Merkviladze leads Loyola Marymount against No. 23 Saint Mary's (CA) after 21-point game

Saint Mary's Gaels (25-4, 15-1 WCC) at Loyola Marymount Lions (16-13, 8-9 WCC)

Los Angeles; Thursday, 11 p.m. EST

BOTTOM LINE: Loyola Marymount faces No. 23 Saint Mary's (CA) after Alex Merkviladze scored 21 points in Loyola Marymount's 93-82 victory against the Pepperdine Waves.

The Lions have gone 11-5 in home games. Loyola Marymount is 8-6 when it turns the ball over less than its opponents and averages 10.0 turnovers per game.

The Gaels are 15-1 in conference matchups. Saint Mary's (CA) leads the WCC giving up just 60.9 points per game while holding opponents to 40.7% shooting.

Loyola Marymount averages 7.8 made 3-pointers per game, 2.2 more made shots than the 5.6 per game Saint Mary's (CA) allows. Saint Mary's (CA) has shot at a 46.1% clip from the field this season, 3.7 percentage points above the 42.4% shooting opponents of Loyola Marymount have averaged.

TOP PERFORMERS: Caleb Stone-Carrawell is averaging 13.5 points for the Lions. Will Johnston is averaging 2.0 made 3-pointers over the last 10 games.

Paulius Murauskas is averaging 12.8 points and 8.1 rebounds for the Gaels. Mikey Lewis is averaging 2.2 made 3-pointers over the last 10 games.

LAST 10 GAMES: Lions: 5-5, averaging 71.7 points, 29.5 rebounds, 11.7 assists, 6.2 steals and 4.4 blocks per game while shooting 44.9% from the field. Their opponents have averaged 72.8 points per game.

Gaels: 9-1, averaging 71.0 points, 31.9 rebounds, 14.2 assists, 5.9 steals and 4.1 blocks per game while shooting 48.1% from the field. Their opponents have averaged 60.5 points.

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The Associated Press created this story using technology provided by Data Skrive and data from Sportradar.