March 4, 2002
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Cleveland, Ohio - If familiarity breeds contempt, then there is no doubt that Tuesday's battle between the University of Illinois at Chicago and Loyola for the 2002 Horizon League men's basketball championship at the Cleveland State Convocation Center should be a heated one.
The winner of the match-up will receive an automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament. UIC received an at-large bid to the tournament in 1997, while Loyola has not made the final 65 since 1985.
"We are extremely excited about playing this game," UIC head coach Jimmy Collins said. "We know how important this is to the basketball fans in our city and I think it's great for our two programs to be playing on this stage.
"I think our players probably know Loyola better than I do."
The Flames (19-13) advanced this far by downing #3 UW-Milwaukee and #2 Detroit. The Ramblers (17-12) dispatched of #5 Wright State and #8 UW-Green Bay to reach the title game.
Tuesday's finals will also provide a national showcase for the Bailey brothers as the game will be broadcast live on ESPN.
Martell Bailey, an All-Newcomer selection, is averaging 6.8 points a game and a team-high 4.8 assists for the Flames. David Bailey, a first-team All-Horizon League selection, leads Loyola with 21.3 points per contest and 4.7 assists per game.
"It's a great thing for me and my brother to play on national TV with a chance to go to the tournament," Bailey said. "My family will just be watching and will want us to both just go out and do our best and whoever comes out on top, comes out on top."
Loyola will also have to contend with the explosive quickness of sophomore forward Cedrick Banks. Banks, a second-team All-Horizon League selection, averaged 26 points against the Ramblers this season.
Loyola captured the first game between the two teams this season with a 76-65 victory over the Flames at the Gentile Center on January 17th. David Bailey led the way for the Ramblers as he scored 21 points and ripped down six rebounds.
Banks, however, proved to be the difference in their second game as he scored all 20 of his points in the second half to push the Flames to the 76-63 victory at the UIC Pavilion on February 16th.
Four other players scored in double figures for UIC in that game as Cory Little notched a double-double of 13 points and 10 rebounds, while Thor Solverson (12 points), Jon-Pierre Mitchom (10 points) and Bailey (10 points, 8 assists) each turned in solid efforts.
Senior shooting guard Jordan Kardos, who led UIC with 24 points against Detroit on Sunday, is looking forward to the opportunity to play for the automatic bid to the NCAA tournament. Kardos is currently second on the squad with 12.6 points per contest.
"It finally started to set in last night," Kardos said. "I was lying in bed and I couldn't go to sleep.
"Now it's time, though, to focus on the task at hand and get ready for the game."
Check out all the latest in our updated game notes.
