# 2019–20 Loyola Ramblers men's basketball team

The 2019–20 Loyola Ramblers men's basketball team represented Loyola University Chicago during the 2019–20 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Ramblers, led by eighth-year head coach Porter Moser, played their home games at the Joseph J. Gentile Arena in Chicago, Illinois as members of the Missouri Valley Conference (MVC). They finished the season 21–11, 13–5 in MVC play, to finish in second place. They lost in the quarterfinals of the MVC tournament to Valparaiso.

## Previous season

The Ramblers finished the 2018–19 season 20–14, 12–6 in MVC play, to earn a share of the MVC regular season championship. As the No. 1 seed in the MVC tournament, they beat Valparaiso before losing to Bradley in the semifinals. As a regular season conference champion who did not win their tournament championship, the Ramblers received an automatic bid to the National Invitation Tournament as the No. 7 seed in the TCU bracket. There they lost in the first round to Creighton.
Following the season, associate head coach Bryan Mullins was hired as the new head coach at alma mater Southern Illinois.

## Offseason
### Departures

| Name | Number | Pos. | Height | Weight | Year | Hometown | Reason for departure |
| Marques Townes | 5 | G | 6'4" | 208 | Redshirt Senior | Edison, NJ | Graduated |
| Christian Negrón | 12 | F | 6'7" | 225 | Sophomore | Elgin, IL | Transferred to Grand Valley State |
| Clayton Custer | 13 | G | 6'1" | 185 | Redshirt Senior | Overland Park, KS | Graduated |
| Isaiah Bujdoso | 22 | G | 6'3" | 190 | Freshman | Hamilton, ON | Transferred to McMaster |
| Dylan Boehm | 31 | F | 6'5" | 205 | Sophomore | Los Angeles, CA | Walk-on; left the team |

### Incoming transfers

| Name | Number | Pos. | Height | Weight | Year | Hometown | Previous school |
| Keith Clemons | 5 | G | 6'1" | 180 | Junior | Norcross, GA | Transferred from Vincennes. Will play immediately since Clemons was a junior college transfer. |
| Braden Norris | 14 | G | 6'0" | 180 | Sophomore | Hilliard, OH | Transferred from Oakland. Under NCAA transfer rules, Norris will have to sit out for the 2019–20 season. Will have three years of remaining eligibility. |
| Jalon Pipkins | 50 | G | 6'4" | 180 | Junior | Paris, TX | Transferred from Paris JC. Will play immediately since Pipkins was a junior college transfer. |

### 2019 recruiting class

US college sports recruiting information for high school athletes :
| Name | Hometown | High school / college | Height | Weight | Commit date |
| Paxson Wojcik SG | Charleston, SC | La Lumiere School (IN) | 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) | 170 lb (77 kg) | Jun 24, 2018 |
| Recruiting star ratings: Rivals: 247Sports: ESPN: N/A ESPN grade: N/R ||||||
| Tom Welch PF | Naperville, IL | Naperville North (IL) | 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) | 200 lb (91 kg) | Aug 9, 2018 |
| Recruiting star ratings: Rivals: 247Sports: ESPN: N/A ESPN grade: NR ||||||
| Marquise Kennedy PG | Chicago, IL | Brother Rice (IL) | 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) | 165 lb (75 kg) | Sep 17, 2018 |
| Recruiting star ratings: Rivals: 247Sports: ESPN: N/A ESPN grade: N/R ||||||
| Overall recruiting rankings: 247Sports: 84 ||||||
| 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: "2019 Loyola Ramblers Recruiting Class". ESPN.com. Retrieved March 24, 2021. "2019 Team Ranking". Rivals.com. Retrieved March 24, 2021. ||||||

### 2020 Recruiting class

US college sports recruiting information for 2020 recruits :
| Name | Hometown | High school / college | Height | Weight | Commit date |
| Jacob Hutson C | Edina, MN | Edina (MN) | 6 ft 10 in (2.08 m) | 240 lb (110 kg) | Sep 27, 2018 |
| Recruiting star ratings: Rivals: N/A 247Sports: N/A ESPN grade: N/R |||||||
| Baylor Hebb PG / SG | Colleyville, TX | Heritage (TX) | 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) | 170 lb (77 kg) | Sep 9, 2019 |
| Recruiting star ratings: Rivals: 247Sports: N/A ESPN: N/A ESPN grade: N/R |||||||
| Overall recruiting rankings: 247Sports: 158 |||||||
| 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: "2020 Loyola Ramblers Recruiting Class". ESPN.com. Retrieved March 24, 2021. "2020 Team Ranking". Rivals.com. Retrieved March 24, 2021. |||||||

## Schedule and results

| Date time, TV | Rank$^#$ | Opponent$^#$ | Result | Record | Site (attendance) city, state |
| Exhibition ||||||
| October 29, 2019* 7:00 p.m. | | Indianapolis | L 60–65 | – | Joseph J. Gentile Arena (2,169) Chicago, IL |
| Non-conference regular season ||||||
| November 5, 2019* 7:00 p.m., ESPN3 | | UC Davis | W 82–48 | 1–0 | Joseph J. Gentile Arena (3,244) Chicago, IL |
| November 8, 2019* 6:00 p.m., ESPN3 | | at Furman | L 63–87 | 1–1 | Timmons Arena (2,496) Greenville, SC |
| November 12, 2019* 7:00 p.m., NBCSC+ | | Coppin State | L 72–76 | 1–2 | Joseph J. Gentile Arena (2,491) Chicago, IL |
| November 16, 2019* 1:00 p.m., NBCSC+ | | Saint Joseph's | W 85–68 | 2–2 | Joseph J. Gentile Arena (2,921) Chicago, IL |
| November 20, 2019* 7:00 p.m., NBCSC+ | | IUPUI | W 85–62 | 3–2 | Joseph J. Gentile Arena (2,402) Chicago, IL |
| November 25, 2019* 12:30 p.m., FloSports | | vs. South Florida Cayman Islands Classic quarterfinals | L 55–66 | 3–3 | John Gray Gymnasium (1,214) George Town, Cayman Islands |
| November 26, 2019* 10:00 a.m., FloSports | | vs. Colorado State Cayman Islands Classic consolation | L 60–61 | 3–4 | John Gray Gymnasium (1,291) George Town, Cayman Islands |
| November 27, 2019* 10:00 a.m., FloSports | | vs. Old Dominion Cayman Islands Classic seventh-place game | W 68–61 | 4–4 | John Gray Gymnasium (1,235) George Town, Cayman Islands |
| December 3, 2019* 6:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | at Ball State | W 70–58 | 5–4 | Worthen Arena (4,128) Muncie, IN |
| December 7, 2019* 1:00 p.m., ESPN3 | | Quincy | W 90–59 | 6–4 | Joseph J. Gentile Arena (2,427) Chicago, IL |
| December 15, 2019* 1:00 p.m., ESPN3 | | Norfolk State | W 64–45 | 7–4 | Joseph J. Gentile Arena (2,428) Chicago, IL |
| December 18, 2019* 5:30 p.m., CBSSN | | vs. Vanderbilt Basketball Hall of Fame Showcase | W 78–70 | 8–4 | Talking Stick Resort Arena Phoenix, AZ |
| December 22, 2019* 2:00 p.m., NBCSC | | Davidson | L 56–59 | 8–5 | Joseph J. Gentile Arena (3,012) Chicago, IL |
| Missouri Valley regular season ||||||
| December 30, 2019 7:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | at Valparaiso | W 66–63 | 9–5 (1–0) | Athletics-Recreation Center (4,364) Valparaiso, IN |
| January 4, 2020 7:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | Missouri State | W 62–58 | 10–5 (2–0) | Joseph J. Gentile Arena (2,795) Chicago, IL |
| January 7, 2020 8:00 p.m., CBSSN | | at Drake | L 62–65 | 10–6 (2–1) | Knapp Center (3,163) Des Moines, IA |
| January 11, 2020 3:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | Evansville | W 78–44 | 11–6 (3–1) | Joseph J. Gentile Arena (3,033) Chicago, IL |
| January 16, 2020 7:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | Southern Illinois | W 64–48 | 12–6 (4–1) | Joseph J. Gentile Arena (3,008) Chicago, IL |
| January 19, 2020 3:00 p.m., ESPNU | | at Illinois State | W 62–50 | 13–6 (5–1) | Redbird Arena (5,171) Normal, IL |
| January 22, 2020 7:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | Indiana State | W 75–55 | 14–6 (6–1) | Joseph J. Gentile Arena (2,661) Chicago, IL |
| January 26, 2020 3:00 p.m., ESPNU | | at Northern Iowa | L 62–67 $^{OT}$ | 14–7 (6–2) | McLeod Center (5,145) Cedar Falls, IA |
| January 29, 2020 7:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | at Southern Illinois | L 63–68 | 14–8 (6–3) | Banterra Center (4,912) Carbondale, IL |
| February 1, 2020 7:00 p.m., ESPN2 | | Bradley | W 62–51 | 15–8 (7–3) | Joseph J. Gentile Arena (4,963) Chicago, IL |
| February 5, 2020 5:00 p.m., CBSSN | | at Indiana State | L 39–68 | 15–9 (7–4) | Hulman Center (4,063) Terre Haute, IN |
| February 9, 2020 3:00 p.m., ESPNU | | Valparaiso | W 70–68 | 16–9 (8–4) | Joseph J. Gentile Arena (4,622) Chicago, IL |
| February 12, 2020 6:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | at Evansville | W 73–66 | 17–9 (9–4) | Ford Center (4,272) Evansville, IN |
| February 15, 2020 7:00 p.m., ESPN2 | | Northern Iowa | W 82–73 $^{OT}$ | 18–9 (10–4) | Joseph J. Gentile Arena (4,963) Chicago, IL |
| February 19, 2020 7:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | Illinois State | W 84–69 | 19–9 (11–4) | Joseph J. Gentile Arena (3,105) Chicago, IL |
| February 22, 2020 2:30 p.m., CBSSN | | at Missouri State | L 62–74 | 19–10 (11–5) | JQH Arena (4,251) Springfield, MO |
| February 25, 2020 7:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | Drake | W 64–60 | 20–10 (12–5) | Joseph J. Gentile Arena (3,358) Chicago, IL |
| February 29, 2020 6:00 p.m., ESPN3 | | at Bradley | W 67–66 | 21–10 (13–5) | Carver Arena (8,558) Peoria, IL |
| Missouri Valley tournament ||||||
| March 6, 2020 6:05 p.m., ESPN+ | (2) | vs. (7) Valparaiso Quarterfinals | L 73–74 $^{OT}$ | 21–11 | Enterprise Center (6,521) St. Louis, MO |
| *Non-conference game. $^#$Rankings from AP poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. All times are in Central. ||||||
Source: