Quick Hits About The Hounds
- Loyola University Maryland opens the Patriot League Championships on Wednesday, March 5, with a 7 p.m. first-round game at Boston University.
- The game will stream live on the Patriot League Network.
- The winner will play at No. 1 seed Colgate University on Thursday, March 7 in a 7 p.m. game.
- Andrew Kostecka has averaged 22.7 points over Loyola's last 27 games, shooting 54.5 percent from the field, 59.9 percent from 2-point range, in that stretch. Kostecka has 17 games with 21 or more points in those contests, 12 with 26 or higher, four with 30 or more.
- Kostecka is the only player in NCAA Division I to have scored 600 or more points and grabbed 65 or more steals. He are also one of four players nationally to average 20 points and two steals per game; he is averaging 2.5 steals, good for first in the Patriot League. Duke's Zion Williamson, Louisiana Monroe's Daishon Smith and Seton Hall's Myles Powell are the other three.
- Kostecka's 12 games with 26 or more this season are eighth-most nationally.
- Jaylin Andrews shot just 28.9 percent from the field in Loyola's 13 non-conference games. Andrews has improved his shooting and is averaging 8.8 points in the League after posting 3.2 in non-conference play.
Series History Versus Boston University
- Loyola and Boston U. will meet for the 16th time in eight years, the second time in Patriot League Championships play and 17th overall when they take the hardwood on Tuesday night. Boston U. now leads the all-time series, 10-6 after the teams split the season series this year.
- Loyola scored an overtime 81-73 win over the Terriers on January 16, and Boston University returned the favor with a 72-65 victory on February 23; each team won on its home court.
- The teams previously met in the Patriot League Championships when the Terriers posted a 64-60 win in the 2017 quarterfinals at Case Gymnasium.
- When the teams met less than two weeks ago in Boston, Loyola's Isaiah Hart poured in 25 points, one shy of his career high, but it was not enough as the Greyhounds dropped close one on the road, 72-65. With the score tied at 63, Jonas Harper drilled a 3-pointer from the left corner with 55 seconds left and then forced a turnover on the defensive end that helped seal the victory for the Terriers. Boston University hit their final six free throws.
Patriot League Championships History
- Loyola is making its sixth appearance in the Patriot League Championships since joining the conference in 2013-14. The Greyhounds are 2-5 in the Championships having won first-round games each of the last two years.
All-Patriot League Honors
- Andrew Kostecka became the second player in Loyola history to earn All-Patriot League First Team honors in the Greyhounds six years in the League (Andre Walker, 2017 and 2018). He was also named to the All-Defensive Team for the second year in a row.
- Jaylin Andrews earned All-Rookie Team honors, the first such award for a Loyola players since Walker and Cam Gregory were named to the All-Rookie Team in 2014-15.
Last Time Out
- Loyola had the second-best 3-point shooting performance in the nation this year, making 75 percent of its shots from behind the arc (12 of 16) on Saturday night as it defeated visiting Lehigh, 92-73.
- Jaylin Andrews made five of those 3-poitners while scoring a career-high 21 points as one of five Greyhounds in double-figures.
- In addition to Andrews' game-high 21 points, Andrew Kostecka scored 19 and Isaiah Hart added 18. Kenneth Jones posted 15 points, and Casmir Ochiaka had his third double-double this season with 11 points and 11 rebounds in just 24 minutes.
- Lehigh had an early four-point lead in the opening four minutes, but an 8-0 run by the Greyhounds put Loyola in front 12-8 on Andrews' second three of the game, and Loyola led for the remainder of the game.
- The Mountain Hawks got within one on a Lance Tejada three with 8:49 to go in the first half and again with 6:28 on the clock before halftime when Jordan Cohen knocked down a three, but Andrews and Jones responded with threes to stretch the margin back to four on each occasion.
- An Andrews three at 3:41 gave Loyola its first double-digit lead of the game shortly before halftime, and Hart scored in the paint 30 ticks before the break to make it a 46-37 halftime lead. Andrews scored on the Greyhounds' second possession of the second half, and Loyola led by 10 or more for the remainder of the game.
Raining Threes
- Loyola entered Saturday's regular-season finale against Lehigh eighth in the Patriot League with a 32.9 percentage from 3-point range, but by making 12 of 16 against the Mountain Hawks, it raised that to 34.0 percent.
- The Greyhounds' 75 percent performance was the second-best in NCAA Division I this year. Ironically, the only team to have shot better from 3-point range in a game was Lehigh when it went 11 of 14 (77.8 percent) against Lafayette in January.
- Loyola's 75 percent mark is the best in school history in a game where it made 10 or more threes and the second-best overall.
38th To 1,000, 33rd to 1,100
- Andrew Kostecka scored the game's first point February 9 at Colgate, and in the process became the 38th player in Loyola history to reach 1,000 career points. On February 23 at Boston University, he became the 33rd in school history to reach 1,100.
- Kostecka also has 164 career steals, good for sixth in school history, and is one of nine Loyola players to amass 1,100 points and 100 steals.
Season Ranks
- Andrew Kostecka's 666 points this season are tied for third-most in school single-season history with Mike Morrison's 1987-88 total. Loyola's all-time leading scorer Jim Lacy scored 676 in 1946-47 and is second, while Andre Collins' 2005-06 total of 731 is the school record.
- His 151 free throws made are eighth in single-season history. Kostecka's 83 steals are good for third and are the most since Jason Rowe set the school record with 95 in 1998-99.
One Of Two
- In the history of the Patriot League, only two players have averaged 20+ points, 4.5+ rebounds, 2.0+ steals and 2.0+ assists. NBA All-Star C.J. McCollum did it for Lehigh University in both 2010-11 and 2011-12, and Andrew Kostecka is on pace to do it this year.
Career Night
- Andrew Kostecka scored 32 points and had seven steals at Army West Point on February 27, posting career-highs in both categories. His five 3-pointers made were also a career-best.
- He is the one of only two players in NCAA Division I to score 30 or more points with seven steals, joining St. John's Shamorie Ponds who had 35 and seven against VCU in November.
- Per sports-reference.com, only 17 players have had 30 and seven since the 2010-11 season with Kostecka being the first Patriot League player.
Stacking Up Nationally
- Andrew Kostecka not only leads the Patriot League in points and steals this season, but several of his statistical numbers stack up very favorably across NCAA Division I.
- He is the only player to average 21 points or more and 2.5 steals or more per game this year. He is also one of only four players – Duke's Zion Williamson, St. John's Shamorie Ponds and Louisiana Monroe's Daishon Smith – to average 20 or more points and two or more steals.
- Throw in blocked shots, and he is the only player to average 21 or more points, 2.5 steals and 0.9 blocks per game.
- Four players – Kostecka, Hofstra's Justin Wright-Foreman, Charleston's Grant Riller and Austin Peay's Terry Taylor – have taken 450 or more shots from the field while shooting 52.1 percent of better. In the history of the Patriot League, only one player has ever accomplished that, Colgate's Adonal Foyle (1996-97). Research via sports-reference.com.
- Overall, he is sixth in Division I in total steals (83) and 14th in points (666) through games of February 27. His 2.7 steals per game are eighth, and his 21.5 points per game rank 24th. Kostecka checks in 14th, as well, in field-goals made, but he has only taken the 31st-most field goals nationally.
Kostecka In The Last 27
- Andrew Kostecka has logged career-high scoring numbers four times in the Greyhounds' last 27 games, recording 17 games with 21 or more points, 12 with 26 or better and four with 30 or higher. He has scored 13 or more in all but one of those games and has had 18 or more in all but three.
- Over the course of the last 27, Kostecka has scored 613 points, an average of 22.7 to go with 4.9 rebounds, 2.5 assists and 2.7 steals per game. He has shot 54.2 percent from the field during those games.
- Kostecka opened the stretch with a 23-point outing at the University of Detroit Mercy on November 19, topping his previous high of 22 points from 2017. He then poured in 30 points on November 25 at Towson University before going 12 of 12 from the free-throw line in scoring 29 on December 1 against Mount St. Mary's University.
- He upped his career-high by one at Drexel University, making a career-high 12 field goals in scoring 31 against the Dragons. He had his fifth outing with 23 or more, hitting that number at UMass Lowell and added a sixth with 27 on December 28 at then-No. 20 North Carolina State.
- Kostecka did not score for nearly 15 minutes in the Patriot League opener against Holy Cross, but he tallied 24 points in the second half and 29 in the game.
- He posted back-to-back games with 26 points at both Holy Cross and Bucknell.
- Kostecka recorded his second double-double of the season at Navy, scoring 20 of his 27 points after halftime and grabbing 10 rebounds. He followed that game by scoring 23 of his 29 points in the second half against Bucknell.
- Kostecka matched his career-high of 31 points on February 13 when he went 13 of 20 from the field and finished with 31 in a come-from-behind win at American.
- He then broke his career-high in both points (32) and steals (7) at Army West Point.
Dishing And Taking
- Starting with a February 2 game in which he had career-high numbers in both assists (9) and steals (4) at Navy, Isaiah Hart has increased his production in those statistical categories over Loyola's last seven games.
- Hart has averaged 5.2 assists and 1.7 steals in those games, and he has a 2.6:1 assist:turnover ratio in the seven. Hart has also averaged 12.5 points per game during those outings, buoyed by a 25-point outburst at Boston University, one off his career-high.
- After battling through a rough start to the season in which he averaged 3.0 points over the Greyhounds' first five contests, Hart has rebounded to average 11.5 in Loyola's last 26 games. During that stretch he is the team's second-leading scorer behind Kostecka. He averaged 12.8 points in Patriot League games.
Making Big Strides
- In the Greyhounds' first 11 games, Casmir Ochiaka saw time in only eight, playing limited minutes (33 total, 4.1 average). His minutes and production have jumped, however, due to available rotation time since the December 28 game at North Carolina State.
- In 18 Patriot League games, Ochiaka averaged 5.3 points and 5.1 rebounds in 17.3 minutes of action.
- Ochiaka had scored seven points three times prior to February 13, but he broke out in a big way that night at American, logging his first collegiate double-double with 17 points and 11 rebounds in the come-from-behind win. He scored 15 of his points in the second half and converted three and-ones with layups and free throws in the final 2:19.
- He logged his second double-double in nine days with 10 points and a game-best 11 boards against Navy, and he then added a third double-double in the regular-season finale with 11 of each against Lehigh.
Sticky Fingers
- Loyola leads the Patriot League in steals per game (8.7) this season, a number that jumps to 10.2 in Patriot League games.
- The Greyhounds are eighth in NCAA Division I with 270 total steals this year, and their 8.7 steals per game are 16th.
Cementing His Status
- Jaylin Andrews joined the Greyhounds' starting lineup on January 12 and has been a fixture there ever since.
- At Holy Cross, Andrews connected for 12 points on 4 of 6 from the field, 2 of 3 from 3-point range. He also had four rebounds and a career-best and team-high four assists. He had his second double-figure scoring output with 10 points at Bucknell and four boards
- He then went for 15 points, 10 after halftime, against Colgate for his third-straight game with 10-plus. Andrews was 4 of 4 from the free-throw line in overtime and also had two of his career-high four steals.
- He earned Patriot League Rookie of the Week honors after the Bucknell and Colgate games.
- Andrews finished with 11 points and a season-high eight rebounds in the Greyhounds' second meeting with Bucknell, and he set a new career-best with 17 points when Loyola hosted Navy.
- Andrews eclipsed that best with a 21-point outing, making 5 of 6 threes and 8 of 11 overall field goals in the regular-season finale against Lehigh.
- In Patriot League games, Andrews has averaged 8.8 points and 3.0 rebounds in 29.3 minutes of action. Prior to the conference starting, Andrews was averaging 3.2 points in 14.8 minutes per game.
National Honors For Kostecka
- Andrew Kostecka had a first for a Loyola player on January 21 when he was named the Lou Henson National Player of the Week, an honor given to mid-major players. He also picked up his third Patriot League Player of the Week award after after averaging 27.0 points, 6.0 rebounds and 3.5 steals in two overtime wins over Boston University and Holy Cross. The next day, he was named the Jesuit Basketball Spotlight National Player of the Week.
Statistical Differences
- Loyola's 11 wins and 20 losses can be seen in statistical differences. The Greyhounds have held opponents to 42.8 percent from the field, 29.3 from 3-point range in their wins; meanwhile, foes are shooting 51.8 percent overall and 45.0 from behind the arc in Loyola's losses.
- The Greyhounds have held opponents to 73 or fewer points in all but one of their wins (at American, 84).
