The Loyola-Chicago Ramblers and the Southern Illinois Salukis meet tonight to put the ‘Arch’ in march madness betting. LUC and SIU will do battle at the Scottrade Center in St. Louis, MO in the quarterfinals of the Missouri Valley Conference Tournament – colloquially known as Arch Madness and which gives fans who will be betting on March Madness a chance to hone their gambling skills.
Loyola University Chicago Ramblers -3 (-110) 133 (-110) -160
Southern Illinois University Carbondale Salukis +3 (-110) 133 (-110) +140
The Ramblers lost their regular season finale 70-72 precisely against the Salukis on Saturday. Clayton Custer scored 21 points and Milton Doyle 13 points, while Donte Ingram added 11 points and five rebounds. Aundre Jackson had 18 points off the bench. Loyola-Chicago took a 70-69 lead on a couple of free throws by Custer with 36 seconds to go, but Southern Illinois nailed a trey on the following possession, and Custer’s jumper to tie with four seconds remaining was a no go. Custer 21 points was one point short of his season best. He hit 7 of 10 shots from the floor, and made all three of his three-point attempts. LUC finished the regular season 18-3 (8-10 in MVC play) and earned the No. 5 seed in the conference tournament. Fans who enjoy betting on March madness might find the following interesting: Loyola-Chicago is 2-4 against the spread in the last six games when playing SIU and 2-6 SU in the last eight games versus Southern Illinois.
In the aforementioned regular season finale, the Salukis obviously beat the Ramblers. Sean O’Brien had 17 points and 13 rebounds, while Leo Vincent added 15 points and Mike Rodriguez 13. Armon Fletcher had 14 points off the bench, including the game-winning three-point shot with 17 seconds remaining in the game. Southern Illinois finished the regular season 16-15 (9-9 in conference play) in a third place tie with Northern Iowa. The Salukis were seeded No. 4. SIU swept the regular season series against Loyola, first 67-61 on February 4th. As Salukis head coach Barry Hinson told the press, “It was hard enough to beat them the first time, it was hard enough to beat them the second time, it’s going to be hard enough to beat them a third time.” Hinson speculated that “it could come down literally to a last shot like this last one did.” SIU are gearing to go to the NCAA Tournament (aka march madness betting), giving it priority over the College Basketball Invitational or the College Basketball Tournament. Fans who enjoy betting on March madness might find the next tidbits alluring: the Salukis are 4-2 against the spread in the last six games against Loyola-Chicago and 6-2 SU in the last eight games when playing against the Ramblers. The total has gone over in four of Southern Illinois’ last five games. Arch madness is definitely the best aperitif before March madness betting, as these two teams are certainly bound to give proof of this very night.