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Following a rough go of things in the non-conference portion of their schedule, Loyola Chicago begins Missouri Valley play Wednesday against Indiana State.
The game is scheduled to start at 9 p.m. ET. While it won’t be broadcast nationally on television anywhere in the US, you can still watch a live stream of the game on your computer, phone or streaming device via ESPN+, the new digital streaming service from ESPN that has exclusive coverage to dozens of college basketball games–and several other sports–every week.
You can sign up for a free 7-day trial of ESPN+ right here, and you can then watch a live stream of the game on your computer via ESPN.com, or on your phone, tablet or streaming device via the ESPN app.
If you can’t watch live, all games–including Loyola vs Indiana St–that are streamed on ESPN+ are also available to be watched afterwards on-demand via ESPN.com or the ESPN app.
Indiana State vs Loyola Chicago Preview
In the wake of their run to the 2018 Final Four, the Ramblers have stumbled out of the gate to a 7-6 record. They most recently fell to the St. Joseph’s Hawks on a last-second three-pointer from junior guard Lamarr Kimble.
“We ran the same play. [Hawks coach Phil Martelli] gave us the play during a timeout, they fouled us, and we ran the same exact play,” Kimble said following his team’s 45-42 victory, according to The Philadelphia Inquirer.
“They just happened to take [Hawks forward Charlie Brown] away and the guys trusted me. [Loyola] kept challenging us, and I was able to succeed.”
The Ramblers have been playing without sophomore guard Lucas Williamson, who broke his hand in a 79-65 loss to Nevada on November 27. He’s expected back in January.
“This is a tough blow for Lucas and for the team, but [it] is a great opportunity for someone to step up like Lucas himself did last year when Ben [Richardson] was injured,” head coach Porter Moser said in a statement.
Guard Ben Richardson, a senior last season, missed 10 games with a broken hand sustained in mid-November. Williamson made three starts and scored in double figures three times during that stretch.
“Last year it ended up being kind of a good thing for us when Ben went out,” senior guard Clayton Custer said after defeating UIC, according to the Loyola Phoenix. “It got guys more minutes and at the end of the year, we had ‘strength in numbers,’ as coach says. I think in the long run, this could be a good thing, even though obviously we’re upset that Lucas isn’t out there with us.”
This year, Williamson is fourth on the team in points per game (8.9), second in assists per game (2.9), and second in threes per game (1.6) while shooting 37.9 percent from deep.
The Sycamores opened their season 5-1, but they’ve dropped three of their last six. They reached the finals of the Diamond Head Classic in Honolulu before falling to TCU on Christmas.
“Practices have been really good,” sophomore guard Clayton Hughes said, according to the Tribune-Star. “We got a little taste of what winning a championship can be like and everyone enjoyed that. We wanted to work harder and fix the things that kept us from winning the championship in Hawaii so we can win the next one in the conference tournament.”
ISU head coach Greg Lansing told the paper that the Ramblers are better than their record would indicate.
“With the success they had last year? They weren’t going to sneak up on anybody, that’s for sure,” Lansing said. “They played a difficult schedule and dealt with injuries. I think their shooting right now is an aberration. They look like the same, tough, Porter Moser-coached team that’s not going to beat themselves.”