Looking for Redemption at the Windy City Rivalry

CHICAGO -- Two weeks ago, UIC and Loyola were each 1-0 in Horizon League play, a combined 20-7 on the season and had beaten the likes of Mercer, Iona, Northwestern, Colorado State, Mississippi State and DePaul.

Loyola even upset preseason-favorite Valparaiso on the road to open the conference season while UIC picked up a home win against fourth-ranked Youngstown State. The two Chicago schools were on the verge of a major breakthrough and it felt reasonable to think the road to the Horizon League championship might go through the Windy City.

The past two weeks have not been kind.

Both teams come into tonight's Windy City Rivalry having lost three straight conference games and searching for a way to recapture that early season magic. After beating Valpo, the Ramblers promptly took a home loss to Youngstown State in the final seconds, fell at Green Bay and were beat again at home, this time by Wright State, in the final minutes. Across town, UIC has lost six of their last seven games, including being beaten at Cleveland State, taking a tough home loss to Valpo and then also falling at Green Bay after leading late.

But that's not to say all hope is lost. Loyola's loss to Wright State last week was by just one point, and the Flames were within five of Valparaiso at the final buzzer. And both teams have already bested 2011-12's win total -- last season, the Ramblers won just seven games, one in conference play; UIC won eight, including three in the Horizon League.

The truth is, despite the recent downturn, both of these programs are on the rise. And tonight's matchup promises to be a good one.

UIC owns a 30-18 advantage in the Windy City Rivalry, which dates back to 1986, but Loyola has won five of the last six. There have been six overtime games in the series and 15 of the contests have been decided by five points or fewer. The teams split last season, each winning at home.

Both teams are strong defensively. The Ramblers are allowing just 58.5 points per game, third-best in the Horizon League but bested by the Flame's second-best 58.2 ppg. UIC also boastes the conference's best defensive field goal percentage (38.9) and second-best 3-point field goal defense (29.4 percent).

Expect this to be a low-tempo, defensive matchup of inter-city conference rivals with both teams looking to prove that the past two weeks have been just a frustrating fluke.

"UIC is a team that, like us, has improved tremendously in all facets of the game," Loyola head coach Porter Moser said in a video preview of the matchup. "This [matchup] is always amplified because it is two programs within our city that are trying to, you know, climb back out. I think we're both searching for a win and I think you're going to see high intensity on both ends."

A win tonight would be huge for either team as both UIC and Loyola enter tough stretches of the Horizon League schedule. Two of the Flames' next three games are on the road at Detroit and at Wright State and the Ramblers next play on the road at Cleveland State before returning home for a matchup with the Titans.

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