Getting to the Gentile Center is relatively easy. You take the “Red Line” to the Loyola stop, cross the street, walk into campus a couple hundred feet and the arena is right in front of you – which was great considering it was 16 degrees at the start of the game. Because of the temperature, I was unable to explore the area around the arena although there are bars and restaurants to go to within a few blocks radius.

I did not realize that Loyola won the 1963 NCAA Men’s Basketball Championship. They have their banner and trophy displayed and the pre-game montage is all about that championship team. The arena itself is very similar to McGrath Arena where the DePaul Women’s Basketball team plays.

Pre Game Comments
I am going to my first Horizon League basketball game tonight. Chicago has two teams in the Horizon League – Loyola and UIC – but attending a Horizon league game has never been a priority since Chicago has so many other winter sports leagues - NBA, NHL, Minor League Hockey, Minor League Basketball, Indoor Soccer, Indoor Lacrosse and Northwestern and DePaul Men’s and Women’s Basketball.

However, the combination of my hanging around the house too much lately and the only other game in town tonight, ironically enough, being the UIC Flames, Loyola Men’s Basketball has finally hit my radar. Depending on how things go it may stay on the radar in the future as DePaul Women’s Basketball has been able to do.