Loyola Marymount vs Portland, March 8th

The rubber match for Lions vs Pilots is the late game Friday evening, scheduled to start at 8:30pm. The Lions won the first game back on 01/25 when Alex Merkviladze and Dominick Harris shot lights out after a halftime tie, getting a 27 point win. In round 2 last Saturday, Harris did not play due to injury, nor did Keli Leaupepe, who had 20 points in the first game. The game was fairly even, but the Pilots led or were barely behind most of the way, and got a 10 point victory. This round Leaupepe will still be out, I believe, but Harris should be back. The Lions will probably shoot better than 30% from 3P this time, and the Pilots will need to continue their defensive efforts that got them two wins last week.

Will Tyler Harris be ready to return to the floor, and will he show any rust? His last game was against GU on 02/22. Vukasin Masic only had 4 points last Saturday, but he had 20 in the first meeting. I think we'll need a better scoring effort from him, as LMU will probably pay more attention to Juanse after his 26 point game.

Vegas has LMU as a 5.5 point favorite. The 143.5 over/under suggests a 75-69 LMU win. ESPN Analytics favors LMU with an 83% chance of winning.

Go Pilots. Beat the odds. And the Lions.

Keys from the box score:
Neither team had their Harris, Dominick or Tyler.
Pilots shoot 48% from 3P (14-29).
14 assists on 25 makes.
Only 6 personal fouls.
33 rebounds vs. LMU's 29, including 11 offensive.