Loyola Marymount Lions vs St. Mary's Gaels Prediction, 1/27/2024 College Basketball Picks, Best Bets & Odds

Game: Loyola Marymount Lions vs St. Mary's Gaels

Date: Saturday, January 27, 2024

Location: University Credit Union Pavilion in Moraga, CA

TV: ESPN+

University Credit Union Pavilion is where the St. Mary's Gaels (14-6) will meet the Loyola Marymount Lions (9-10) on Saturday.

The Loyola Marymount Lions played Pepperdine and went home with a win by a final score of 68-61 in their last game. When discussing personal fouls, the Lions ended up with 21 while Pepperdine recorded 18 personal fouls. They also knocked down 5 out of their 20 tries from three-point range. Pepperdine finished the contest at 59.3% from the free throw line by making 16 of their 27 attempts. Furthermore, Pepperdine collected 33 boards (12 offensive, 21 defensive), but didn't record a block for the team. Pepperdine earned 9 assists and had 2 steals in this matchup. With respect to defense, Loyola Marymount allowed 36.4% from the field on 20 out of 55 shooting. They also dished out 9 assists for this contest while forcing the other team into 7 turnovers and earning 2 steals. When talking about grabbing rebounds, they collected 28 with 7 of them being of the offensive sort. At the free throw line, the Lions knocked down 24 of 26 tries for a rate of 92.3%. Loyola Marymount walked away from the game having earned a 36.0% FG percentage (18 out of 50) and converted 8 out of their 21 3-point shots.

Dominick Harris is a player who was a major contributor for the matchup. He went 33.3% from the floor and also earned 1 assist. He saw the court for 32 minutes and also pulled down 1 rebound. He racked up 16 points on 4 of 12 shooting.

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Loyola Marymount enters this one with a win-loss record of 9-10 this season. They turn the ball over 11.5 times per game and as a unit are committing 17.8 fouls on a nightly basis. As a team, Loyola Marymount is snagging 36.6 boards per contest and has racked up 217 dimes this year, which has them ranked 315th in college hoops in terms of passing. The Lions are connecting on 34.8% on three-point attempts (154 of 442) and 74.2% from the charity stripe. They are averaging 73.1 points per game (221st in D-1) while shooting 43.5% from the floor.

On the defensive end, the Lions are forcing their opponents into 9.5 turnovers every game while drawing 17.5 personal fouls. They are relinquishing 31.2% on shots from downtown and they are 127th in the nation in PPG allowed (69.7). The Lions defensively are giving up a shooting percentage of 43.2% (483 of 1,118) and they concede 32.8 rebounds per contest as a squad. They rank 152nd in college basketball in giving up assists to the opposition with 237 surrendered so far this year.

The last time they took the court, the St. Mary's Gaels walked away with a victory by a final of 77-60 when they played San Francisco. The Gaels recorded 27 defensive boards and 10 offensive boards for a total of 37 for the contest. They also coughed it up 12 times, while getting 5 steals in the game. San Francisco committed 16 fouls for this contest which got the Gaels to the charity stripe for 14 attempts. They were able to make 10 of those for a rate of 71.4%. When it comes to shooting from 3-point land, St. Mary's converted 11 out of their 23 tries (47.8%). When the final whistle blew, the Gaels finished shooting 28 for 59 from the floor which gave them a rate of 47.5%. The Gaels allowed San Francisco to bury 21 out of 51 attempts from the floor which had them sitting at 41.2% in this contest. They finished 11.8% from behind the 3-point line by connecting on 2 out of 17 and walked away from this one shooting 16 of 19 at the charity stripe (84.2%). With respect to how they attacked the glass, St. Mary's allowed San Francisco to pull down 20 in total (2 offensive).

Aidan Mahaney ended up being a factor for the Gaels for the contest. He buried 7 of 17 for this contest for a rate of 41.2%, and accumulated 3 rebounds. He recorded 22 points in his 39 minutes on the hardwood and had 2 dimes in this game.

St. Mary's has a record of 14-6 for the season. In terms of offensive execution, the Gaels are connecting on 45.1% from the field, which ranks 164th in the nation. St. Mary's has accounted for 1,449 pts on the season (72.5 per game) and they pull in 40.8 boards per contest. Their rate of dishing out assists is at 16.0 times per game (47th in college hoops) and they are turning it over 11.2 times per contest. The Gaels commit 17.0 fouls every game and they hit 68.1% from the free throw line.

The St. Mary's defense concedes 30.9% on shots from beyond the arc (96 of 311) and their opponents are converting on 70.0% of their shots from the free throw line. They have conceded 9.6 dimes and 28.4 boards every game, ranking them 9th and 3rd in college basketball. The Gaels on the defensive end are ranked 5th in college hoops in points given up per game with 58.7. They are forcing 12.1 turnovers per game and have allowed teams to shoot 39.0% from the floor (14th in college basketball).

Who will win tonight's NCAA basketball game against the spread?

Josh Schonwald's Pick: Take Loyola Marymount

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