FAU vs Loyola-Chicago Prediction - College Basketball Picks 11/8/23
The Florida Atlantic Owls and Loyola Chicago Ramblers face off on Wednesday in a college basketball in the Barstool Invitational at Wintrust Arena.
How does FAU Build Off Last Season?
FAU had quite the season last year, making it all the way to the Final Four, and this is a team that looks like they could on that this year. In today’s day and age, some players might leave a team like FAU for NIL money, but they have all decided to stick around. Alijah Martin went through the draft process but decided to come back for another season after averaging 13.4 points last season. This is a team that also really competes on the defensive side and in this game the defense is going to need to be good here. If the defense steps up, FAU should have no issue winning this game in blowout fashion.
Good Early Season Test for Loyola
It’s a good early season test for Loyola Chicago who had some struggles in the first year in the A-10, but they hope this year can be better. It was a very young team last year, but the hope is that experience last year, is going to help this team this soon. Philip Alston last season averaged 14.6 points while shooting 40 percent from deep. One of the big transfers in was Greg Dolan who played last year in the Ivy League. He averaged 13.3 points while shooting 42.5 percent from the field. He should get plenty of playing time here, and he’s going to be a big key for this team.
Shane’s Free Pick
I do think Loyola Chicago is going to be a little better this season, but it’s not going to start in this game. FAU had a good season last season, and now they get all that talent back. FAU is going to get a big game from guys like Martin, and I just don’t think the Loyola Chicago offense has enough talent to keep this game close. Loyola Chicago won’t be keeping up and FAU is going to cover the spread here.
AUTHOR: Shane Mickle
