Loyola Chicago Ramblers vs Colorado State Rams Prediction, Odds, Best Bets - Week 2

Colorado State is 3-0 at Moby Arena behind Jase Butler, who leads the Rams in scoring, rebounding, and assists. Loyola Chicago brings the stronger rebounding team and a point guard averaging 8.0 assists to Fort Collins.

The Matchup

Loyola Chicago visits Colorado State on Saturday at 12:30 PM CT at Moby Arena in Fort Collins, Colorado, on USA Network, with Colorado State a 9.5-point favorite, a total of 152.5, and no moneyline posted. It is Loyola's second road game of the season and Colorado State's fourth straight game at home, in front of a crowd that sits right on top of the court.

Colorado State is 3-0 out of the Pac-12 Conference, scoring 83.0 points a game and allowing 70.7 this season, after a 21-13 season in which the Rams scored 75.7 a game and allowed 71.1. The Rams shoot 52.1 percent as a team and 80.3 percent at the free throw line, figures that describe an offense that wastes very little. Jase Butler is the center of it. Butler leads Colorado State at 13.3 points, 6.7 rebounds, and 6.3 assists a game, leading the Rams in all three areas, and Butler carries no injury designation into this game.

Loyola Chicago is 2-1 out of the Atlantic 10 Conference, scoring 82.0 points a game and allowing 70.7 this season. That scoring figure is a different world from last season, when the Ramblers went 9-24, scored 66.8 a game, and allowed 75.8, and it deserves a skeptical look: two of Loyola's three games were at home, and its one road game so far ended in a loss.

What looks real is the shape of the team. Dayan Nessah leads Loyola at 14.7 points a game, Jason Schofield leads the Ramblers at 8.7 rebounds a game, and Guillaume Grotzinger leads them at 8.0 assists a game. Nessah, Schofield, and Grotzinger carry no injury designations into this game.

Key Factors

The first factor is the glass. Loyola averages 39.3 rebounds a game against Colorado State's 33.7, and Schofield's work inside leads a frontcourt that can steal possessions in a building where the home team feeds on runs. Extra possessions are how an underdog survives a road game against a team shooting 52.1 percent: every offensive rebound is a Colorado State fast break that never happens.

The second factor is who creates the better shots late. Butler does everything for Colorado State, which is a strength until a defense can load up on one player. Grotzinger's 8.0 assists a game say Loyola's offense is built on shared creation instead, and the Ramblers shoot 47.3 percent as a team while averaging 18.3 assists a game, so the ball keeps moving until a Rambler is open.

The honest counterpoint is Moby Arena itself. Colorado State is 3-0 at home, the trip to Fort Collins is a long one, and Loyola has already lost its only road game. If Butler controls this game the way he has controlled the Rams' first three, and the crowd rushes Loyola's shots early, Colorado State's efficiency turns the afternoon into a comfortable home win. Loyola has to survive the first ten minutes before its rebounding can matter.

Every pick is published with its line before the game. Odds via consensus sportsbooks at time of writing and move constantly. Must be 21+. If gambling is a problem, call or text 1-800-GAMBLER.