FAU vs. Loyola Chicago Best Bet: Can Alijah Martin, Owls Build Off Last Season?
The Florida Atlantic Owls are back after the best season in program history when they take on the Loyola Chicago Ramblers tonight. Can Alijah Martin and the Owls build off last season? Ben Rajavuori answers.
Ben Rajavuori - November 8, 2023, 5:11 PM EST
7 minFAU vs. Loyola Chicago Best Bet: Can Alijah Martin, Owls Build Off Last Season?
The Florida Atlantic Owls are back after the best season in program history. The Owls made the tournament for the first time in 21 years last season and made it all the way to the Final Four, losing to San Diego State in the semifinal game. They beat Memphis, Fairleigh Dickinson (lol), Tennessee, and Kansas State to make it out of the east region, and the best part is, the whole crew is back.
FAU vs. Loyola Chicago Date, Time, and Where to Watch
- Date: November 8, 2023
- Game Time: 7:00 p.m. ET
- Where to Watch: Sling TV
Florida Atlantic vs. Loyola Prediction
Sometimes we see these programs go on cinderella runs and then the coach gets hired at a Power Five school and the players transfer out to bigger and better teams, too. Look no further than St. Peters from a few years ago. But that's not Florida Atlantic. Dusty May is back, along with all five starters from last year's crew. The only player not on this year's roster is Michael Forrest, who averaged 8.4 points per game last season. Johnell Davis, Alijah Martin, Vladislav Goldin, Nicholas Boyd, Bryan Greenlee, and Jalen Gaffney, who represent the top six leading scorers (besides Forrest), are all back.
Florida Atlantic finished last season tied for the best record in college basketball at 31-3 and snuck in the rankings at 25 to end the season. This year, they have opened up at #10 in the AP poll, likely due to all their returning production. While I'm not sure they should be as high as number 10 in the nation, they do have a stacked roster of upperclassmen who have shown us their ceiling is up there with the best in the nation. However, we have also seen cinderella teams make a tournament run and then come back down to earth the next season, so the Owls will be tested early this year and held to a high standard.
The Loyola Chicago Ramblers made the move to the Atlantic 10 last season and were immediately met with a 4-14 conference record. Their 10-21 final record was the worst in over a decade for the program. Heading into the 2023-2024 season, Loyola does return all five of their starters, but I'm left wondering...is that a good thing? The Ramblers have a talented roster for sure, led by Philip Alston and Braden Norris, but there were a lot of big issues the Ramblers have to fix early this season.
For starters, their turnover issues. Loyola Chicago had a 22.1% turnover rate on offense, which ranked 350th in the nation, up there with the worst teams in the country. It was dead last in the country, and they could just not take care of the ball. Perimeter scoring was also an issue. They shot 33.4% from three, which was 200th in the nation. Outside of Philip Alston, no one could make a shot from deep consistently. Loyola did bring in some transfer portal additions to help scoring, but I have to see it to believe it, because, from the games I watched from Loyola last year, if they weren't scoring underneath the basket, they weren't scoring at all. That will be a problem against the 7'1 Vladislav Goldin from Florida Atlantic, who will tower Tom Welch and Bryce Golden.
Ultimately, I do think Florida Atlantic is a tiny bit overrated at #10 in the country, but they are still a very good team that lost three games total last year and beat some of the top teams in the country last year while maintaining every key player and coach in the process. They are one of the scariest non-power five teams in the nation this year, and they could run the AAC. Loyola still has a lot to prove to me before I can believe in this team and their turnover and perimeter-scoring problems. I think Florida Atlantic starts this game strong, but seven points is a decent amount nonetheless. Therefore, I'm taking Florida Atlantic to have a decent halftime lead, because Loyola is capable of keeping this game within three possessions late in the second half.
Florida Atlantic vs. Loyola Best Bet
Pick: Florida Atlantic First Half -3 (-115) Click here to see which sportsbook has the best odds
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