The Loyola Greyhounds and the Louisiana-Monroe Warhawks meet Saturday in college basketball action from the Arena at NW Florida St. Loyola enters this one at 2-4 overall. The Greyhounds lost to Southern U in their last game. As for LA-Monroe, they’re 2-4 as well following a Friday loss to Omaha. Check back all season long for free college basketball picks at Sports Chat Place.
Loyola started out their season with a pair of losses, falling to DePaul and Penn State. The Greyhounds picked it up with consecutive wins over Brown and Washington MD, then fell in a blowout to Clemson.
In Friday’s matchup versus Southern U, the Greyhounds were down 44-27 by halftime. Loyola eventually limped to a 76-58 loss. Leading the team was Dave Brown with 22 points and seven boards. Alonso Faure added 10 points as well.
Over on the LA-Monroe side, they lost their opener to Texas A&M but bounced back with consecutive wins over DCC and Central Baptist. The Warhawks then hit a losing streak and fell to TCU and LA Tech in the next pair.
On Friday versus Omaha, LA-Monroe kept up well in the first half and went into the break with a one-point deficit. The Warhawks faded in the second half however, and fell 63-56. Jamari Blackmon led the team with 15 points and three rebounds.
PICK: I’m probably going to lean LA-Monroe in this one, but not going near it. There’s not much to like about this matchup. The Warhawks are coming off a rough outing versus Omaha, shooting just 35.5 percent from the field. That said, LA-Monroe did pretty well on the boards with a 32-31 advantage (16-7 offensive). If the Warhawks can keep up that physicality it will serve them well in this matchup versus Loyola. Should be an interesting game at least.