# 2018–19 Loyola Ramblers men's basketball team

The 2018–19 Loyola Ramblers men's basketball team represented Loyola University Chicago during the 2018–19 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Ramblers, led by seventh-year head coach Porter Moser, played their home games at the Joseph J. Gentile Arena in Chicago, Illinois. They were members of the Missouri Valley Conference. They finished the 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.

## Previous season

The Ramblers finished the 2017–18 season 32–6, 15–3 in MVC play with a win against Evansville on February 18, 2018, Loyola clinched at least a share of its first-ever Missouri Valley Conference regular season championship. With a win over Southern Illinois on February 21, the Ramblers clinched the outright MVC championship. The Ramblers defeated Northern Iowa, Bradley, and Illinois State to win the MVC tournament. As a result, the Ramblers received the conference's automatic bid to the NCAA tournament. As the No. 11 seed in the South Region, they upset No. 6-seeded Miami (FL) on a last second three-pointer. In the Second Round, they defeated No. 3-seeded Tennessee to earn the school's first trip to the Sweet Sixteen since 1985. They then defeated Nevada in the Sweet Sixteen and Kansas State in the Elite Eight to advance to the Final Four for the first time since 1963. Their Cinderella run ended with loss to Michigan in the national semifinal.

## Offseason
### Departures

| Name | Number | Pos. | Height | Weight | Year | Hometown | Reason for departure |
| Donte Ingram | 0 | G/F | 6'6" | 215 | Senior | Chicago, IL | Graduated |
| Adarius Avery | 10 | G | 6'5" | 190 | Junior | Arlington, TN | Graduate transferred to Central Oklahoma |
| Ben Richardson | 14 | G | 6'3" | 195 | Senior | Overland Park, KS | Graduated/signed to play professional in Poland with MKS Dąbrowa Górnicza |
| Cameron Satterwhite | 23 | G | 6'4" | 175 | Sophomore | Gilbert, AZ | Transferred to Northern Arizona |
| Aundre Jackson | 24 | F | 6'5" | 230 | Senior | Kennedale, TX | Graduated/signed to play professional in Iceland with Skallagrímur |
| Carson Shanks | 32 | C | 7'0" | 245 | RS Senior | Prior Lake, MN | Graduated |
| Nick Dinardi | 44 | F | 6'7" | 225 | Senior | Palos Park, IL | Walk-on; graduated |

### Incoming transfers

| Name | Number | Pos. | Height | Weight | Year | Hometown | Previous School |
| Tate Hall | 24 | G | 6'6" | 200 | Junior | Greenfield, IN | Transferred from Indianapolis. Under NCAA transfer rules, Hall will have to sit out for the 2018–19 season. Will have two years of remaining eligibility. |

### 2018 recruiting class

US college sports recruiting information for high school athletes :
| Name | Hometown | High school / college | Height | Weight | Commit date |
| Franklin Aguananne #19 C | Abuja, Nigeria | La Lumiere School | 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) | 210 lb (95 kg) | Sep 15, 2017 |
| Recruiting star ratings: Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: ESPN: ESPN grade: 80 ||||||
| Cooper Kaifes SG | Shawnee, KS | Mill Valley High School | 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) | 190 lb (86 kg) | Nov 15, 2017 |
| Recruiting star ratings: Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: ESPN: N/A ESPN grade: NR ||||||
| Isaiah Bujdoso PG | Hamilton, ON | Sunrise Christian Academy | 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) | 180 lb (82 kg) | Nov 8, 2017 |
| Recruiting star ratings: Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: ESPN: N/A ESPN grade: NR ||||||
| Overall recruiting rankings: Scout: #93 Rivals: #58 247Sports: #103 ||||||
| 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: "2018 Team Ranking". Rivals.com. ||||||

### 2019 recruiting class

US college sports recruiting information for 2019 recruits :
| Name | Hometown | High school / college | Height | Weight | Commit date |
| Paxson Wojcik SG | La Lumiere, IN | La Lumiere School | 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) | 170 lb (77 kg) | Jun 24, 2018 |
| Recruiting star ratings: Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: ESPN: N/A ESPN grade: NR |||||||
| Thomas Welch PF | Naperville, IL | Naperville North High School | 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) | 195 lb (88 kg) | Aug 9, 2018 |
| Recruiting star ratings: Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: ESPN: N/A ESPN grade: NR |||||||
| Marquise Kennedy PG | Chicago, IL | Brother Rice High School | 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) | 165 lb (75 kg) | Sep 17, 2018 |
| Recruiting star ratings: Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: ESPN: N/A ESPN grade: NR |||||||
| Overall recruiting rankings: Scout: #93 Rivals: #58 247Sports: #103 |||||||
| 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 Team Ranking". Rivals.com. |||||||

## Schedule and results

| Date time, TV | Rank$^#$ | Opponent$^#$ | Result | Record | Site (attendance) city, state |
| Exhibition ||||||
| Oct 23, 2018* 7:00 pm | | Winona State | W 82–52 | | Joseph J. Gentile Arena (2,882) Chicago, IL |
| Non-conference regular season ||||||
| Nov 6, 2018* 8:00 pm, NBCSCH | | UMKC | W 76–45 | 1–0 | Joseph J. Gentile Arena Chicago, IL |
| Nov 9, 2018* 7:00 pm, NBCSCH | | Furman | L 58–60 | 2-0 | Joseph J. Gentile Arena Chicago, IL |
| Nov 14, 2018* 7:00 pm, ESPN+ | | Niagara Fort Myers Tip Off | W 75–62 | 3-0 | Joseph J. Gentile Arena Chicago, IL |
| Nov 16, 2018* 7:00 pm, ESPN+ | | Grambling State Fort Myers Tip Off | W 80–64 | 4-0 | Joseph J. Gentile Arena Chicago, IL |
| Nov 19, 2018* 5:30 pm, FS1 | | vs. Richmond Fort Myers Tip-Off semifinals | W 82–66 | 5-0 | Suncoast Credit Union Arena Fort Myers, FL |
| Nov 21, 2018* 8:30 pm, FS1 | | vs. Boston College Fort Myers Tip-Off championship | L 66-78 | 5-1 | Suncoast Credit Union Arena Fort Myers, FL |
| Nov 27, 2018* 7:00 pm, ESPNews | | No. 5 Nevada MW–MVC Challenge | L 65–79 | 5-2 | Joseph J. Gentile Arena Chicago, IL |
| Dec 1, 2018* 3:00 pm, NBCSCH | | at UIC | W 73–64 | 5–3 | Credit Union 1 Arena (3,539) Chicago, IL |
| Dec 5, 2018* 8:00 pm, NBCSCH | | Ball State | L 69–75 | 5–4 | Joseph J. Gentile Arena (2,831) Chicago, IL |
| Dec 8, 2018* 3:00 pm, BTN | | vs. No. 23 Maryland Baltimore Showcase | L 41–55 | 5–5 | Royal Farms Arena (3,640) Baltimore, MD |
| Dec 16, 2018* 3:00 pm, ESPN+ | | Norfolk State | W 80–49 | 6–5 | Joseph J. Gentile Arena (3,412) Chicago, IL |
| Dec 18, 2018* 7:00 pm, ESPN+ | | Benedictine | W 75–47 | 7–5 | Joseph J. Gentile Arena (2,139) Chicago, IL |
| Dec 22, 2018* 4:00 pm, CBSSN | | vs. Saint Joseph's The Palestra Showcase | L 42–45 | 7–6 | Palestra (5,735) Philadelphia, PA |
| Missouri Valley regular season ||||||
| Jan 2, 2019 8:00 pm, NBCSCH | | Indiana State | W 79–44 | 8–6 (1–0) | Joseph J. Gentile Arena (3,102) Chicago, IL |
| Jan 5, 2019 2:00 pm, ESPN+ | | at Drake | W 85-74 | 9–6 (2–0) | Knapp Center (4,279) Des Moines, IA |
| Jan 8, 2019 7:00 pm, CBSSN | | at Evansville | L 48–67 | 9–7 (2–1) | Ford Center (5,049) Evansville, IN |
| Jan 12, 2019 1:00 pm, ESPN2 | | Illinois State | W 67–64 | 10–7 (3–1) | Joseph J. Gentile Arena (4,513) Chicago, IL |
| Jan 15, 2019 7:00 pm, NBCSCH | | Valparaiso | W 71–54 | 11–7 (4–1) | Joseph J. Gentile Arena (3,412) Chicago, IL |
| Jan 19, 2019 1:00 pm, ESPNU | | at Indiana State | W 75–67 | 12–7 (5–1) | Hulman Center (10,200) Terre Haute, IN |
| Jan 23, 2019 8:00 pm, CBSSN | | at Missouri State | L 35–70 | 12–8 (5–2) | JQH Arena (4,863) Springfield, MO |
| Jan 27, 2019 3:00 pm, CBSSN | | Southern Illinois | W 75–50 | 13–8 (6–2) | Joseph J. Gentile Arena (4,712) Chicago, IL |
| Jan 30, 2019 6:00 pm, NBCSCH+ | | Northern Iowa | W 61–60 | 14–8 (7–2) | Joseph J. Gentile Arena (3,011) Chicago, IL |
| Feb 2, 2019 9:00 pm, ESPN2 | | at Illinois State | L 57–65 | 14–9 (7–3) | Redbird Arena (8,107) Normal, IL |
| Feb 5, 2019 6:00 pm, CBSSN | | Drake | W 86–64 | 15–9 (8–3) | Joseph J. Gentile Arena (3,611) Chicago, IL |
| Feb 10, 2019 3:00 pm, ESPNU | | at Valparaiso | W 56–51 | 16–9 (9–3) | Athletics–Recreation Center (5,148) Valparaiso, IN |
| Feb 13, 2019 7:00 pm, NBCSCH | | at Bradley | L 54–61 | 16–10 (9–4) | Carver Arena (5,490) Peoria, IL |
| Feb 17, 2019 3:00 pm, ESPNU/ESPN3 | | Missouri State | L 61–65 | 16–11 (9–5) | Joseph J. Gentile Arena (4,722) Chicago, IL |
| Feb 20, 2019 6:00 pm, NBCSCH | | Evansville | W 70–58 | 17–11 (10–5) | Joseph J. Gentile Arena Chicago, IL |
| Feb 24, 2019 3:00 pm, ESPNU | | at Southern Illinois | L 53–63 | 17–12 (10–6) | SIU Arena Carbondale, IL |
| Feb 27, 2019 7:00 pm, ESPN+/ESPN3 | | at Northern Iowa | W 56–55 | 18–12 (11–6) | McLeod Center Cedar Falls, IA |
| Mar 2, 2019 5:00 pm, ESPN2 | | Bradley | W 81–68 | 19–12 (12–6) | Joseph J. Gentile Arena Chicago, IL |
| Missouri Valley tournament ||||||
| Mar 8, 2019 12:00 pm, NBCSCH | (1) | vs. (9) Valparaiso Quarterfinals | W 67–54 | 20–12 | Enterprise Center St. Louis, MO |
| Mar 9, 2019 2:30 pm, CBSSN | (1) | vs. (5) Bradley Semifinals | L 51–53 | 20–13 | Enterprise Center St. Louis, MO |
| NIT ||||||
| Mar 19, 2019* 8:00 pm, ESPNU | (7) | at (2) Creighton First round – TCU bracket | L 61–70 | 20–14 | CHI Health Center Omaha (5,755) Omaha, NE |
| *Non-conference game. $^#$Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. All times are in Central Time. ||||||
Source

## Rankings

Ranking movements Legend: RV = Received votes :
| | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | 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 | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | Not released |
| Coaches | RV | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |