It will be a battle between West Coast opponents when the Portland Pilots (6-7) welcome the Loyola Marymount Lions (7-4) to Earle A. Chiles Center. The game gets underway at 9:00 pm ET on Monday, Dec. 21 and will air on RT and ES3.
The Pilots beat Cal State Fullerton 65-60 on Saturday. Alec Wintering led all scorers on the team with 19 points on 6-for-12 shooting. The Lions, meanwhile, are coming off a 77-60 win over Jacksonville State on Friday. Adom Jacko had a good game and claimed his third double-double of the season, posting 21 points and 11 rebounds.
Portland, a three-point favorite, will look to capitalize at home against Loyola Marymount. The Over/Under (O/U) for the matchup is 148 points. The Pilots are looking to improve on their records of 6-7 Straight Up (SU) and 4-6 Against The Spread (ATS). Portland is excellent from the perimeter with 126 three-pointers made (9.0 per game), the sixth-most in the country. Turning to the defensive side, the Pilots are the 42nd-best team in the country at taking the ball away from their opponents, averaging 8.2 steals per game.
On the other side, the Lions head into the game with records of 7-3 ATS and 7-4 SU. The Lions are shooting lights out from the foul line so far, with a .749 free throw percentage that ranks 30th in Division I. Switching gears to the Loyola Marymount defense, it averages 8.2 steals per game, good for 45th in the nation.
These conference rivals will be facing off in their first head-to-head clash of the season. When they last met the Pilots were winners, taking the head-to-head record to an even 5-5 SU over their most recent meetings. The Lions hold the advantage ATS with a record of 5-4-1. When it comes to field goals, rebounds, and three-pointers, Portland held the edge in all three of these categories three times in the last five meetings. Loyola Marymount never did so in those games.
Predictions: SU Winner – LyMnt, ATS Winner – LyMnt, O/U – Over
Notes
The total has gone UNDER in 4 of Portland’s last 6 games.
Portland is 2-4 SU in its last 6 games at home.
Portland is 1-4-1 ATS in its last 6 games when playing Loyola Marymount.
The total has gone UNDER in 5 of Portland’s last 6 games when playing Loyola Marymount.
Portland is 9-4 SU in its last 13 games when playing at home against Loyola Marymount.
Portland averages 74.3 possessions per game, scoring 1.041 points on each possession. While Loyola Marymount averages fewer possessions per game with 70.5, they score more points per possession with 1.058.
Loyola Marymount has an average effective field goal percentage of 48.2%. Portland has not won a game this season when opponents have a similar or higher effective field goal percentage (0-6).
The Portland Pilots average 25.0 three point attempts per game, and the Loyola Marymount Lions attempt 22.0 per game. When going for at least 20 three pointers in a game this season, Portland is an even 6-6, while Loyola Marymount has a solid record of 5-3.
Loyola Marymount ranks 73rd in the nation with an assist-to-turnover ratio of 1.27. Portland is ranked lower at 169th with an A/TO of 1.07.
Portland ranks 84th in offensive rebounding. Loyola Marymount ranks 322nd in defensive rebounding.
The Portland Pilots make an average of 8.2 steals per game. The Loyola Marymount Lions are 3-2 when they allow 8 or more steals.
