Loyola Marymount vs Saint Mary’s Prediction 2/27/25 College Basketball Picks Today

The Saint Mary’s Gaels and the Loyola Marymount Lions meet Thursday in college basketball action from Gersten Pavilion. Here’s a Loyola Marymount vs Saint Mary’s Prediction. We will look at this from a betting perspective and determine the best Loyola vs Saint Mary’s pick.

Saint Mary’s Gaels Betting Preview

The Gaels had a shaky six-game run back in December, but aside from that they’ve done great in the record column so far this season. Saint Mary’s opened the year on a nice 7-0 stretch, then hit a 3-3 patch of games. The losses in that time were versus Arizona State, Boise State, and Utah State, mixed among wins versus UTSA, Utah, and Merrimack. Wins over Pacific, Pepperdine, Portland, LMU, San Diego, Pepperdine, San Francisco, Washington State, Santa Clara, and Gonzaga came next before another loss to San Francisco. Since then, however, Saint Mary’s has dispatched Oregon State, Santa Clara, Washington State, Portland, and Gonzaga in succession. That gives the Gaels a nice 25-4 overall run through the first 29 games of the year.

In the Gonzaga matchup on Saturday, the Gaels established themselves in the first half on a 41-31 advantage. Saint Mary’s posted a 36-33 deficit the rest of the way, hanging on for the upset victory 74-67 on the road. Leading the team in scoring was Mikey Lewis, who came off the bench for 18 points and two rebounds in 18 minutes. Mitchell Saxen added 16 points with nine rebounds and three assists, while Luke Barrett chipped in with 14 points and eight boards.

Loyola Marymount Lions Betting Preview

Over on the LMU side, they’ve been a mixed bag so far this year but they’re still above the .500 mark. The Lions kicked things off with a 3-4 run featuring losses to UC Irvine, Saint Louis, North Dakota, and Colorado State. Wins over Nevada, Prairie View, UC Santa Barbara, Southern, and North Alabama came next, then a 1-4 run that featured a lone win over Oregon State surrounded by losses to San Francisco, Washington State, Gonzaga, and Saint Mary’s. LMU won five straight after that, but they’ve since hit the skids on a 2-5 run. Those wins were over Pepperdine (twice); otherwise, it was losses to Gonzaga, San Francisco, Pacific, Portland, and Santa Clara. In total that gives LMU a 16-13 overall record through 29 games this year.

Matched up against Pepperdine in the home rematch on Saturday, the Lions came out of the locker room with a one-point edge. Loyola Marymount closed on a 56-46 run though, eventually winning 93-82. Alex Merkviladze led the team with 21 points, four boards and two assists. Will Johnston added 19 points with three rebounds and four assists, while Jevon Porter had 16 points with six boards and two assists. Caleb Stone-Carrawell chipped in 12 points with three rebounds and three assists in 31 minutes out on the floor.

Why the Loyola Marymount Lions will win

• The home team has won five of the last six games between Saint Mary’s and Loyola Marymount.
• The home team has won the first half in each of Loyola Marymount’s last five games.

Why the Saint Mary’s Gaels will win

• Saint Mary’s has won 24 of its last 25 games against Loyola Marymount.
• Loyola Marymount has lost 13 of its last 14 games against AP-ranked opponents at Gersten Pavilion.
• Saint Mary’s has won the first half in each of its last 16 games against Loyola Marymount.

Loyola Marymount vs Saint Mary’s Prediction

I’m going to stay with Saint Mary’s. The Gaels are hot right now and riding high after a big road win versus Gonzaga. In that one Saint Mary’s didn’t shoot well from the floor (37.5 percent) and had 11 turnovers. The 8-of-20 (40 percent) from 3-point range, the 12-of-15 (80 percent) from the line, and the 39-26 rebounding advantage (16-7 offensive) helped turn the tide in their favor, however. That makes five straight wins for the Gaels, and they’ve scored 73 or more points in four straight games.

Saint Mary’s took a blowout home win 81-56 the last time these teams saw each other back on January 7. In that one, the Gaels had a big rebounding advantage 42-27 (16-8 offensive) and shot well from the line (25-of-28 for 89.3 percent) with just seven turnovers. If Saint Mary’s can replicate that in the road rematch, they’ll be in great shape for another dominant outing.