The Saint Louis Billikens take on the Loyola Chicago Ramblers in Chicago, Illinois. Tip-off is set for 7 p.m. ET on ESPN2.
Loyola Chicago is favored by 2.5 points on the spread with a moneyline of -140. The total is set at 141 points.
Here are my Saint Louis vs. Loyola Chicago predictions and college basketball picks for February 14, 2025.
Saint Louis vs Loyola Chicago Odds
Friday, Feb. 14
7 p.m. ET
ESPN2
| Saint Louis Odds | ||
|---|---|---|
| Spread | Total | Moneyline |
|
+2.5 -110 |
141 -110 / -110 |
+120 |
| Loyola Chicago Odds | ||
|---|---|---|
| Spread | Total | Moneyline |
|
-2.5 -110 |
141 -110 / -110 |
-140 |
- Saint Louis vs Loyola Chicago spread: Loyola Chicago -2.5
- Saint Louis vs Loyola Chicago over/under: 141 points
- Saint Louis vs Loyola Chicago moneyline: Loyola Chicago -140, Saint Louis +120
- Saint Louis vs Loyola Chicago best bet: Saint Louis +2 or Better
My Saint Louis vs Loyola Chicago best bet is on the Billikens spread, with the best odds currently available at DraftKings. For all of your college basketball bets, be sure to find the best lines by using our live NCAAB odds page.
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The situational spot screams Billikens.
They’re due for a bounce-back win following back-to-back losses, the latter coming in overtime to red-hot George Mason after the Patriots shot 15-for-33 (46%) from 3.
Meanwhile, it’s a decent sell-high spot on the Ramblers, who have rallied to win three of their past four but are in a good letdown spot following an overtime road win over Richmond.
Schematically, the biggest reason to fade Saint Louis is its ball-handling and rebounding issues. The Billikens can’t grab a board and keep chucking the ball away, so they’re getting obliterated in the shot-volume battle.
Luckily for them, Loyola Chicago is also struggling in the turnover and two-way rebounding departments, so the shot-volume battle shouldn’t be so lopsided.
And it’s not the worst schematic matchup for Saint Louis.
The Billikens’ hub-and-spoke offense revolves around Robbie Avila, the key cog in handoff, rolling and cutting sets. The team leads the A-10 in 2-point shooting at a whopping 64% (per KenPom).
Loyola Chicago boasts an average interior defense, but the Ramblers struggle to defend dribble handoff sets (.89 PPP allowed, 31st percentile, on high volume, per Synergy).
The Ramblers run much of the same dribble handoff and cutting actions, but Saint Louis’ deep drop-coverage defense will likely force Jalen Quinn and Justin Moore into plenty of middle-of-the-floor shot creation.
I’m far from sold on the Billikens’ defense, which I think is vastly overvalued by lucky shooting variance (conference opponents have shot just 27% from 3, per KenPom). But they’re a solid interior defense (46% 2-point shooting allowed in conference play, second in the A-10, per KenPom).
Ultimately, I’m banking on Saint Louis’ two-way efficiency showing up in a good situational spot and in a game in which it won’t be obliterated from a shot-volume perspective.
Pick: Saint Louis +2 or Better
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