow opponents to shoot 36.6% from three, which ranks 329th. Finally, Loyola commits 18.4 fouls per game, which ranks 253rd.

Don't start break early. Iowa has been a heavy favorite four times this year: against Fairleigh Dickinson, Purdue-Fort Wayne, Bowling Green, and Cleveland State. The Hawks average margin of victory in those games is 39.5. They led those games at halftime by: 16, 16, 17, and 36.

As long as Iowa shows up ready to play and doesn't have a historically bad shooting night, this should be another big victory to start a week and a half break.