Florida State will take on Loyola Marymount in the Jacksonville Classic at UNF. With both teams underachieving to start the year, which team will have the edge? Here’s my preview and best bet for this match.
Loyola Marymount Lions vs. Florida State Seminoles
Sunday, November 21, 2021 – 5:30 PM EST at UNF Arena
The Florida State Seminoles will take on the Loyola Marymount Lions in the Jacksonville Classic at UNF Arena. Both of these two teams had shocking losses earlier this year but have rebounded from those losses since. Loyola Marymount lost its first game of the season to Chattanooga but defeated a non-D1 opponent Arizona Christian team along with Little Rock prior to this game.
On the other hand, Florida State knocked off UPenn before losing to Florida. However, after losing to Florida, the Seminoles defeated Tulane, 59-54. Both of these teams have simply underperformed to start the year. Florida State is only shooting 33.9 percent from long range and 48 percent from inside. While they’re getting to the line at a solid rate, the Seminoles are only hitting 63.1 percent of their foul shots.
Defensively, Loyola Marymount has been fouling a lot and allowing teams to score 54.3 percent inside this season. Despite poor defense in the arc, Loyola Marymount has held opponents to 27.8 percent from three to start the year. The Seminoles’ leading scorer is currently Malik Osborne who is the only player averaging double figures with 15 points per game.
The Seminoles are deep and could have any player step up offensively on any given day. Florida State is more of a defensive first team, as they’ve held opponents to 65 points per game. The Seminoles are coming off a win against Tulane, where they allowed just 54 points. These games are typical for Florida State and very common. On the other hand, Loyola Marymount is projected as a top 100 team in the nation this year.
However, the Lions certainly haven’t played like it. Loyola Marymount is shooting an effective field goal percentage of 53.9 percent but have turned the ball over 20.7 percent of the time.
The Lions are also shooting just 32.1 percent from long range and 63.9 percent from the foul line. Loyola Marymount has shot well from inside, scoring 59 percent of the time but has scored under 50 percent of their points from inside this season. It’s also going to be a bit harder to score inside the arc against a Florida State team that is known for their length year after year.
Prediction
Both of these teams have basically underachieved to start the year. Florida State being an 8-point favorite seems like too many points. However, the total being 140 seems like way too many points too. The Seminoles and Lions have been careless with the basketball, with both teams turning the ball over one out of every five possessions.
Neither team is shooting well from the line or hitting three-point balls at a high rate. I’ll ride the under 140 as my college basketball pick in this one.
NCAAB Pick: Under 140 (-110) via BetOnline (visit our BetOnline Review)
*The line and/or odds on picks in this article might have moved since the content was commissioned. For updated line movements, visit BMR’s free betting odds product.
