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Taking a Look at Loyola Marymount

James Batemon and the Lions are in town

By Arden Cravalho

Gonzaga travels back to Spokane after coming off an impressive win at San Francisco. Now, the Bulldogs have to turn around and get ready to take on LMU at the McCarthey Athletic Center.

Loyola Marymount is coming off a loss at home against Saint Mary’s. Eli Scott of the Big Baller Brand had 14 points on 6 of 12 shooting against SMC. LMU lost the rebounding battle to the Gaels, 28-22, which is not a good sign for the Lions who now have to go up against the biggest team in the WCC.

Loyola Marymount Lions

This should be an interesting matchup between the #1 scoring defense team in the WCC at 61.2 PPG (LMU) versus the #1 scoring offense team in the WCC at 92.2 PPG (Gonzaga).

One thing LMU will definitely do against Gonzaga is hit their free throws. The Lions shoot .761% from the charity stripe which is tied for 19th best in the nation.

Wins - Westcliff, @ UNLV, CSU Northridge, Georgetown, Ohio, Central Connecticut State, Florida A&M, Bethesda, @ Cal State Fullerton, @ Portland State, Boise State, UC Davis, Portland

Losses - @ UCLA, @ UC Riverside, @ Pepperdine, Saint Mary’s

KenPom Ranking - #138

Game Time:

LMU (13-4, 1-2) @ #5 Gonzaga (16-2, 3-0) 9:00 PM ET on Thursday, January 17th

Key Numbers:

  • 70.5 Points Per Game
  • 34.5 Rebounds Per Game
  • 13.6 Assists Per Game
  • 7.1 Steals Per Game
  • 2.6 Blocks Per Game
  • 61.2 Points Allowed Per Game (Ranked 13th in the Nation)
  • 45.2 Field Goal Percentage

Player to Watch For:

James Batemon, Senior - 17.9 PPG, 3.2 RPG, 3.8 APG, 1.9 SPG

6th in the WCC for PPG, APG, and free throw percentage (.844%). He is also 1st in the WCC for SPG. Batemon is a versatile guard who can play both sides of the floor.

Score Prediction: 88-66, Bulldogs over Lions

This will be the first game with the students back from winter break so the Lions are in for a loud and long night. Gonzaga looks like they will be adding to their seven-game winning streak after this one. Clarke and Rui with an easy 20 points each, calling it.

*Arden Cravalho is a senior at Gonzaga University... Follow him on Twitter @a_cravalho

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