The Santa Clara Broncos will be at Albert Gersten Pavilion to play the Loyola Marymount Lions in a West Coast matchup. Action starts at 10:00 pm ET on Thursday, Feb. 18 and will air on CI.
The Lions are hoping for a better outcome after their 68-62 loss to Saint Mary’s in their last matchup. Marin Mornar was the best player for the Lions, recording 12 points, five blocks, and four rebounds. The Broncos, meanwhile, are coming off an ugly 96-62 loss against BYU in their last outing. Jared Brownridge led the team in scoring with 16 points.
Adom Jacko has been playing at a high level over the last five games for the Lions. During that stretch, he has averaged 21.8 points, 5.6 rebounds, 1.0 assist, and 0.6 steals.
This is the second game of the year between these two teams, with the Lions winning the first matchup 76-66. Brandon Brown was a top performer in the victory with 22 points, one rebound, nine assists, one steal, and two three-pointers.
The Lions enter the game with records of 11-15 Straight Up (SU) and 12-14 Against The Spread (ATS). The Lions, sporting the 47th-best assist-to-turnover ratio in Division I (1.33), have proven themselves to be an extremely efficient offensive team.
On the other side, the Broncos head into the game with records of 12-13-1 ATS and 9-17 SU. The Broncos average 73.1 points allowed per game, but have damaged those numbers in the past 10 games, allowing 79.1 points per game during that span.
Loyola Marymount won the last meeting this season between these two teams, evening up the two teams’ head-to-head record over their most recent games (5-5). They are also even ATS in their most recent games (5-5). Loyola Marymount held the edge in field goals, rebounds, and three-pointers one time in the last five games, while Santa Clara wasn’t able to do so in that span.
Predictions: SU Winner – LyMnt, ATS Winner – LyMnt
Notes
In its last game, Santa Clara lost by a margin of 34 points. Loyola Marymount is 1-6 in games decided by a margin of 18 points or more. Santa Clara has a 0-5 record in blowouts.
Loyola Marymount has an average field goal percentage of 41.7%. Santa Clara is an underachieving 3-13 when opponents have a similar or higher field goal percentage.
The Loyola Marymount Lions and the Santa Clara Broncos both rank higher in average effective field goal percentage when compared to their field goal percentages. Loyola Marymount is 283rd and 277th in the nation for FG% and eFG% respectively, while Santa Clara is 295th and 272nd in these categories.
Loyola Marymount ranks 59th in assists, registering 15.5 per game. Santa Clara performs worse at 222nd with 12.7 assists per game.
The Santa Clara Broncos average 4.4 steals per game. When giving up 4 or more steals, the Loyola Marymount Lions are an even 9-9 this season.
