Conference basketball play begins this evening for six of the nine schools in the American Rivers Conference. For Central, it’s a road trip to Loras, as the Dutch men and women will both take on teams that received at-large berths to last season’s NCAA Tournament.

The Central Women are off to a 5-1 start, but this will by far be the toughest test of the young season. The Duhawks are ranked No. 24 in the first D3Hoops.com rankings, and return three of the conference’s top 10 scorers from last season. The Dutch will try to snap an eight-game losing streak to Loras, which dates back to February 2015.

The Central Men will try to shake off a sluggish start to the season. At 1-3, it’s been 10 days since the Dutch last played. Loras graduated two of last year’s top four scorers in the league from a team that advanced to the Sweet 16 of the NCAA Tournament. Still, the Duhawks were picked to finish third in the league, and Central will need to be prepared to play in one of the toughest road environments in the conference.

New this year, weekday doubleheaders in conference play have been moved up half an hour. The women’s game tips off at 5:30, with the men’s game to follow at 7:30 at the Athletic Wellness Center on the Loras College campus in Dubuque.