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The No. 8 seed Loyola-Chicago Ramblers square off against the ninth-seeded Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets in a first-round game of the 2021 NCAA Tournament Midwest Region on Friday in Indianapolis. Georgia Tech (17-8) ended an 11-year NCAA drought by winning the ACC Tournament but will be without star forward Moses Wright due to COVID-19 concerns. Loyola Chicago (24-4) has won 17 of 18 after dispatching Drake in the Missouri Valley Conference Tournament championship game to advance to the NCAAs for the second time since 2018, when it made a stunning run to the Final Four as a No. 11 seed.

Tip-off is scheduled for 4 p.m. ET at Hinkle Fieldhouse. The winner is looking at a likely second-round matchup with top-seeded Illinois. William Hill Sportsbook lists the Ramblers as 5.5-point favorites, while the over-under for total points scored is 124 in the latest Loyola vs. Georgia Tech odds. Before making any Georgia Tech vs. Loyola picks, check out the college basketball predictions and betting advice from the SportsLine Projection Model.

The SportsLine Projection Model simulates every Division I college basketball game 10,000 times. Over the past four-plus years, the proprietary computer model has generated an impressive profit of over $2,500 for $100 players on its top-rated college basketball picks against the spread. It has also returned almost $500 on all top-rated college basketball picks this season. Anyone who has followed it has seen huge returns.

Now, the model has set its sights on Georgia Tech vs. Loyola in the NCAA Tournament 2021. You can head to SportsLine to see its picks. Here are several college basketball odds and trends for Loyola vs. Georgia Tech:

  • Loyola Chicago vs. Georgia Tech spread: Loyola -5.5
  • Loyola Chicago vs. Georgia Tech over-under: 124 points
  • Loyola Chicago vs. Georgia Tech money line: Loyola -250; Georgia Tech +205
  • LOY: The Ramblers won their three MVC tourney games by a combined 50 points
  • GT: The Yellow Jackets are 8-1 ATS in their last nine games

Why Loyola can cover 

Senior center Cameron Krutwig ranks among some select company, joining Oscar Robertson, Larry Bird and Hersey Hawkins as the only players in Missouri Valley Conference history to amass 1,500 points, 800 rebounds and 300 assists in his career. He registered four of his five double-doubles on the season over his last 10 games. As a freshman, Krutwig averaged 10.8 points on the 2017-2018 squad that advanced to the Final Four.

Senior guard Lucas Williamson was named the MVC Defensive Player of the Year and was one of the main reasons the Ramblers held the opposition to a nation-low 55.5 points per game. Although he averaged 7.9 points during the regular season, Williamson has picked it up at the offensive end down the stretch. He scored in double figures in three of the past four games and connected on 7 of 14 3-point attempts in the MVC Tournament.

Why Georgia Tech can cover

With ACC Player of the Year Wright out of the lineup, the Yellow Jackets will be looking to guards Jose Alvarado and Michael Devoe to pick up the offensive void. Alvarado, a point guard, was second on the team in scoring at 15.3 points per game and averaged a shade under 18 points over the last four contests. Named the ACC Defensive Player of the Year, he averaged 3.0 steals and collected a total of 18 over the last five games.

Sparked by Alvarado's defensive prowess, Georgia Tech scored an average of 18.9 points off turnovers, which ranked as the best mark nationally among major conference schools. Devoe averaged 15.1 points and has scored in double figures in his last nine games while recording at least two steals six times during that span. The junior is shooting 66.7 overall (20 of 30) and 7 of 11 from 3-point range over his last three games.

How to make Loyola vs. Georgia Tech picks

The model is leaning over on the total, projecting the teams to combine for 138 points. It also says one side of the spread hits in 60 percent of simulations. You can only see the pick at SportsLine.

So who wins Loyola vs. Georgia Tech? And which side of the spread hits 60 percent of the time? Visit SportsLine right now to see which side of the spread you need to jump on, all from the computer model that has crushed its college basketball picks.