A week ago, we previewed a trio of tilts in the West Coast Conference that highlighted the top three teams in the league – Saint Mary's, Gonzaga and Brigham Young. Among the teams filling roles as opponents in those games was Loyola Marymount, and the Lions apparently took exception to not being in the discussion as a contender.
The Lions definitely took exception to being a 17-point underdog in Provo against BYU last Thursday, just about turning that spread around in an 82-68 upset victory over the Cougars. They followed that up with a 74-62 win at Santa Clara this past Monday in a pick 'em on the NCAA odds for good measure.
Loyola Marymount is now a part of the WCC conversation, but if the Lions are going to stay in the discussion as a viable contender, they'll need to be at their best this Thursday night when the Saint Mary's Gaels come to Los Angeles. Tip at Gersten Pavilion is slated for a few minutes past 10:00 p.m. (ET), and sadly, there's no television coverage.
Saint Mary's opened as a 6½-point favorite for the match with the early scoreboard tally sitting in the 138½-139½ range.
A big problem for Max Good and the Lions this season has been playing with a consistent roster. Just two players – Anthony Ireland and Ayodeji Egbeyemi – have been able to answer the bell for all 20 Loyola games so far. Drew Viney missed just about all of the first half of that schedule following October surgery on his left ankle. Ashley Hamilton also suffered a foot injury during the Lions' loss to Harvard in November and missed 12 games, leaving Good's group without its top two forwards for a huge chunk of action.
Guard Jason DuBois was sidelined for five games along the way as well. When that trio is on the floor, they combine to average a touch more than 42 points, shifting the offensive load to Ireland and whoever Good could scratch up to throw into the mix.
Viney, Hamilton and DuBois will be playing together for just the third time this season Thursday against the Gaels.
The Lions have been making friends among bettors since late-December. Loyola has covered seven straight spreads, going 5-2 straight up in that stretch, each one a conference contest. If there has been a shortcoming, it's that both outright losses on the WCC ledger came at home, though the Lions did beat the number in the setbacks to BYU and Gonzaga. They definitely have their work cut out for them trying to stop that trend with a victory in front of the home crowd over Saint Mary's. This game begins a four-game homestand for Loyola Marymount, so getting that started on a winning note is crucial.
The Gaels have raced to a perfect 8-0 mark in the West Coast standings, though they've split those contests 4-4 against the spread. Saint Mary's comes into the matchup ranked 20/21 in the two major polls and is in the middle of a three-game roadie that concludes Saturday at BYU, so keeping his squad from looking ahead to the game against the Cougars is definitely on head coach Randy Bennett's mind.
Unlike his counterpart at Loyola, Bennett has enjoyed the luxury of a very consistent roster that is led by junior guard Matthew Dellavedova and senior forward Rob Jones. Dellavedova not only leads the team in scoring (15.8 PPG), but also steers the offense from the point and is ninth in the country averaging 6.5 assists each contest. Jones is scoring at a 14.5 clip and ranks ninth nationally pulling down 10.7 boards a game.
Brad Waldow has seen his minutes increase for the Gaels and could be a key factor in this clash. The freshman is coming off a 14-point, 16-rebound effort in Saint Mary's 93-77 win at Santa Clara last Saturday, and is averaging 11 points a game the last four compared to a season rate of 7.5.
What might make Waldow a critical component for Bennett's team in this one is Loyola defends the three very well, tops in the West Coast and 16th in the nation with opponents hitting just 28.7 percent. Saint Mary's has been successful on 36.2 percent of their shots from beyond the mark, third-best among WCC squads. If the Lions shut off the perimeter, Waldow's presence inside, scoring and rebounding, could make the difference.
The Gaels have owned this series with 10-straight wins, LMU's last victory during the 2006 WCC Tournament. The Lions have covered four of the last six, and two of the last three played in LA. Each of the last three head-to-head battles have gone 'over' the total. Loyola is presently on a 3-0 run to the 'under' after beginning the season with nine of its first 14 lined games going 'over.' Four of the last six Saint Mary's games have skipped above the total with the Gaels 9-7 'over' for the campaign.
Feb. 15 is the next time these two will meet when Loyola Marymount travels to battle the Gaels at McKeon Pavilion.