Here we go again: Brother vs. Brother, Vol. 2, No. 2

(2/26/03)

Will Thursday, Feb. 27, 2003 be the final time that Loyola’s David Bailey goes up against his brother, UIC’s Martell Bailey?

Unless they meet in the Horizon League championship game again, this renewal of the rivalry at the Gentile Center will be the final chapter of the battle of the brothers—and what a chapter it should be.

UIC enters the game at 18-7 overall and 10-4 in the conference, after three straight victories over IPFW, Cleveland State and Bowling Green.

Loyola (14-14, 9-6) presents a much tougher challenge than the last three Flame opponents. The Ramblers have won five in row, including home victories over Butler and Detroit. The Ramblers are also 9-1 on the year at home with just a one-point loss to Wisconsin-Milwaukee ruining a perfect slate.

The Ramblers are led by, of course, David Bailey, the Horizon League’s Preseason Player of the Year. He averages 17.8 points and 5.2 assists per game. For Loyola to defend its homecourt, Bailey must not try to win the game by himself—he needs to trust teammates.

Two of his faithful teammates are players that should likely land on the league’s All-Newcomer Team. Forwards Paul McMillan and Demetrius Williams look to control the paint and the glass. McMillan is especially deadly whether he’s close to the basket or shooting from 15 feet out. He is averaging 14.6 points per game and leading the league in rebounds at 9.0 per game. McMillan is the Newcomer of the Year hands down.

A wildcard could be the play of Kevin Clancy, who had one of the best games of his career against the Flames on Jan. 22 at the Pavilion. When he looks for his shot, Clancy is as dangerous as any perimeter shooter in the conference.

Freshman guard Terrance Whiters is also a wildcard, because he missed the first meeting of the season.

Louis Smith and Corey Minnifield are up-and-down players, but if both come into Thursday’s game emotionally charged, the Ramblers will be tough to beat.

The Flames usually are juiced up when they come to the Gentile Center. Cedrick Banks had a career game there last year, putting up 32 points. Armond Williams had 30 points and 15 rebounds against Loyola at the Pavilion earlier this year, and outworked Loyola’s post men.

For the Flames to be successful this time, however, they need Kyle Kickert and Joe Scott to be on top of their games.

A win ensures UIC a third-place finish in the league and a first-round bye in the Horizon League tournament. Even if Loyola wins, the Flames can still get the bye with a victory Saturday over Youngstown State.

The game starts at 7 p.m. with radio broadcasts on ESPN Radio 1000 and Loyola’s radio home, WYLL-AM 1160.

HORIZON SCENARIOS: UIC virtually has clinched the No. 3 seed for the upcoming Horizon League tournament. The Flames need only a victory in their final two games or a Butler loss to Wisconsin-Milwaukee on Saturday.

For Loyola to get the No. 3 spot, it would need to beat UIC and hope for Butler to beat Milwaukee on Saturday and the Flames to lose at home to Youngstown State.

If Milwaukee beats Butler, the Panthers would win the conference title, giving UIC the final tiebreaker advantage in that the Flames beat UWM once, while the Ramblers were swept by the Panthers.

If Butler wins and UIC loses to YSU, Loyola wins the tiebreaker, because it split with Butler and the Flames got swept by the Bulldogs.

MOST LIKELY TOURNAMENT BRACKET: Assuming all the favorites win out, here are the seeds and match-ups going into next week’s Horizon tournament:

1. Butler; 2. Wisconsin-Milwaukee; 3. UIC; 4. Loyola; 5. Detroit; 6. Wisconsin-Green Bay (would win three-way tiebreaker with WSU and YSU); 7. Wright State; 8. Youngstown State; 9. Cleveland State.

TUESDAY GAMES:

#9 Cleveland State at #4 Loyola

#8 Youngstown State at #5 Detroit

#7 Wright State at #6 Wisconsin-Green Bay

FRIDAY SECOND ROUND (at Milwaukee):

CSU-Loyola winner vs. YSU-Detroit winner, 5 p.m.

WSU-UWGB winner vs. #3 UIC, 7:30 p.m.

SATURDAY SECOND ROUND (at Milwaukee):

CSU-Loyola-YSU-Detroit winner vs. #1 Butler, 5 p.m.

WSU-UWGB-UIC winner vs. #2 UWM, 7:30 p.m.