The Florida Atlantic Owls and the Loyola Ramblers meet Wednesday in college basketball action from Wintrust Arena. FAU comes into this one after a 35-4 overall record, a Conference USA championship and a Final Four run last season. As for Loyola, they managed to go a disappointing 10-21 overall last year, landing in last place among the Atlantic 10. Check back all season long for free college basketball picks at Sports Chat Place. 

FAU Owls 

Florida Atlantic did some great things on the court last year, including a 25-4 overall run and an 18-2 mark in Conference USA play. That result left the Owls with a regular-season conference championship and an eventual conference tournament championship. FAU rolled through four games of the NCAA Tournament until finally taking a loss 72-71 to San Diego State in the Final Four. 

Hopes are high for Florida Atlantic heading into the 2023-24 season, and for good reason. Head coach Dusty May retains all five starters and 11 players total from last year, including Alijah Martin (13.4 PPG) and Johnell Davis (13.8 PPG)—both of whom put their names in the NBA Draft. FAU gets some fresh surroundings as well with the move to the AAC this season. The lone reserve not returning is Michael Forrest (8.2 PPG) who finished his career as the school’s all-time leader in 3-pointers (305). 

Loyola Ramblers 

Over on the Ramblers’ side, they’re coming off a down year—to put it mildly. Loyola took a huge step back in 2022-23, going just 10-21 overall with a 4-14 record in the Atlantic 10. That result would leave the Ramblers in dead last place among the conference standings. Loyola fell to Saint Joseph’s 72-67 in the final game of the Atlantic 10 Tournament to finish off their dismal run. 

Looking ahead to 2023-24, Loyola’s fortunes are looking up. The team retains a ton of experience with five returning starters and some solid adds through the transfer portal. The Ramblers’ top three scorers in Philip Alston (14.6 PPG), Braden Norris (10.9 PPG) and Ben Schwieger (9.2 PPG) will have big leadership roles in the coming season. 

ANDREW’S FREE PICK 

I’ll probably stay with Florida Atlantic. The Owls seem to have everything going for them right now, fielding mostly the same team as last year’s Final Four squad. If there’s a knock here it’s that FAU needs to get better at pulling away late. They probably won’t be able to repeat last year’s excellent stat of going 11-2 in games decided by five points or fewer. Rebounding and depth will be very important in that regard this season, and FAU should have the personnel to do it. 

As for Loyola, they should be significantly better this year with the extra experience in the Atlantic 10 and the slew of returning contributors. This is a tough game to start out with though, and I don’t think the Ramblers will keep up for long.