Clemson Men’s Basketball: Tigers take on Loyola Maryland Greyhounds

Clemson men’s basketball looks for their second consecutive win as they take on the Loyola Maryland Greyhounds on the Patriot League Monday at 7:00 p.m. in Littlejohn Coliseum on the Clemson campus.

The Tigers are 3-1 with wins over The Citadel, USC Upstate and Bellarmine, with a two-point loss to South Carolina.

The Greyhounds are 2-2 on the season, losing to DePaul (72-66) and Penn State (90-65) and beating Brown (75-70) and Washington College (81-53).

This is one of the few times remaining in the season where the Tigers will have a height advantage and I look for them to take advantage of that.

Conversely, the Greyhounds rely on the three-point play more than your average team, scoring 36% of their points in that fashion and they have been good at it, making 39.1% over the first four games.

Clemson has also relied heavily on the three and shot just as well (39.3%) and for the most part made their free throws (71.1%).

This is the Tigers final tune-up before the schedule ramps up with Iowa on Friday, Penn State next Tuesday, followed by the ACC opener with Wake Forest on December 2.

Clemson Men’s Basketball is a 13.5 point favorite over Loyola Maryland

The Tigers are a 13.5 point favorite with an over/under of 134.5, which implies a score of 74-60.5 in Clemson’s favor.

John Chancey (3-1, 2-2 ATS):

Clemson averages 73.8 points per game. They allow 66.3 points per game. That is an average margin of 7.5 points against competition that isn’t exactly premier. I’m going to take Loyola plus the points until Clemson proves it can cover double digit margins against mid-major competition.

Clemson 63, Loyola MD 54

Marty Coleman (4-0, 2-2 ATS):

The Tigers have scored 80, 81 and 76 points in games against the mid-majors and I think they’ll score in that range in this game.  Loyola struggled to score against their better competition to date and the Tigers height advantage plays a big roll.

I also expect the Tigers athleticism and size at guard to play a big part in the game.

Clemson 77 Loyola MD 65