If the Loyola men?s basketball team had any chance of looking past its O?Reilly?s ESPNU BracketBuster game today against UC-Davis, Coach Jimmy Patsos made sure it didn?t happen.
“They run the Princeton offense and we will have to prepare for that,” Patsos said referring to the Aggies? slow, methodical attack. “It?s an emotional game: anybody can beat anybody.”
The Big West Conference?s Aggies (8-17) visit Reitz Arena this afternoon at 1 for Senior Day as part of a promotional weekend for mid-major programs hosted by ESPN. But with an opponent without much name recognition, it would be easy to envision the Greyhounds (16-12, 11-5) looking past UC-Davis and focusing on their final two conference games.
Loyola joined three other teams in a tie for first place with a 73-68 win over Rider (18-9, 11-5) on Monday night. Siena (16-10, 11-5) and Niagara (17-8, 11-5) are the other teams atop the league standings and vying for the conference?s regular season title. Finishing in first place guarantees a team ? at worst ? an automatic bid in the National Invitation Tournament, regardless of how they finish in next month?s conference tournament at the Times Union Center in Albany, N.Y.
But Patsos pointed out after his team?s latest victory, the Greyhounds would be prepared to deal with UC-Davis and its disciplend offense. The Princeton offense can cause trouble for teams because it is based on extensive screening, cutting and ball control.
The Greyhounds will look to senior guard Gerald Brown and senior forward Michael Tuck. Brown (18.9 ppg, 5 rpg) had 16 points and four assists on Monday night, with Tuck (11.5 ppg, 7.2 rpg) finishing with a team-high 20 points and eight rebounds.
The Aggies come to Evergreen having lost 10 of their past 11 games and eight straight overall. They rely on guards Vince Oliver (12.1 ppg, 3.1 rpg) and Shane Hanson (10.6 ppg, 4.1 rpg).
If the Greyhounds open the game slowly, Brown said he knows what to do.
“Jimmy was preaching to me about leaders going hard,” he said. “If you do that, the rest of the team will follow.”
