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The Loyola Marymount Lions are set to face the BYU Cougars. Check out our college basketball odds series, which includes our Loyola Marymount BYU prediction, odds, and pick.
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The Loyola Marymount Lions have been one of the more disappointing teams in the WCC this season. As they enter this event, the West Coast Conference Tournament odds are stacked against them. Loyola Marymount has partly been the victim of a tough conference. Gonzaga, Saint Mary's, San Francisco, BYU, and also Santa Clara have provided formidable opposition to Loyola Marymount. However, the Lions are 11-17. They haven't just struggled against the top half of the WCC. They have struggled against just about everyone they have played.
When you formulate a Loyola Marymount BYU prediction, you need to realize that Loyola Marymount has had to play dogfights against Pepperdine and other low-end teams in the WCC. This roster simply hasn't come together the way the Lions and many pundits expected it to. It's true that WCC teams such as Santa Clara and also BYU expected to be better than they were this season, but they have fallen slightly to moderately short of their goals. Loyola Marymount, by comparison, has fallen many miles short of its expectations and aspirations. It has been a brutal year for this team, and even though it defeated Pacific in the first round of the West Coast Conference Tournament on Thursday night, it doesn't seem as though a big March run is just around the corner. This team will need everything it has in the tank to produce its best basketball and finish the job against a BYU team it almost defeated at home a few weeks ago, but couldn't quite vanquish. The Cougars won in overtime.
When thinking about a Loyola Marymount BYU pick, do keep in mind that BYU is also an underachieving team in this matchup — not to the same extent LMU is, but still noticeably so. BYU was supposed to be an NCAA Tournament team this season, and when it defeated San Diego State and Oregon early in the campaign, it seemed that coach Mark Pope had a tournament team on his hands. However, BYU then lost to Vanderbilt in Hawaii in a pre-Christmas tournament. The Cougars got smoked at home by San Francisco and could not keep up with Saint Mary's on the road. Worst of all, BYU dropped a few games it never should have lost, with the most prominent example being a road loss at Pacific, which was a Quadrant 4 loss that sent the Cougars tumbling down the bracketology pecking order. BYU has to win the West Coast Conference Tournament in order to make the NCAA Tournament. It's not where this team expected to be on the first weekend of March.
Courtesy of FanDuel, here are the Loyola Marymount-BYU odds:
West Coast Conference Tournament Odds: Loyola Marymount-BYU Odds
Loyola Marymount: +12 (-110)
BYU: -12 (-110)
Over: 142 (-110)
Under: 142 (-110)
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Why Loyola Marymount Could Cover the Spread
The underachieving low seed in a conference tournament often gives the higher seed a real test. This is the perfect time for Loyola Marymount to go out guns blazing.
Why BYU Could Cover the Spread
The Cougars have underachieved and could take our their anger on LMU, which would enable them to cover the spread.
Final Loyola Marymount-BYU Prediction & Pick
BYU will win, but Loyola Marymount — which took BYU to overtime earlier this season — will play inspired ball in a conference tournament setting. Cougars by eight.
Final Loyola Marymount-BYU Pick: Loyola Marymount +12
