Loyola freshman guard Brian Rudolph said the Greyhounds are more confident than cocky heading to Albany, N.Y., to play conference-leading Siena this afternoon after blowing out the preseason favorites, 85-56, in Baltimore last month.
“We have been talking about stopping their key guys and playing how we did last time we played them,” he said. “We didn?t play perfect, but we played real high.”
In the team?s last meeting at Reitz Arena on Jan. 24, the Greyhounds raced out to a 36-23 lead at intermission and never looked back in one of their most dominating performances of the season. Loyola (14-12, 9-5 Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference) has won seven of its past nine games, but dropped two of its past three, both close losses to Niagara (15-8, 9-5). If the Greyhounds are to escape Times Union Center with a win today at 1 p.m., they must control the tempo like they did the first time against Siena (16-8, 11-3).
The Greyhounds also are looking for a good showing at the Times Union Center, which has a capacity more thanthree times than that of Reitz Arena, before returning for the MAAC Tournament next month.
The play of Brian Rudolph has been key for the Greyhounds, as they improved to 12-6 with the 5-foot-11, 170-pounder in the starting lineup. The freshman is averaging 6.5 points, 3.8 assists and 2.6 rebounds per game, but has provided invaluable speed and penetration to the Greyhounds.
And the rest of the league has noticed.
Rudolph was named the conference?s Rookie of the Week for the second straight time and fourth week overall, tied for tops in the conference.
“I?m feeling real good right now,” Rudolph said. “I feel like I am getting more experience. At first it was real quick, but now I?m starting to pick it up a lot faster.”
Loyola is two games back of the Saints, who are tied with Rider (18-7, 11-3) for the best record in the league, but if the Greyhounds win today, they can take a big step toward the league lead when they host the Broncos on Monday night at 7 at Reitz Arena. The winner of the MAAC?s regular season title is guaranteed ? at worst ? a berth in the National Invitation Tournament. Rider beat Loyola, 81-67 in Lawrenceville, N.J., on Jan. 13.
“We talked about just getting focused on trying to win the league,” senior forward Michael Tuck said. “We were right there and gave up a few easy games. If we pull out a few big wins near the end it will really help our playoff push.”
