The rivalry, the rematch comes to the Pavilion Wednesday

(1/21/03)

It was the greatest championship game in the history of the MCC/Horizon League.

The Flames of UIC nipped the Ramblers of Loyola 76-75 in overtime of a classic basketball game on Tuesday night, March 5, 2002 at Cleveland State’s Convocation Center.

That alone made it a great game, but there were more storylines and plot twists than a War and Peace-sized novel:

Two brothers played on opposite teams, fighting for one NCAA tournament berth-—senior David Bailey (pictured, in gold) of the Ramblers and junior Martell Bailey (in black) of the Flames.

A high school teammate of the brothers played alongside the younger brother—Cedrick Banks, who also played at Westinghouse, is Martell’s teammate at UIC.

Both teams were from the city of Chicago, separated only by about 12 miles of elevated track and a downtown transfer.

Both coaches played in the Final Four—Loyola’s Larry Farmer at UCLA and UIC’s Jimmy Collins at New Mexico State.

Who can forget Martell Bailey stealing his brother’s errant pass and scoring an easy layup for the Flames?

Or how about the memories of 5-foot-8-inch David Bailey sneaking through the slightest crevice in the Flames’ defense and scoring on a variety of floaters and rainbow shots?

Who can forget the emergence of the “Sheriff,” UIC’s beefy forward Kyle Kickert, in front of a national audience?

How about Loyola’s Ryan Blankson setting a championship-game record with 16 rebounds and seemingly owning the glass?

In the end, Banks hit the game-winning shot with five seconds left in overtime to lift the Flames to their first-ever conference tournament title and second NCAA berth, while breaking the hearts of the Loyola faithful, who had not seen their Ramblers in the “Big Dance” since a Sweet 16 appearance in 1985.

Wednesday night, Loyola travels South from its North-shore campus to the near to take on the Flames in the rematch at the UIC Pavilion.

The game is a big deal for the two schools. Of all the games on either team’s schedule, all the diehards and the casual fans come out to see Loyola against UIC. UIC athletic director Jim Schmidt expects at least 6,000 fans at the Pavilion with a good deal of the upper deck filled.

Yes, the game is a big deal for just about anyone, but the key players are downplaying the significance of the rivalry. Each match-up in the series has been similar to a family reunion.

“It’s an opportunity to get back at Martell,” David Bailey said. “But I don’t look at it as Bailey versus Bailey, it’s Loyola versus UIC. I don’t want to get into the hype.”

In fact, Loyola players David Bailey, Demetrius Williams, Corey Minnifield and twins Anthony and Antoine Smith spent time with Flames players at the UIC dorm Monday night. David Bailey played some NCAA March Madness on Playstation 2, while UIC’s Banks took his mind off the anticipated game by playing chess with members of the women’s basketball team.

Both brothers have watched the tape of last year’s title game numerous times and treat it as a learning experience.

“We watched it before, but it’s gone,” Martell said. “We’re just looking forward to playing this year.”

“I’ve watched the tape,” David added. “I just tried to see the mistakes I made, and try to make myself a better player.”

Most of the players from both schools played together in a league last summer at the Illinois Institute of Technology in Bronzeville.

“It’s about family, it’s about friendship, it’s about respect,” Farmer said.

The Flames have dominated the series at the Pavilion, winning all eight games since UIC joined the conference in 1994-95. UIC comes into the contest in second place at 10-4 overall and 4-1 in the league, one game behind Butler. The Flames won their third straight on Saturday with a 77-74 road victory over Detroit.

“Even after the Detroit game, there won’t be a letdown,” UIC coach Jimmy Collins said. “We just have to execute the way we think we can and get back on transition [defense].”

Loyola, meanwhile, enters play in fourth place at 8-11 overall and 4-3 in the league. The Ramblers are coming off a solid 77-65 victory over Cleveland State Saturday at the Gentile Center. The record is not indicative of Loyola’s effort as only six of its 19 games have come at home.

“We’ve played a tough schedule,” Farmer said. “I wanted our kids to be mentally tough. I really wanted to toughen up my team.”

Banks is arguably the top player in the Horizon League. After sitting out the first four games of the season regaining academic eligibility, the 6-foot-2-inch Banks has come out with a purpose, averaging 26.7 points and 7.3 rebounds in his last three games. The Flames are 8-2 since Banks returned to the line-up.

Martell Bailey is the conference’s top point guard, doling out 7.9 per game, which ranks second nationally. He has not had a game with fewer than six assists all season.

David Bailey leads the Ramblers, although the he has struggled at times this season. He ranks in the top five in the league in scoring (17.1) and assists (5.1). After shooting 1-of-14 from the field with three points at Detroit last Thursday, David Bailey exploded for 29 points, eight assists and seven rebounds against Cleveland State.

“I compare David to an amoeba,” Collins said. “He can seemingly split in half and then join together at the basket.”

Junior forward Paul McMillan is also a force for the Ramblers with eight point-rebound double-doubles on the season. He could give the Flames some of the inside headaches that Blankson did last year.

Forwards Corey Minnifield and Demetrius Williams also add quality to the Loyola frontcourt. When Minnifield is on his game, he can help win a game from the inside and from beyond the three-point arc. Thus, the defense of UIC's Armond Williams will be key.

Speaking of the three-point arc, UIC loves to fire up the threes, with guard Jonathan Schneiderman, forward Aaron Carr and Banks all taking turns from long range. The Flames shoot 38 percent from three-point range.

Most of the spectators at the Pavilion will have rooting interest in one of the teams, but one very interested observer won’t choose.

“I’m just going to be neutral,” said Linda Riley, mother of the Bailey brothers. “I’m just going to try and relax.”