The blog returns from its holiday break tomorrow with live coverage of Rider-Loyola, which tips at 1 p.m. at Reitz Arena, which I suspect will be quiet with students on semester break.

Scouting both teams:

RIDER: The Broncs, playing for the first time in nine days, badly need to break out of a shooting slump that has derailed their season. Rider shot a season-low 18.5 percent from 3-point range in an 84-62 loss to Siena Dec. 23, and only three players – Justin Robinson, Ryan Thompson and Pat Mansell – are shooting above 30 percent from beyond the arc. … Thompson, averaging 14.6 points, had showed signs of breaking out of an early-season slump, but has scored a total of 12 points in his last two games. … Novar Gadson (12.4 points, 7.9 rebounds) has always been a factor but sometimes appeared out of sync with the offense. … Mike Ringgold (11, 7.4) has been a force against man-to-man defenses but sometimes a non-factor against zones. … Robinson (12.9 points) entered the Siena game shooting 50 percent from 3, but went 1-for-9, dropping his percentage to 44. … Jhamar Youngblood (8.5 points) was great at Monmouth but quiet at Siena. … The Broncs need someone coming off the bench – Brandon Penn, perhaps – to provide some offensive help.

LOYOLA: Like the Broncs, the Greyhounds are talented but erratic. Jamal Barney, a Providence transfer who finished second in the MAAC in scoring last year, is averaging 14.1 points – down three points from last year’s average – and has been relegated to a sixth-man role. After scoring 28 points in a blowout win over Howard Dec. 19, he’s scored a total of 23 points in his last two games – wins over Indiana and Bucknell. … Senior guard Brett Harvey is averaging 13.7 points and shooting 40 percent from 3-point range. … Six-10 Maryland transfer Shane Walker, averaging 8.3 points and 6.7 rebounds, poses a matchup problem for Rider. … Sophomore forward Anthony Winbush (7.9 points) is coming off a 17-point performance against Bucknell. … Junior guard Brian Rudolph, a MAAC co-Rookie of the Year in 2007-08, hasn’t lived up to expectations. He’s averaging a team-best 3.2 assists, but is averaging only 5.2 points and has attempted only one 3-pointer, which he made. He scored a combined three points in the Hounds’ last two games.