Loyola Draws Evansville from ESPN Bracket Buster Pool

1/31/2005

Jim Whitesell's Ramblers will travel to Evansville on Feb. 19

CHICAGO (January 31, 2005) – Loyola University Chicago will travel to Evansville (10-9, 4-7 Missouri Valley) for showdown on Saturday, Feb. 19 in one of the games resulting from the ESPN Bracket Buster Saturday pool. Game time is 7:05 p.m. The Ramblers and Purple Aces are former conference foes and have not met since Feb. 16, 1994.

The Horizon League and the Western Athletic Conference were the only two conferences whose entire membership was included in this year’s ESPN Bracket Buster selection pool, which features 64 teams representing 13 conferences.

Loyola and Evansville have met on 34 previous occasions, with the Purple Aces holding a 20-14 edge in the series. Loyola and Evansville were charter members of the then Midwestern City Conference, which became the Midwestern Collegiate Conference before receiving its current moniker of Horizon League. The two schools were conference foes from 1979-94.

A year ago, Loyola traveled to Illinois State in its first-ever game as part of the ESPN Bracket Buster selection pool. The Ramblers are 6-14 overall and 4-6 in the Horizon League, but have won two of their last three contests. Loyola continues a three-game road swing when it travels to Butler on Feb. 3.