Game Information
Saint Louis Billikens (6-1) at Loyola Marymount Lions (7-2)
Time: 9pm CT Tuesday
How to watch: ESPN+
DraftKings Odds
Spread: SLU -6.5
Total: 147.5
KenPom Projection
SLU 75, LMU 69
Billikens Finish West Coast Trip
The Saint Louis University Billikens wrap up their three-game California swing tonight when they play their first true road game of the season at Loyola Marymount from the West Coast Conference.
The Billikens split a pair of nailbiting one-point games last week at the Acrisure Invitational in Palm Springs, winning a thriller against Santa Clara before suffering a gut-wrenching last-second defeat to Stanford.
SLU Struggling From The Field
Hopefully the change of venue does the Bills some good, as they really struggled from the field in Palm Springs. Over the two games last week, SLU shot just 49-of-120 from the field (40.8%) and 12-of-47 from 3-point range (25.5%).
However, the season-long stats suggest those struggles are more of an aberration than a trend. As of the time of this writing, the Billikens still rank 33rd in the nation in effective field goal percentage according to KenPom.
Lions Look To Bounce Back
If the Billikens are to have a good shooting night this evening, they’re going to have to earn it. Loyola Marymount is a top 50 team in the country in effective field goal percentage defense.
The Lions are coming off a bad loss at home in their last game, falling 71-68 to Stony Brook this past Friday.
My Pick
This is expected to be a close game, with SLU just a 6.5 point favorite. I do expect Loyola Marymount to come out hard and play well after being embarrassed in its last game, so I think we’re in for another competitive, stressful game tonight.
What I’m most confident of though is SLU performing better offensively than they did in Palm Springs. Even with as poorly as they shot the ball, the Billikens still scored 71 against Santa Clara and 77 against Stanford.
The Bills’ team total tonight is set at 77.5. Here’s thinking they go over that number with those shooting numbers progressing to the mean.
Pick: SLU over 77.5 team total at -125 on DraftKings (bet to 79.5)
Eric Sontag hosts Domesticated Gamblers every Wednesday night on the STL Sports Central YouTube channel. Follow him on X @GamblingDads, and click here for his daily picks on all of our St. Louis area sports teams. Get Eric's picks for all sports by following him in the Action Network app with the username "esontag". Disclaimer