2021–22 Loyola Ramblers men's basketball team

The 2021–22 Loyola Ramblers men's basketball team represented Loyola University Chicago during the 2021–22 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Ramblers, led by first-year head coach Drew Valentine, played their home games at the Joseph J. Gentile Arena in Chicago, Illinois as members of the Missouri Valley Conference. They finished the regular season 25–7, 13–5 in MVC play to finish in a three-way tie for second place. As the No. 4 seed in the MVC tournament, they defeated Bradley, Northern Iowa, and Drake to win the MVC tournament for the second consecutive season. As a result, they received the conference's automatic bid to the NCAA tournament as the No. 10 seed, where they lost in the first round to Ohio State.

2021–22 Loyola Ramblers men's basketball
Missouri Valley tournament champions
NCAA tournament, First Round
Conference	Missouri Valley Conference
Record	25–8 (13–5 MVC)
Head coach	Drew Valentine (1st season)
Associate head coach	Dan Hipsher
Assistant coaches	Amorrow Morgan Sean Dwyer Patrick Wallace
Home arena	Joseph J. Gentile Arena
Seasons ← 2020–21 2022–23 →

2021–22 Missouri Valley Conference men's basketball standings

v t e	Conf							Overall
Team	W		L		PCT			W		L		PCT
Northern Iowa	14	–	4		.778			20	–	12		.625
Missouri State	13	–	5		.722			23	–	11		.676
Drake	13	–	5		.722			25	–	11		.694
Loyola Chicago †	13	–	5		.722			25	–	8		.758
Bradley	11	–	7		.611			17	–	14		.548
Southern Illinois	9	–	9		.500			16	–	14		.533
Valparaiso	6	–	12		.333			14	–	18		.438
Illinois State	5	–	13		.278			13	–	20		.394
Indiana State	4	–	14		.222			11	–	20		.355
Evansville	2	–	16		.111			6	–	24		.200
† 2022 MVC tournament winner

On November 16, 2021, Loyola announced that the season would be the last season for the team in the MVC as they joined the Atlantic 10 Conference in July 2022.^[1]

Previous season

In a season limited due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, the Ramblers finished the 2020–21 season 26–5, 16–2 in MVC play to win the regular season championship. They defeated Southern Illinois, Illinois State, and Drake to win the MVC tournament championship.^[2] As a result, they received the conference's automatic bid to the NCAA tournament as a No. 8 seed in the Midwest region.^[3] There they defeated No. 9-seeded Georgia Tech^[4] and upset No. 1-seeded Illinois to advance to the Sweet Sixteen.^[5] In the Sweet Sixteen, they lost to Oregon State.^[6]

On April 3, 2021, head coach Porter Moser left Loyola to accept the head coaching position at Oklahoma.^[7] A few days later, the school announced that assistant coach Drew Valentine would take over as the Ramblers' head coach.^[8]

Offseason

Coaching changes

On April 20, Valentine announced the hiring of assistant coaches Amorrow Morgan, Sean Dwyer, and Patrick Wallace.^[9] Former Oakland associate head coach Dan Hipsher was named special assistant to the head coach.^[9]

Departures

Due to COVID-19 disruptions, the NCAA did not count the 2020–21 season against the eligibility of any basketball player, meaning that all seniors in that season could choose to return for 2021–22.

Name	Number	Pos.	Height	Weight	Year	Hometown	Reason for departure
Paxson Wojcik	0	G	6'4"	185	Sophomore	Charleston, SC	Transferred to Brown
Jake Baughman	2	G	6'3"	180	RS Senior	Bloomington, IL	Graduated; chose not to return
Baylor Hebb	13	G	6'2"	170	Freshman	Colleyville, TX	Transferred to Colorado State
Cooper Kaifes	23	G	6'3"	195	RS Sophomore	Shawnee, KS	Transferred to Samford
Cameron Krutwig	25	C	6'9"	255	Senior	Algonquin, IL	Graduated; signed to play professionally in Belgium with the Antwerp Giants
Sami Ismail	31	G	6'1"	182	Junior	Orland Park, IL	Transferred to Highland CC (IL)
Franklin Agunanne	33	F	6'9"	245	Junior	Abuja, Nigeria	Transferred to SMU

Incoming transfers

Name	Number	Pos.	Height	Weight	Year	Hometown	Previous School
Ryan Schwieger	13	F	6'7"	205	Senior	Matthews, NC	Transferred from Princeton
Chris Knight	23	F	6'7"	225	Senior	Madison, WI	Transferred from Dartmouth

2021 recruiting class

US college sports recruiting information for high school athletes

Name	Hometown	High school / college	Height	Weight	Commit date
Ty Johnson G	Chicago, IL	DePaul College Prep (IL)	6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)	180 lb (82 kg)	Nov 11, 2020
	Recruiting star ratings: Scout: N/A   Rivals: N/A   247Sports: N/A
Ben Schwieger G / F	Aurora, IL	Waubonsie Valley (IL)	6 ft 6 in (1.98 m)	185 lb (84 kg)	Nov 11, 2020
	Recruiting star ratings: Scout: N/A   Rivals: N/A   247Sports: N/A
Saint Thomas F	Omaha, NE	Millard North (NE)	6 ft 7 in (2.01 m)	200 lb (91 kg)	Apr 13, 2021
	Recruiting star ratings: Scout: N/A   Rivals:    247Sports: N/A    ESPN: N/A   ESPN grade: N/R
Overall recruiting rankings:   247Sports: 132
Note: In many cases, Scout, Rivals, 247Sports, and ESPN may conflict in their listings of height and weight. In these cases, the average was taken. ESPN grades are on a 100-point scale. Sources: "2021 Loyola Ramblers Recruiting Class". ESPN.com. Retrieved October 24, 2021. "2021 Team Ranking". Rivals.com. Retrieved October 24, 2021.

Roster

2021–22 Loyola Ramblers men's basketball team
Players	Coaches
Pos. # Name Height Weight Year Previous school Hometown F 0 Saint Thomas 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 200 lb (91 kg) Fr Millard North Omaha, NE G 1 Lucas Williamson 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 205 lb (93 kg) GS Whitney Young Chicago, IL G 2 Ty Johnson 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 180 lb (82 kg) Fr DePaul College Prep Chicago, IL G 4 Braden Norris 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) 180 lb (82 kg) RS Jr Hilliard Bradley Oakland Hilliard, OH G 5 Keith Clemons 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) 180 lb (82 kg) GS Wesley Christian Vincennes Norcross, GA F 10 Tom Welch 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 220 lb (100 kg) Jr Naperville North Naperville, IL G 12 Marquise Kennedy 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) 175 lb (79 kg) Jr Brother Rice Chicago, IL F 13 Ryan Schwieger 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 205 lb (93 kg) Sr Wedington Princeton Matthews, NC C 22 Jacob Hutson 6 ft 10 in (2.08 m) 240 lb (109 kg) So Edina Edina, MN F 23 Chris Knight 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 225 lb (102 kg) Sr James Madison Memorial Dartmouth Madison, WI G/F 24 Tate Hall 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 220 lb (100 kg) GS Greenfield-Central Indianapolis Greenfield, IN F 30 Aher Uguak 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 225 lb (102 kg) GS Harry Ainlay New Mexico Edmonton, AB G 31 Will Smythe (W) 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 170 lb (77 kg) Fr St. Mary's Prep Rochester Hills, MI G/F 33 Ben Schwieger 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 185 lb (84 kg) Fr Waubonsie Valley Aurora, IL F 35 Damezi Anderson 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 225 lb (102 kg) Sr Riley Indiana South Bend, IN F 45 Will Alcock (W) 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 215 lb (98 kg) Sr Zionsville Community Zionsville, IN	Head coach Drew Valentine (Oakland) Assistant coach(es) Amorrow Morgan (Idaho State) Sean Dwyer (Michigan State) Patrick Wallace (Charleston Southern) Legend (C) Team captain (S) Suspended (I) Ineligible (W) Walk-on   Injured   Current redshirt Roster

Schedule and results

After losing several game to cancellations and postponements due to COVID-19, Loyola and San Francisco agreed to play a game on January 6, 2022, on the campus of Salt Lake Community College.^[10]

Date time, TV	Rank^#	Opponent^#	Result	Record	Site (attendance) city, state
Exhibition
November 3, 2021* 7:00 p.m.		UW–Stout	W 93–41		Gentile Arena (2,374) Chicago, IL
Regular season
November 9, 2021* 7:00 p.m., NBCSC+		Coppin State	W 103–45	1–0	Gentile Arena (2,982) Chicago, IL
November 13, 2021* 1:00 p.m., ESPN+/NBCSC		Florida Gulf Coast	W 89–77	2–0	Gentile Arena (3,277) Chicago, IL
November 16, 2021* 7:00 p.m., NBCSC		Chicago State	W 92–56	3–0	Gentile Arena (2,637) Chicago, IL
November 20, 2021* 3:00 p.m., NBCSC		UIC	W 80–63	4–0	Gentile Arena (3,732) Chicago, IL
November 24, 2021* 11:00 a.m., ESPN		Michigan State Battle 4 Atlantis quarterfinals	L 61–63	4–1	Imperial Arena  Nassau, Bahamas
November 25, 2021* 1:30 p.m., ESPN2		No. 19 Auburn Battle 4 Atlantis consolation round	L 53–62	4–2	Imperial Arena (804) Nassau, Bahamas
November 26, 2021* 6:00 p.m., ESPNews		Arizona State Battle 4 Atlantis 7th Place Game	W 77–59	5–2	Imperial Arena (739) Nassau, Bahamas
December 1, 2021 7:00 p.m., NBCSC		Indiana State	W 88–76	6–2 (1–0)	Gentile Arena (2,915) Chicago, IL
December 4, 2021* 3:00 p.m., FS1		at DePaul	W 68–64	7–2	Wintrust Arena (6,774) Chicago, IL
December 7, 2021* 7:00 p.m., ESPN3		Roosevelt	W 88–49	8–2	Gentile Arena (2,379) Chicago, IL
December 10, 2021* 7:00 p.m., SECN+		at Vanderbilt	W 69–58	9–2	Memorial Gymnasium (7,002) Nashville, TN
December 19, 2021* 1:00 p.m., ESPN3/ESPN+		Norfolk State	Canceled due to COVID-19 issues		Gentile Arena  Chicago, IL
December 22, 2021* 1:00 p.m., ESPN+		at Davidson	Canceled due to COVID-19 issues		John M. Belk Arena  Davidson, NC
January 2, 2021* 1:00 p.m., ESPN3		Saint Xavier	Canceled due to COVID-19 issues		Gentile Arena  Chicago, IL
January 6, 2022* 1:00 p.m., WCC Network		vs. San Francisco	W 79–74	10–2	Lifetime Activities Center (112) Salt Lake City, UT
January 8, 2022 3:00 p.m., NBCSC		Bradley	W 78–71 ^OT	11–2 (2–0)	Gentile Arena (3,092) Chicago, IL
January 11, 2022 8:00 p.m., CBSSN		Valparaiso	W 81–74 ^2OT	12–2 (3–0)	Gentile Arena (2,193) Chicago, IL
January 15, 2022 6:00 p.m., CBSSN		at Indiana State	W 64–56	13–2 (4–0)	Hulman Center (3,614) Terre Haute, IN
January 18, 2022 7:00 p.m., NBCSC+	No. 22	at Evansville	W 77–48	14–2 (5–0)	Ford Center (3,190) Evansville, IN
January 22, 2022 2:30 p.m., CBSSN	No. 22	Missouri State	L 69–79	14–3 (5–1)	Gentile Arena (4,105) Chicago, IL
January 25, 2022 7:00 p.m., NBCSC		Southern Illinois	W 59–47	15–3 (6–1)	Gentile Arena (2,941) Chicago, IL
January 27, 2022 7:00 p.m., NBCSC		at Southern Illinois	W 44–39	16–3 (7–1)	Banterra Center (4,315) Carbondale, IL
January 30, 2022 1:00 p.m., ESPN2		at Drake	L 68–77	16–4 (7–2)	Knapp Center (3,994) Des Moines, IA
February 2, 2022 7:00 p.m., ESPN+		Illinois State	W 78–64	17–4 (8–2)	Gentile Arena (3,097) Chicago, IL
February 6, 2022 1:00 p.m., ESPN2		at Missouri State	W 71–62	18–4 (9–2)	JQH Arena (6,117) Springfield, MO
February 9, 2022 8:00 p.m., CBSSN		at Bradley	L 61–68	18–5 (9–3)	Peoria Civic Center (4,450) Peoria, IL
February 13, 2022 3:00 p.m., ESPN2		Northern Iowa	W 85–58	19–5 (10–3)	Gentile Arena (4,019) Chicago, IL
February 16, 2022 7:00 p.m., NBCSC+		at Valparaiso	W 71–69	20–5 (11–3)	Athletics–Recreation Center (2,208) Valparaiso, IN
February 19, 2022 5:00 p.m., ESPN2		Drake	L 76–83	20–6 (11–4)	Gentile Arena (4,557) Chicago, IL
February 21, 2022 7:00 p.m., NBCSC		at Illinois State Rescheduled from January 5	W 59–50	21–6 (12–4)	Redbird Arena (3,354) Normal, IL
February 23, 2022 7:00 p.m., NBCSC		Evansville	W 82–31	22–6 (13–4)	Gentile Arena (3,843) Chicago, IL
February 26, 2022 5:00 p.m., ESPNU		at Northern Iowa	L 96–102 ^OT	22–7 (13–5)	McLeod Center (6,497) Cedar Falls, IA
MVC tournament
March 4, 2022 2:30 pm, MVC TV	(4)	vs. (5) Bradley Quarterfinals	W 66–50	23–7	Enterprise Center (5,394) St. Louis, MO
March 5, 2022 2:30 pm, CBSSN	(4)	vs. (1) Northern Iowa Semifinals	W 66–43	24–7	Enterprise Center  St. Louis, MO
March 6, 2022 1:00 pm, CBS	(4)	vs. (3) Drake Championship	W 64–58	25–7	Enterprise Center (5,164) St. Louis, MO
NCAA tournament
March 18, 2022 11:15 am, CBS	(10 S)	vs. (7 S) Ohio State First Round	L 41–54	25–8	PPG Paints Arena  Pittsburgh, PA
*Non-conference game. ^#Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. All times are in Central Time.

Rankings

See also: 2021–22 NCAA Division I men's basketball rankings

Ranking movements
Legend: ██ Increase in ranking ██ Decrease in ranking
— = Not ranked RV = Received votes

	Week
Poll	Pre	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	Final
AP	—	RV	RV	RV	RV	RV	RV	RV	RV	RV	22	RV	RV	RV	—	—	—	RV	RV	Not released
Coaches	RV	RV^	RV	—	RV	RV	RV	RV	RV	RV	24	RV	—	RV	RV	—	—	RV	RV

*AP does not release post-NCAA Tournament rankings.
^Coaches did not release a Week 1 poll.

References

1. "Loyola Athletics To Join Atlantic 10 Conference in 2022-23 Academic Year". Loyola University Chicago Athletics. Retrieved November 16, 2021.
2. "Drake falls to No. 20 Loyola in MVC Championship". Radio Iowa. March 7, 2021. Retrieved April 7, 2021.
3. Hefferman, Todd. "MVC Basketball | Drake slotted in First Four, Loyola receives 8 seed". The Southern. Retrieved April 7, 2021.
4. "Georgia Tech vs. Loyola Chicago - Game Recap - March 19, 2021 - ESPN". ESPN.com. Retrieved April 7, 2021.
5. Lauren M. Johnson and Homero De la Fuente. "No. 8 Loyola Chicago stuns No. 1 seed Illinois to advance to the Sweet 16". CNN. Retrieved April 7, 2021.
6. "Oregon State vs. Loyola Chicago - Game Recap - March 27, 2021 - ESPN". ESPN.com. Retrieved April 7, 2021.
7. "Oklahoma hires Loyola Chicago's Porter Moser to replace Lon Kruger as Sooners coach". CBSSports.com. Retrieved April 7, 2021.
8. "Drew Valentine Hired as Loyola-Chicago's Head Coach, Replacing Porter Moser". NBC Chicago. Retrieved April 7, 2021.
9. "Loyola Announces Men's Basketball Staff". Loyola University Chicago Athletics. Retrieved July 29, 2021.
10. "After losing conference games to COVID, San Francisco and Loyola Chicago agree to play game Thursday". CBSSports.com. Retrieved January 4, 2022.