Loyola-Chicago vs Central Michigan Prediction Basketball Picks 12-30-23

The Central Michigan Chippewas and the Loyola Ramblers meet Saturday in college basketball action from Gentile Arena. Central Michigan beat Detroit in their last game, improving to 5-6 on the year. As for Loyola, they’re 7-5 so far and coming off a win over Charleston Southern. Let’s get into our Central Michigan vs. Loyola prediction. Check back all season long for free college basketball picks at Sports Chat Place.

Central Michigan Chippewas

The Chippewas lost their first three games of the season to Oklahoma, LA-Monroe and Florida State before a couple of wins over South Florida and Siena. A 1-3 stretch came afterward featuring losses to Stetson, Ohio State and Creighton. Central Michigan recovered with wins over Davenport and Detroit in the next pair. 

Matched up against Detroit last Thursday, the Chippewas posted a nice 44-31 run in the first half. Central Michigan kept the pace pretty well from there and came away with the win 75-63. Leading the team in scoring was Brian Taylor with 19 points and 11 rebounds. 

Loyola Ramblers 

Over on the Loyola side, they posted a 5-3 run out of the gate. Wins in that time came versus Eastern Illinois, New Orleans, Boston College, Chicago State and Harvard. It’s been a 2-2 run since then for the Ramblers, featuring losses to Tulsa and South Florida mixed with wins over Goshen and Charleston Southern. 

Way back on December 19 in their last outing versus Charleston Southern, the Ramblers didn’t have too many issues after the first half. Loyola went into the break with a 38-36 deficit but hit a 36-21 run from there in an eventual win 72-59. Tops on the team were Philip Alston and Dame Adelekun, each with 12 points and a combined 11 boards. 

ANDREW’S FREE CENTRAL MICHIGAN VS LOYOLA PREDICTION 

I’ll stay with Loyola. The Ramblers started a bit slow against a struggling Charleston Southern team in their latest matchup, however everything worked out in the end. Loyola shot 53.4 percent from the field with 37 rebounds in that one. The 3-point shooting was off, however (26.7 percent). The Ramblers have scored pretty well lately with 72 or more points in four of their last five outings. 

Central Michigan has scored pretty well themselves with 71 or more points in three of their last four, so we could have a pretty high total here if both squads are on point. In the end I like Loyola a little better on the cover, though.