DUBUQUE, Iowa (Duhawks.com) - With just four games remaining in the regular season, the Loras Men's Basketball team needs to find their winning habits as they currently sit in seventh place in the conference standings. Luther, at 4-6, currently owns the sixth and final bid into the conference tournament.
DUHAWKS HAPPY TO BE AT HOME AGAINST LUTHER ...Once again, the Duhawks are looking to end a string of poor performances against the Norse. In total, Loras has lost eight of the past ten matchups against Luther dating back to the 2010-2011 season. This matchup is key for the Duhawks because while Luther sits in 6th place in the standings, Loras falls into place at seventh. Playing at home will provide Loras a much needed breather following a dissappointing road stretch.
KEYS TO DEFEATING THE NORSE ...Coming into this week's matchup with Luther, the Norse fall into seventh place in scoring per game with just 67.4 points per game. While Loras is not much better at 70.3 per game, the lack of offense on the side of Luther will take some pressure off of the Duhawk defense. If Loras can shoot a better percentage from the field, it's nearly guarenteed that they will win due to their 6-1 record when leading in field goal percentage. Despite the statistics pointing in Loras' favor, the Norse are not a team that will keel over and accept defeat. Senior forward Jake Martin is currently on his hottest stretch of the season. Martin was just recently named to the D3Hoops.com team of the week following back-to-back double-doubles in victories over Simpson and Buena Vista. In these games Martin averaged 19 points and 13.5 rebounds per game, which would be good for tops in the conference if he sustained it over the course of the entire season. The senior was able to cap off his strong week with a game-winning shot to give Luther their upset victory over Buena Vista.
DEFENSE TURNS IT UP A NOTCH IN LOSS TO WARTBURG ...Despite losing by a final score of 64-63 against Wartburg this past weekend, the Duhawks will be coming into their game against Luther off their most impressive defensive performance in conference play. The 64 points allowed is the least Loras has allowed a conference opponent to score all season with their previous low being 67 against Wartburg a few weeks back. In total, Loras has held their opponents under 70 points just nine times this season. Out of those nine matchups, Loras holds a 5-4 record. If the Loras defense can hold Luther to less than 70 points they will have a strong chance of coming away with a victory. Strong defense coupled with a home game will improve any teams chances of coming away with a victory.
DUHAWKS IN SEARCH OF CONSISTENT SCORING ...In the previous six games, Loras has had four different players lead the scoring charge. While it is nice to see other players stepping up, Loras hasn't seen consistant scoring from most players this season. The Duhawks rely heavily on their seniors, but outside of
Nathaniel Smith, no one player has shown supreme consistancy. Junior
Mirko Grcic leads the team in overall scoring (14.5 ppg), but hasn't led the team in scoring in a game since January 14 against Simpson. Loras will need to find some consistancy to finish the season strong.
CRISS NOTCHES CAREER-HIGH …
Last week against Buena Vista University, sophomore Dominque Criss tallied a new career-high in points scored with 19. This mark breaks his personal best of 18 that he set earlier this season against Principia College. Criss' 8-of-11 shooting night was by far his best of the season, and the three shots he made from beyond the arc were also good for a season-high performance. Despite having not started a game all season long, Criss is one of the Duhawks most valuable assets. In just 17 minutes of play a game, Criss is averaging 6.8 points per game as well as 1.8 rebounds and 1.5 assists. When he presumably see's the starting lineup in the 2015-2016 season, Duhawk fans are expecting these numbers to improve drastically. With two years of eligibility remaining, Criss has the confidence of a long-time conference veteran that will allow for him to succeed in the future.
THE FINAL FOUR …With just four games remaining in the regular season, the Duhawks are hoping to finish strong and put a positive spin on the end of their season. With a four-game winning streak, the Duhawks could still finish the season at 12-13 and 7-7 in the Iowa Conference, which could potentially place them in the conference tournament. This season, Loras sits in seventh place, needing to move up one spot to secure a birth. Ahead of Duhawks in the standings are Central and Luther with records of 4-6 in conference play. Loras will play each of these teams again before the season closes, giving the Duhawks a chance to move ahead of them. Coming up, the Duhawks will face Luther, Coe, Central, and Simpson. Each of their away games will be played against teams they've already bested this season in Central and Simpson. The Duhawks will be in the Athletic & Wellness Center to take on both Luther and Coe this week. Loras will be looking to get revenge on the upset win Luther scored over them on January 24 while Coe is a team that the Duhawks played well against in the second half of their early season battle.
DEFENSE KEY TO WINNING DOWN THE STRETCH …While it's no surprise to say that a good team defense will win a lot of games for a squad, the stats strongly back it up for the Duhawks this season. In games that Loras has won, they've held opponents to an average of 67.5 points. However, in games that they have lost, opponents have scored, on average 80.5 points, including four games of 90+ points. With the talent Loras has, they know that they can score, but a focus on defense will be crucial to their success during the final stretch of the season.
DUHAWKS STRUGGLING AWAY FROM HOME …Coming off of a season in which the Duhawks played better away than at home to the tune of an 8-6 record, Loras has struggled to win games on the road thus far. The Duhawks boast just a 1-7 record away from the Athletic and Wellness Center this season which has left some Duhawks fans surprised. Five of these losses came at the hands of conference opponents, hurting the Duhawks chances of moving towards the top of the conference standings. Winning games on the road tends to be the key to placing well at the end of the season.
GORTON JOINS THE CENTURY CLUB ...With the win over Simpson, head coach
Greg Gorton reached 100 career Iowa Conference victories. In his tenth season at the helm, Gorton joins the likes of Buena Vista's Brian Van Haaften and Wartburg's Dick Perth as the only three current Men's Basketball coaches in the conference with 100 wins in the IIAC. All three of coaches are the longest tenured men's coaches in the conference. This accomplishment emphasizes the commitment Gorton has to his program as well as his athletes.
GRCIC TIES SCHOOL RECORD ...In the 2014-15 season opener, junior
Mirko Grcic hauled in 26 rebounds, tying a Loras school record dating all the way back to the 1954-55 season. That year, Al Carew collected 26 rebounds in a game against St. Norbert College.
