Patriot League Championship Game preview: No. 9 Loyola vs. No. 2 Colgate

The Colgate Raiders will look to continue their hot streak through the Patriot League Championship, while the Loyola Greyhounds will try to complete an incredible run to the NCAA Tournament.

Colgate (13-1, 11-1 CAA) is on a 12-game winning streak, and is the No. 2 seed in this tournament. This is a home game for the Raiders, and they should feel confident about their chances on Sunday. This offense went for 105 points in Wednesday’s win over Bucknell as five players scored in double digits. Sophomore forward Keegan Records led the way with 21 points, but senior guard Jordan Burns will be the player to watch, averaging 17.1 points and 5.5 assists, which leads the conference by a large margin.

Loyola (6-10, 4-10 CAA) entered the conference tournament as the No. 9 seed in the 10-team field but pulled off an upset against top-seeded Navy, followed by a win over the fourth seed Army. Against the Black Knights, sophomore forward Santi Aldama went for 33 points on 13-of-15 shooting including 50-of-6 from three-point range with 12 rebounds. He finished with a double-double in each of the two tournament games heading into Sunday.

Game Time/TV Channel/Streaming

You can watch Loyola Maryland vs. Colgate on Sunday, March 14 at 12:00 p.m. ET on CBS Sports Network, or you can watch via the CBS Sports app or CBS All-Access with a cable or streaming service login. If you don’t have a cable login, you can get a free trial from YouTube TV, Hulu with Live TV, AT&T TV Now, FuboTV, or Sling TV to stream it.

Point Spread, Totals, Odds, Trends from DraftKings Sportsbook

Point spread: Colgate -9.5
Point Total: 147.5
Money line: Loyola (+380), Colgate (-530)

Notes

• Loyola is 3-1 straight up and against the spread in their last four road games.
• Colgate is 12-0 straight up in their last 12 games and 8-4 against the spread in that span.
• The over hit in four of Colgate’s last six games, while Loyola hit the over three times in their last six.

The Best Bet

For the second-straight season the contributions of Aldama have been overlooked by most of college basketball. The Spanish forward is averaging 21.8 points per game, and this year he’s added a three-pointer to his repertoire (37.8%). He’s the best player in the Patriot that’s worth the price of admission alone, and Colgate might not have an answer.

The Raiders could win, and Jordan Burns is outstanding himself, but this is just too many points with Aldama rested and on the court.

The Pick: Loyola +9.5

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