In the battle of I-55 Memphis takes on St. Louis in the West Regional 8-9 game Friday night.
The Tigers, in the tournament after winning both the C-USA regular-season and tournament crowns, are favored by three points over the Billikens, who got an at-large bid as the second-place team in the Atlantic 10.
The game is being played at Nationwide Arena, which makes it technically a neutral site match.
The Tigers sit at 26-8 (17-13-1 ATS) on the season. By comparison, the Billikens are currently 25-7 (16-10-2 ATS). Looking to wager on the totals? Memphis is 16-13-2 OU, and Saint Louis is 15-12-1 OU.
View Saint Louis vs Memphis Odds and Stats.
Betting Line:
College basketball odds makers opened the Tigers as 3.5-point favorites in this matchup at Sportsbook.
Power Rankings / Prediction:
The Tigers - Billikens odds would favor the Tigers if the lines were set according to our power ranks. Memphis is rated No. 10 in the current Odds Shark poll, while Saint Louis is at No. 72. Mathematical models based on recent stats and predictive formulas point to a 80-78 win for the Tigers.
How They Match Up:
In the paint, the rebound battle will feature Memphis's No. 179-rated squad against Saint Louis's No. 258-rated roster. And in long-range shooting, Memphis rates No. 252 in the country with 5.4 per game, while their foes tonight rank No. 90 nationally with 7.1 per match.
Defensively, Saint Louis features the nation's No. 51-rated defense on the road, allowing 64.2 points per game. Memphis, meanwhile, comes in at No. 89 nationally in scoring at home.
Last time out for Saint Louis, they were a 71-64 loser as they battled Xavier at home. They failed to cover in the match as a 5.5-point favorite. Brian Conklin scored 14 points in a futile effort to lead the Billikens to a win (they lost 71-64 to Xavier at Boardwalk Hall on Saturday).
Memphis won its last outing, an 83-57 result against Marshall on March 10. They covered in that game as a 12-point favorite. The battle between the Tigers and Thundering Herd didn’t turn out to be much of a battle at all as Marshall was handed an 83-57 defeat on Saturday at FedExForum.
Saint Louis Billikens Trends:
When playing on Friday are 5-5
After playing Xavier are 4-6
After a loss are 6-4
Memphis Tigers Trends:
When playing on Friday are 10-0
After playing Marshall are 6-4
After a win are 9-1
A few Billikens at Tigers trends to consider:
Memphis is 5-0 SU in its last 5 games
The total has gone OVER in 5 of Memphis's last 6 games
Memphis is 1-3-1 ATS in its last 5 games when playing Saint Louis
