The last time I backed Loyola-Chicago, the Ramblers nearly pulled off the outright upset at home against Butler but they were able to easily cover the 12-point number. Two days later, they lost at home against Valparaiso by 19 points which was almost inevitable coming off that big game so a letdown was in store. While losing that big against a bad Crusaders team was surprising, what it does is give us some enormous value in this game which is the first since that defeat. Loyola-Chicago has been pretty good on the road this season as it is 5-4 and the last two losses, both within the Horizon, have been tight.

The Ramblers are 2-2 on the road in conference games and with a decent record like that, getting close to double-digits in another conference game is a definite take. This is also a revenge for Loyola-Chicago who lost at home to the Titans earlier this month by 17 points. Detroit is having a very good season as well but a lot of that has had to do with the schedule. The Titans have played the 213th ranked schedule in the nation and the best win of the 12 victories is Western Michigan who has the highest power ranking of all teams Detroit has defeated.

That is far from a quality win and after an 11-5 start, the Titans have lost three of their last four games including two straight at home. Granted those last two home losses were against Wright St. and Butler, this team is starting to slip in the other direction. According to Yahoo Sports, second-year coach Ray McCallum said that his young Titans are experiencing some midseason growing pains. "As we try to climb, we''re in uncharted waters," he told Fox Sports Detroit. "This group hasn''t been together and been through the wars." That tells me that even he doesn't know what to expect from his team. The Ramblers have played the tougher schedule and they have advantages in three top statistical categories. The have a better assist/turnover ratio, shoot better from the free throw line and have a better rebounding margin. The margins are slim but they are positive. Looking at the Titans assist/turnover ratio shows it sitting at 0.83 and for a team that has played such a soft schedule, that ratio is horrible. Loyola-Chicago falls into a solid bounce back situation as well. Play on road teams with a winning percentage between .600 and .800 that are coming off a loss by 15 points or more as a favorite and now playing a team with a winning record. This situation is 37-10 ATS (78.7 percent) over the last five seasons. 3* Loyola-Chicago Ramblers