BRONCO BASKETBALL HEADS TO LOYOLA FRIDAY

At 1-2 the Broncos come into the game much more experienced than than the Loyola Ramblers. The Broncos have faced off against Pacific, Pepperdine and number 11 Oregon while Loyola played Leymoyne and Eastern Illinois en route to a perfect 2-0 record.

The game is the 91st meeting between Western Michigan and Loyola as Loyola holds a 54-36 edge in the series.

Coming off a hard fought loss to the number 11 ranked team in the country the Broncos should come out with alot of confidence that they can compete with anyone.

Although they finished 1-2 in Eugene they were able to prove that they may just be what everyone picked them to be this season. Joe Reitz and David Kool turned up the heat in games 2 and 3 in Oregon and Andre Ricks and Derek Drews seem to be more comfortable in their own skin.

This is certainly a team to keep it's eye on for a MAC Championship this season as well as a possible 2nd round run into the NCAA tournament.

The style that the Broncos play on defense as well as the ability to hit the three from anywhere with David Kool, Derek Drews and Andre Ricks allows them to come back from any deficit along with playing with anyone in the country.

The defense in 2004 may have been more tenacious than this one will be but the offense was centered around Mike Williams and Ben Reed and this is one has the ability to shift to at least 4 players.

That simple fact should be enough to keep the Broncos in every game this season as well as winning most of their games.

As a Bronco fan you would have to be excited about the current state of this team and with Steve Hawkins recruiting class it only gets better from here.

BREAKDOWN:

For Loyola:

The Ramblers feature five players averaging double figures in scoring so far this season.

Junior J.R. Blount leads the pack with 18 points a game followed by Ross Forman with 14, Leon Young with 13, Tracy Robinson with 10 and Sophomore Andy Polka with 10.

In order to secure the win on the road the Broncos are going to have to play stronag against all of them. It is never easy to defend that many talented scorers on one team but in order to do it the Broncos may have to incorporate their strong running game to capitalize on a team that takes alot of jump shots.

For WMU:

The Broncos will need to rely on some of their speed in Andre Ricks, Donald Lawson and Mark Mclemore to hustle down the court for quick scores against Loyola.

As will be the case for most of the season WMU needs David Kool to take the reigns as the Broncos top scorer. Many of the Broncos could play on a bunch of teams throughout the country but it is Kool who provides the Big Ten scoring for a MAC team.

As Kool controls the offense as well as his scoring the Broncos will go. How far...depends on how much support the Broncos get from their deep bench.