Clemson Men’s Basketball: Tigers face Loyola Chicago in Atlanta

The 8-2 Clemson Men’s Basketball team travels down I-85 to take on the Loyola Chicago Ramblers (4-5) of the Atlantic 10 Conference in the 2022 Holiday Hoopsgiving at State Farm Arena in Atlanta.

The game is at 7:30 p.m. and will be televised on the ACC Network.

Clemson is currently on a four-game winning streak, including wins over Cal, Penn State, Wake Forest and Towson.

Loyola’s best win to date was over No. 263 Illinois Chicago back on November 11th in the second game of the season that improved the Ramblers record to 2-0.

A trip to the Myrtle Beach Invitational resulted in losses to Tulsa (85-66), Boise State (70-48) and Texas A&M (67-51).

The losing streak extended to four in a game at Harvard, before the Ramblers got back in the win column against Central Arkansas.

The Ramblers rely less on the three-point shot than Clemson does and will generally field a smaller team than the Tigers, with their lineup often topping out with 6’8 Tom Welch as their tallest player.

Phillip Alston, a 6’6 power forward, is the go-to guy on offense and is the leading scorer and rebounder at 12.1 points and 5.6 rebounds per game.

The other double-digit scorer is 6’7 freshman Ben Schwieger at 10.1 points per game.

Braden Norris is the Ramblers most frequent 3-point shooter and is hitting 32.7% of his 52 attempts, but as a team Loyola is shooting only 31.5% from deep.

Can Clemson Men’s Basketball shoot the three-pointer as well away from Littlejohn?

In contrast, Clemson has three players with at least 44 three-point attempts and is shooting 42.0% from deep as a team.

Here are our analysts’ takes on whether the Clemson Tigers will win and/or cover.

Spread & Total: Clemson – 6 Total 132

The spread and total imply a 69-63 Clemson win.

John Chancey (8-2, 3-7 ATS):

This isn’t quite the Ramblers that wreaked havoc in the NCAA tournament. They didn’t win a single game at their last tournament. In fact, they haven’t won a single game outside the city of Chicago (only win on the road at UIC). I am still hesitant to call for big victories but I think Clemson covers handily.

Clemson 74, Loyola Chicago 62

Marty Coleman (9-1, 4-6 ATS):  

This is another game the Tigers need to make a run to an at-large bid in March. Once again the Tigers will have a size and experience advantage, not to mention they’ve been shooting lights out.  The intriguing part for me is to see how Clemson handles things away from home, especially shooting, as their two losses have come away from Littlejohn, scoring only 58 and 71 points in those losses (and 67 in a win over Cal)  I think Clemson wins, but how they shoot from deep will tell the tale of cover or not.

Clemson  72 Loyola Chicago 65

Game odds refresh periodically and are subject to change