When Santa Clara visited Loyola Marymount last month, it was a low-scoring, poor-shooting night from both teams that resulted in a 57-54 LMU win. The Broncos will look to avenge that defeat when they host the Lions tonight.
Santa Clara (17-10, 9-5) is coming off a nine-point loss to Saint Mary’s last Tuesday and is fourth in the West Coast Conference standings. The Broncos’ offense was rolling prior to running into the Gaels but were without their two top scorers in Adama-Alpha Bal and Christoph Tilly.
LMU (15-12, 7-8) has dropped its last two games and four of its last five. The only win during that stretch was a 69-60 victory at Pepperdine. With only three games remaining and sitting sixth in the league standings, the Lions are likely aiming for a fifth or sixth-place finish to get a first and second-round bye in the unique WCC tournament format.
Loyola Marymount at Santa Clara Odds
Santa Clara is a 12.5-point college basketball odds favorite on BetMGM against Loyola Marymount while the Over/Under is at 148.5.
The Moneyline for Loyola Marymount is at +545 and at -800 for Santa Clara.
Loyola Marymount at Santa Clara On TV
The matchup between Loyola Marymount and Santa Clara will be televised on ESPN2.
Tonight’s game tips off at 11 p.m. ET.
Loyola Marymount at Santa Clara Prediction
I predict Loyola Marymount covers the 12.5-point spread as a road underdog. I also predict for this game to go under 148.5 points.
LMU has been one of the few teams that has given SCU problems this season. The Lions match up really well with the Broncos and both teams play a similar style of basketball.
Arguably the biggest factor in this game, however, is the status of Bal and Tilly. The 7-foot Tilly has missed the past two games while Bal was only out against SMC. Bal averages 13.7 points and 3.2 assists per game while Tilly averages 12.9 points and 4.8 rebounds per game. I’m unsure if either will be in the lineup tonight, but with over a week of rest, I imagine both will be suiting up.
Having those two will be key for SCU’s offense that really spaces the floor well. Tilly’s ability to step out and knock down 3s opens things up for the rest of the offense. The Broncos have the most 3-point attempts in the WCC (758) and are shooting a league-best 38.4% from the arc in conference play.
LMU is allowing opponents to shoot just 30.5% from the outside and forced SCU to shoot 4-for-26 (15%) from the outside the last time these teams met. The Lions have a lot of length that allows them to contest shots.
Tilly will also have his work cut out for him on defense when he’s matched up with Jevon Porter. The 6-foot-11 junior transfer from Pepperdine is averaging 12.7 PPG and 7.5 RPG and can score in a variety of ways. Caleb Stone-Carrawell leads the Lions with 13.8 PPG, and Will Johnston adds 11.1 PPG.
Santa Clara averages 80.1 PPG while LMU averages 70.3 PPG. The Broncos surrender 72.3 PPG while the Lions allow 70.6 PPG.
While I anticipate Santa Clara will pull away late, I think LMU will force the Broncos into tough misses and knock down enough shots to keep them within reach for most of the contest.
LMU is 6-7 against the spread as an underdog and SCU is 9-10 as a favorite. The over is 3-9-1 when LMU is an underdog and 10-9 when the Lions are a favorite.
