Lehigh vs Loyola-Maryland Prediction College Basketball Picks 1/5/25

The Lehigh Mountain Hawks and the Loyola Greyhounds meet Sunday in college basketball action from Reitz Arena. Here’s a Lehigh vs Loyola prediction. We will look at this from a betting perspective and determine the best Lehigh vs Loyola pick. We will examine:

The Lehigh Mountain Hawks’ recent form and player performance

The Loyola Greyhounds’ recent form and player performance

Recent betting trends and streaks involving the Lehigh Mountain Hawks

Recent betting trends and streaks involving the Loyola Greyhounds

Recent betting trends in games played between Lehigh and Loyola

A summary that ties it all together and produces a favorable betting outcome for the Lehigh vs Loyola game

Lehigh Mountain Hawks Betting Preview

Leghigh got off to a tough start this year, but they’ve since been able to right the proverbial ship toward a .500 record overall. the Mountain Hawks kicked things off with four straight losses to Northwestern, Georgetown, Columbia, and UCLA. Following a win over Valley Forge, the Mountain Hawks took another loss to St. Francis PA. Since then it’s been a 5-1 stretch for Lehigh, though. The lone loss came in blowout fashion to Dayton. Otherwise, it was wins over Marist, Monmouth, Long Island University, Neumann, and Bucknell at that time.

Matched up against Bucknell back on Thursday, the Mountain Hawks came out of the break with a 33-20 deficit and things were looking bleak. Lehigh surged in the second half however, hitting a 37-24 run to force overtime and eventually winning 66-64. Leading the team in the comeback win was Nasir Whitlock, who came off the bench for 20 points and four rebounds with two steals in 27 minutes of work. Cam Gillus added 16 points with five boards and five assists, while Keith Higgins posted 15 points, six rebounds and one steal in 40 minutes.

Loyola Greyhounds Betting Preview

Over on the Loyola side, they limped to a tepid 2-3 record overall through their first five games this year. The two wins came from Lancaster Bible College and NJIT. Otherwise, it was losses to Columbia, VCU, and Boston College. The Greyhounds would hit a 3-1 stretch over the next four games, losing to only Delaware State alongside wins versus VMI, Coppin State, and Mount St. Mary’s. It’s been three losses since then, as Loyola has dropped games to Hampton, DePaul, and Holy Cross for a 5-7 overall record through 12 games so far.

Matched up against Holy Cross in their Thursday game, the Greyhounds managed to post a three-point advantage by halftime. Loyola was overcome on a 41-36 stretch in the second half, however, resulting in a 74-72 defeat. Leading team scorer Jordan Stiemke came off the bench for 19 points and seven rebounds. Braeden Speed added 15 points with four rebounds, and Milos Ilic doubled up on 14 points, 12 rebounds, and eight assists in the losing effort.

Why the Loyola Greyhounds will win

• Lehigh has lost seven of its last eight road games against non-AP-ranked opponents.
• Loyola (MD) has won each of its last six Sunday day games at Reitz Arena.
• Loyola (MD) has won the first half in four of its last five day games against the Patriot League at Reitz Arena.

Why the Lehigh Mountain Hawks will win

• Loyola (MD) has lost eight of its last nine games against the Patriot League at Reitz Arena.
• Lehigh has won five of its last six road games against the Patriot League.
• The road team has won the first half in three of Loyola (MD)’s last four games.

Lehigh vs Loyola Prediction

I’ll likely take a stab at Loyola here. Probably not touching this one, though. The Greyhounds didn’t shoot very well versus Holy Cross in their last outing, with 40 percent from the field. Loyola also gave up 50 percent shooting on the other side but didn’t play too badly overall otherwise. The Greyhounds are capable of scoring well when they’re so motivated; they’ve got 68 or more points in six of the last seven games. The trouble is, Loyola has given up 69 or more points in five straight as well. It’s going to take some defense—and another good shooting performance—in order to control the pace here.

As for Lehigh, they shot a miserable 33.8 percent from the field with a 41-39 rebounding deficit in their win over Bucknell but also scored 17 points off 18 Bison turnovers. The Hawks had 15 turnovers themselves, however, which could turn into a problem on Sunday if they can’t get the ball control in check. I like this one to be entertaining, but I think it’s Loyola’s cover to take.