The Loyola Chicago Ramblers (8-10) travel to the Ford Center to take on the Evansville Aces (16-3), the best team in the Missouri Valley. The game gets underway at 9:00 pm ET on Tuesday, Jan. 19 and will air on CCS.
The Aces were victorious over Illinois State 66-55 on Friday. Egidijus Mockevicius played a key role, recording 13 points and 20 rebounds to notch his 15th double-double this season. The Ramblers are coming off a 51-41 win over Northern Iowa on Saturday. Montel James played well, posting 14 points and 12 rebounds to claim his second double-double of the season.
The Evansville defense should have a clear edge in terms of eFG%. It ranks 32nd in the nation in forcing misses (opponents’ eFG% of 45.1%), while the Loyola Chicago offense is 266th with a mark of 48.0%. Furthermore, the 318th-ranked offense of the Ramblers (offensive efficiency of 95.9) will face a tough test against the 23rd-ranked defense of the Aces (defensive efficiency of 93.3).
Evansville is a considerable 15-point favorite in this game and the Over/Under (O/U) is set at 126 points. The Aces are attempting to build on their records of 16-3 Straight Up (SU) and 8-5-1 Against The Spread (ATS). They are 6-1 ATS over their last 10 games. Evansville has consistently been near the top of the nation in terms of field goal percentage, currently ranking second in the nation with a FG% of .522. Spreading the ball around is a huge part of Evansville’s offense. They are third in the nation in assists with an average of 19.8 per game. Turning to the defensive side, teams routinely struggle to score points against the Aces, who allow only 65.5 points per game. Teams really have to fight for open three-pointers against the Aces, who have one of the best opponent three-point field goal percentages in the nation at .310. An area where the Aces are particularly strong is defensive rebounding where they average 28.7 per game, 26th in Division I.
On the other side, Loyola Chicago has a SU record of 8-10 and an ATS record of 5-12. Loyola Chicago has been particularly bad ATS over its past 10 matchups, going 3-7.
This is the first meeting of the season for Evansville and Loyola Chicago. The last time they played, Evansville came out on top, taking the head-to-head record to an even 3-3 SU. However, with a 3-2-1 record, Loyola Chicago has the advantage ATS.
Predictions: SU Winner – Evan, ATS Winner – Evan, O/U – Under
Notes
Evansville is 9-1 SU in its last 10 games.
The total has gone UNDER in 5 of Evansville’s last 6 games.
Evansville is 5-0 SU in its last 5 games at home.
Evansville holds a 5-1 SU record against the Missouri Valley Conference this season, while Loyola Chicago has an abysmal 1-5 SU record against the conference.
Loyola Chicago scores an average of just 62.1 points per game (ranked 343rd). Evansville ranks 45th in points allowed, giving up 65.5 points per game.
Loyola Chicago scores just 53.5 points per away game (ranked 347th). Evansville ranks 62nd in points allowed at home, giving up 62.4 points.
The Evansville Aces have a defensive rating of 93.3 (ranked 23rd), while the Loyola Chicago Ramblers have an offensive rating of 95.9 (ranked 318th).
The Evansville Aces have one of the best field goal percentages this season, ranking second in the nation with a FG% of 52.2%. When their opponents record a similar or higher FG%, the Loyola Chicago Ramblers are winless with a 0-2 record.
The Evansville Aces and the Loyola Chicago Ramblers both rank higher in average field goal percentage when compared to their effective field goal percentages. Evansville is 13th and second in the nation for eFG% and FG% respectively, while Loyola Chicago ranks 266th and 260th in these categories.
Evansville ranks 28th in the nation with an assist-to-turnover ratio of 1.48. Loyola Chicago is ranked lower at 272nd with an A/TO of .90.
Loyola Chicago ranks 327th in offensive rebounds, while Evansville ranks at 26th in defensive rebounds.
Though Loyola Chicago is one of the best in the country in forcing turnovers with opponents averaging a TO% of 23.7% (ranked 13th), Evansville is undefeated (1-0) when its TO% is 23.7% or greater.
