DePaul basketball hosts the Loyola Maryland Greyhounds for their final non-conference game. The visitors come to the Wintrust Arena after suffering a 68-76 loss to the Hampton Pirates. Read more for a full DePaul vs Loyola Maryland prediction and preview.
The Blue Demons look to bounce back from a two-game losing streak.
Their most recent loss came against the Northwestern Wildcats. The final score for that game was 64-84.
The last time these two teams faced off was in the 2022-2023 season, where DePaul defeated the Greyhounds by a score of 72-66. This will be the second time both teams will face each other on the court.
General Information:
Teams: DePaul (8-4, 0-2) and Loyola Maryland (5-5)
Tip-Off: 1 p.m. CST (2 p.m. EST)
Watch: FS1
Listen: Radio DePaul Sports & Entertainment (RDSE)
Latest on Loyola Maryland Basketball:
The Greyhounds travel to Chicago after a 68-76 defeat to the Hampton Pirates. With their 5-5 record, the team stands in third place in the Patriot League Conference. They only stand behind the American University Eagles (6-6) and Holy Cross Crusaders (7-5).
Milos Ilic led the team in scoring with 22 points and also led the team in rebounds with 8. He shot 9-14 (64.3%) from the field and 3-5 (60%) at the free throw line.
Another key contributor was Jordan Stiemke, who scored 12 points and 5 rebounds coming off the bench. In the loss, he shot 4-11 (36.3%) overall, 2-6 (33.3%) from beyond the arc, and 2-2 (100%) from the charity strike.
As a team, Loyola Maryland shot a concerningly low 13-21 (61.9%) in free throws. Stiemke (2-2) and Jacob Theodosiou (5-6) are the best free-throw shooters. This is a slight dip from their team average of 75.1%, which is 76th in the nation.
Another key stat for the team is their high amount of turnovers. Against Hampton, the Greyhounds committed 14 turnovers to their opponents’ 9. This resulted in the Pirates scoring 18 points off of turnovers.
The team is coached by Josh Loeffler, who is in his first season as the Greyhounds head coach. He previously served as an assistant at Cincinnati and was the head coach for Johns Hopkins University, where he recorded a 114-27 record with the team.
Latest on DePaul basketball:
Against the Wildcats, DePaul struggled throughout the game.
The team was led by Jacob Meyer, who scored 18 points and 3 rebounds. He shot 6-11 (54.5%) overall and 4-7 (57.1%) from long range. He also shot 2-2 (100%) from the free-throw line.
The team also saw solid contributions from other players such as Conor Enright who scored 12 points, 6 assists, and 7 rebounds against Northwestern. He did, however, continue his string of multiple turnovers, committing 5 in the defeat.
David Skogman recorded a double-double, with 11 points and 10 rebounds against the Wildcats. He shot 4-8 (50%) from the field, 2-4 (50%) from long range, and 1-2 (50%) from the charity strike.
The Blue Demons committed a high volume of turnovers, like their upcoming opponents. Against the Wildcats, DePaul committed 18 turnovers to their 8. This resulted in Northwestern scoring 25 points off of turnovers. The Blue Demons only scored 6 points off of turnovers.
Northwestern also aggressively attacked their visitors in the paint, outscoring them 44-16 in that category.
DePaul vs Loyola Maryland prediction: Blue Demons by 12
This game gives DePaul one last chance to get a win, and some momentum before they return to their conference slate. This team performs extremely well at the Wintrust Arena, leaving home games with an 8-1 record. Although, the Greyhounds are one of the better teams in the Patriot League on the road, with a 3-3 record in away games.
This game will come down to two things. The first is can the Blue Demons limit their turnovers? Properly handling the ball will dictate how the offense will run throughout the game. The second is how the team can defend the paint. If they can control the baseline, they can force the Greyhounds to take shots from long range. Loyola Maryland currently is the worst three-point shooting team in the Patriot League, shooting 29.1% from beyond the arc. The Blue Demons, meanwhile, allow their opponents to shoot 30.2% from long range.
[…] their previous opponents, the Northwestern Wildcats, the team committed 18 turnovers. This time, they only committed 7 turnovers. That is a huge […]