Dayton vs Loyola Chicago Pick & Prediction for Friday

A game with major conference title implications in the Atlantic 10 will take place Friday night in Chicago as the Loyola Chicago Ramblers host the Dayton Flyers. Both teams are sitting one game back of Richmond for first place in the league.

With just three regular season games left on each of these teams' schedules, this contest essentially serves as an elimination matchup to remain alive for the conference championship.

Dayton has been the better team this season. The Flyers hold an impressive 22-5 record and had a stretch of 13 consecutive wins spanning from November to January.

The Flyers are coming off a nice win over Davidson earlier this week, but they've struggled a bit on the road in A-10 play, losing three of their last four road games and falling at the hands of Richmond, VCU and George Mason in the process.

Loyola had been playing great ball before getting beaten earlier this week by the classic lookahead spot. The Ramblers went on the road and got blitzed by St. Bonaventure, trailing by as much as 21 points in the second half.

Before that, Drew Valentine's squad had won seven consecutive games and looked like a legitimate contender for the A-10 title.

The Ramblers will be happy to return home for this game, where they're 13-2 on the season.

Dayton has cemented itself as one of the best offenses in all of college basketball. The Flyers are up to 16th in the nation in offensive efficiency, and their formula of a superstar surrounded by shooting is one that can lead to success in March.

DaRon Holmes II is one of the best players in the country. He's currently second on KenPom's Player of the Year rankings, and is an indispensable force in the Flyers' frontcourt.

Anthony Grant has built a roster full of outside shooters around Holmes that add up to the seventh-best 3-point percentage team in college hoops. Not only do they make 3s at a 39% clip, but they shoot a ton of them (45% of their shots come from outside the arc, 33rd-most in NCAA).

That'll pose a tough test for Loyola's 3-point defense, which is not a strong suit for the Ramblers. Loyola ranks 226th nationally in 3-point percentage defense, allowing opposing offenses to make 34% of their shots from outside.

Outside of teams making 3s consistently, Loyola has been pretty stellar defensively. The Ramblers rank 38th in the country in defensive efficiency, and they boast the fourth-best 2-point percentage defense in the sport.

Freshman Miles Rubin has emerged as a defensive force at the center spot. Rubin is third nationally in block rate and is a big reason why teams don't get any easy shots at the rim against the Ramblers.

If he can make life hard on Holmes, Loyola will have a good chance to cover and win this game.

Dayton's struggles on the road of late suggest the Flyers are vulnerable in games like this.

If Rubin can neutralize Holmes, the Ramblers have a great chance to cover and win in a bounce back spot.

I say this happens and the Ramblers get the job done.

Pick: Loyola Chicago +1.5