Sport: College HoopsPick Selection: Loyola-Maryland Greyhounds +3.5 -110
Loyola-Maryland Greyhounds at Marist Red Foxes 4:00 PM ET
Loyola-Maryland Greyhounds +3.5 -110
***MAAC Game of the Week*** Arguably the best race for a conference championship is from a conference no one is talking about. The MAAC has three teams in a tie for first place heading into the final day of the regular season but the champion can be crowned without much of an equation. Loyola-Maryland controls its own destiny and with a win will be the top seed this weekend by virtue of winning tie-breakers over Rider and Siena, the two teams it is tied with atop the MAAC standings entering play on Sunday.
While the Greyhounds have everything to play for, Marist has absolutely nothing to play for with the exception of some pride and revenge. Friday?s Red Foxes win over Iona assured Marist it would not be participating in the MAAC Championship First Round games Friday as it secures a first round bye, is locked into the No. 6 seed and will be playing in the final game of the night on Saturday against a team to be determined. Marist cannot go up or down at this point.
Marist was part of the picture for a while in looking at the regular season champion but the Red Foxes have struggled recently. They are coming off a win on Friday against lowly Iona, but they had dropped six of their previous seven games before that with the only victory coming against 3-14 St. Peter?s. Granted five of those games came on the road but nonetheless, it knocked Marist out of contention. Loyola-Maryland meanwhile has won 11 of its last 13 games with both losses coming against Niagara.
The Greyhounds have edges in two all-important categories and those are free throw shooting and assist/turnover ratio. Loyola-Maryland is shooting 77.7 percent from the free throw line which is 5th in the country. That goes up to 86.3 percent over its last five games. Marist meanwhile is hitting just 64.2 percent on the season. Also, the Greyhounds have posted a 0.95 ratio which is not the best but it dwarfs that of the Red Foxes, who have a 0.82 ratio.
The Greyhounds have been an extremely solid team away from home and getting points in this spot is a huge bonus. They are 7-0 ATS as a road underdog of six points or less or pick over the last two seasons. They are 16-4 ATS in road games against teams forcing 14 or fewer tpg after 15 or more games since 1997 and 11-3 ATS against teams shooting 45 percent or better over the last two seasons. Loyola-Maryland is 5-0 ATS in the last five meetings in this series. Play Loyola-Maryland Greyhounds 2.5 Units
|
Handicappers
