The Loyola Ramblers and Illinois State University Redbirds will get together Sunday afternoon for the Missouri Valley Conference title game. Both teams are looking to break a long streak of not reaching the postseason. The Redbirds have not been in the big dance since 1995, while Loyola’s last trip was in 1985.
Loyola won the regular season title with their 15-3 conference record. Porter Moser, the head coach of Loyola was fired from Illinois State University earlier in his career. The Loyola Ramblers are -7.5 over the Illinois State Redbirds on Sunday afternoon.
Bet on NCAA Basketball at our favorite sportsbook — 5Dimes
The Ramblers are looking for their 6th trip to the NCAA Tournament in school history. Loyola has 9 tournament wins, including the 1963 title. The Ramblers are led by Missouri Valley Conference Player of the Year Clayton Custer. Custer is scoring more than 13.5 points per game, and dishing out 4.2 assists.
The last time the Ramblers lost was on January 31st in Peoria to the Bradley Braves. In the Missouri Valley Conference tournament – the Ramblers beat Northern Iowa in their first game, and then beat Bradley on Saturday. Loyola finished as the fifth best defensive team in College Basketball, allowing 62.9 points per game.
Redbirds Looking to Get to the Dance
Phil Fayne was terrific for the Redbirds in the win over Southern Illinois, as he scored 26 points. It was a career high for Fayne, and 13 of them came in overtime. The game before, the Redbirds top scorer Malik Yarbrough scored 24 points, including 7 from the free throw line. The Redbirds have downed Indiana State and Southern Illinois this tournament.
The Redbirds are scoring more than 72 points per game, and allowing opponents to score 73.7 per game. The Redbirds are rebounding 35 shots per game, and dishing out more than 14 assists per game. Yarbrough played 30 games this season, and is scoring more than 16 per game. Keyshawn Evans and Phil Fayne are combining for 31 points per game.
Redbirds Pull Upset over Ramblers
Two teams that are very hungry to get to the big dance will on display in front of a great crowd in St. Louis. While the Redbirds are the third seed, these are probably the two best teams in the Missouri Valley Conference. The Ramblers beat the Redbirds in Chicago just 8 days ago.
Look for the Redbirds to be ultra hungry, as this is the third trip to the MVC Finals in four seasons. Dan Muller was irritated about his team not reaching the NCAA Tournament a season ago. The Redbirds have unfinished business to take care of. When you are betting this Missouri Valley Conference title game – take the Illinois State Redbirds +7.5 over the Loyola Ramblers.
- Bet the Illinois State Redbirds +7.5
- earn up to $520 in bonuses at 5Dimes.
- Bovada – Bet on the Loyola Ramblers +7.5
- Get your 50% welcome bonus for betting at Bovada.
100% up to $3,000 Bonus
Bovada is our most recommended ONLINE CASINO and POKER ROOM for US players with excellent deposit options. Get your 100% signup bonus today.
Leave a Reply
You must be logged in to post a comment.