Santa Clara (17-10) vs Loyola Marymount (10-16)
Game Info: Thursday, February 22, 2024 at 11:00 pm (Leavey Center)
Betting Odds: Santa Clara Broncos -10 -- Over/Under: 147 Click Here for the Latest Odds
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The Loyola Marymount Lions and the Santa Clara Broncos meet Thursday in college basketball action from Leavey Center. LMU comes into this one at 10-16 after a loss to San Francisco. As for Santa Clara, they’re coming off a win over San Diego that improved the Broncos to 17-10 so far. Let’s get into our LMU vs Santa Clara prediction. Check back all season long for free college basketball picks at Pick Dawgz.
LMU Lions
The Lions have had a sketchy year so far. Loyola Marymount went .500 through their first 20 games, and since then they’ve hit a six-game losing streak. Those defeats came versus Saint Mary’s, Gonzaga (twice), San Diego, Pepperdine and San Francisco.
On Saturday versus San Francisco, the Lions suffered a blowout. LMU came out of the locker room with a 43-28 deficit and didn’t get any closer on a 39-31 second half for an 82-59 result. Alex Merkviladze led the team in the losing effort with 24 points and 12 rebounds.
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Santa Clara Broncos
Over on the Broncos’ side, they posted a 12-7 run to start the year then beat Pacific, Portland and Pepperdine in consecutive games. After losses to Saint Mary’s, San Diego and San Francisco, Santa Clara bounced back with wins over Pacific and San Diego in the next pair.
In the rematch with San Diego on Saturday, the Broncos were up 32-23 going into the second half. Santa Clara kept it rolling with a 50-46 stretch the rest of the way for a big win 82-69. Jalen Benjamin came off the bench to lead the way on 23 points and six assists.
ANDREW’S FREE LMU VS SANTA CLARA PREDICTION
I’ll stick with Santa Clara. The Broncos posted a nice road win in their last outing versus San Diego, hitting 48.2 percent from the field with a 43-29 rebounding edge and 18 assists. The turnovers were a little high (12) but overall there wasn’t much to complain about. Santa Clara has now scored 70 or more points in seven of the last eight games.
Back on January 4 in the last meeting between these teams, the Broncos put up a 68-57 road victory. Santa Clara held the Lions to just 29.8 percent shooting from the field and 18.2 percent (4-of-22) from outside. LMU probably won’t shoot that badly in the rematch but it’s still Santa Clara’s cover to take if all goes according to plan.
Andrew’s Pick Santa Clara Broncos -10
AUTHOR: Andrew Jett
Follow Andrew Jett on Twitter @PickDawgzAndrew