College Basketball Betting Odds: Valparaiso vs. Loyola Marymount Line at -5

Belmont.com has your latest College Basketball betting odds with a good one on tap for Valparaiso vs. Loyola Marymount and a line of -5. This game goes off February 17, 2012.  Get all the latest College Basketball odds here

Friday nights in college basketball are typically reserved for Ivey league play, but with the “Big Dance” less than a month away, tonight has a couple of “bracket buster” games to get bettors interest. One of those games is between Valparaiso and Loyola Marymount.

Belmont line and total: Loyola Marymount -5 and 138

These two teams have no recent history with one another and thus we are likely not to see too much hostility in tonight’s game. However, with both teams knowing how important this game is to their chances to be in the big tournament down the line, both will be bringing it on each end of the floor.

Valparaiso has won eight of their last 10 SU and have covered the number in five of those eight wins. They include two impressive wins as underdogs of 5 or more, precisely the situation they find themselves in tonight’s game. They average a shade under 70 pts per contest as they shoot 47.4% from the floor and make 70% of their shots from the charity stripe. They will need every one of those points tonight against a Loyola team that is riding high after upsetting a ranked St Mary’s team last time out.

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Loyola Marymount were 14-point underdogs against St Mary’s and won the game by a staggering 15 points, shaking up the entire landscape in the West Coast Conference. They have won seven of their last ten games overall and two of those losses came against another ranked foe from Gonzaga. They average just under 70 points per contest as well and shoot an even better percentage (72%) from the free throw line. One may think that they are primed for a letdown after that big win, but tonight’s game just isn’t another regular conference game on the schedule. Tonight’s performance directly relates to the chances of the general public seeing them during the Madness and that moment won’t be lost on the players.

Expecting both teams to give it all they’ve got tonight makes the spread a number to pass on, but the total is still around to wager on and given that it has already moved up 1.5 points since opening at 136.5, we believe siding with the movement is best. Both teams average nearly 70 points a game and the over is 6-2 in Loyola’s last eight games against non-conference foes. With the majority of bets already coming in on the low side of this total and the number increasing, you have got to go against the grain tonight.

Take over 138 points tonight.