The 10^th-ranked Florida Atlantic Owls will travel to Chicago, Illinois to face the Loyola Chicago Ramblers at the Wintrust Arena with tip-off scheduled for 7:00 PM ET on Wednesday evening. 

The Florida Atlantic Owls enter the season ranked 10^th in the AP Poll and 9^th in the Coaches Poll following a season in which the Owls made it to the Final Four. The Owls finished last season with an overall record of 35-4 and a Conference USA record of 18-2 while also winning the Paradise Invitational. Florida Atlantic finished the regular season on a four-game winning streak which helped to build momentum in the Conference USA Conference Tournament in which the Owls cruised to the conference tournament championship by defeating the Western Kentucky Hilltoppers by a score of 75-51, the Middle Tennessee State Blue Raiders by a score of 68-65 before defeating the UAB Blazers by a score of 78-56 in the championship game to earn the automatic bid. The Owls would make it all the way to the Final Four by defeating the Memphis Tigers in the 1^st round by a score of 66-65, the Fairleigh Dickinson Knights in the 2^nd round by a score of 78-70, the Tennessee Volunteers in the Sweet 16 by a score of 62-55, and the Kansas State Wildcats in the Elite Elite by a score of 79-76 before losing in the Final Four to the San Diego State Aztecs by a score of 71-72 which also ended their 11-game winning streak.

Loyola Chicago had a Cinderella season of their own during the 2018 NCAA Tournament by making it all the way to the Final Four, however, the Ramblers failed to make it to the 2023 NCAA Tournament after having made it the previous two seasons as they finished with a regular season record of 10-21 and an Atlantic 10 conference record of 4-14 which was their first losing season since 2015-16 college basketball season. The Ramblers lost five of their final six games to end the 2022-23 college basketball season which included a 1^st round Atlantic 10 Conference Tournament loss to the Saint Joseph’s Hawks by a score of 67-72. 

BookMaker has the Florida Atlantic Owls listed as 6-point favorites on the road against the Loyola Chicago Ramblers on Wednesday evening. This will be the first time in the history of these two programs that they will face each other in college basketball.

The Florida Atlantic Owls enter this season with the highest expectations that the team has ever had following last season’s Final Four run which was also the first time they had ever made it past the 1^st round and only the 2^nd time they had made it to the NCAA Tournament. The Owls enter the season ranked in the Top 10 in both the AP and Coaches Poll and are heavy favorites to repeat as the regular season champions of Conference USA. Florida Atlantic will start the season on the road on Wednesday evening by traveling to face the Ramblers of Loyola Chicago who finished last season with a losing record. I look for the Owls to start the season off in strong fashion with a win and cover when they face the Ramblers on Wednesday evening which is why I am laying the points in this matchup.