Loyola Marymount vs Troy prediction: Donovan Oday leads a rebuilt Troy against LMU's imported shooters
Two programs that returned almost nothing from last season meet in Troy, where Adam Howard's first team must prove its transfer haul can replace a championship core.
- Expect an early-season feeling-out game between two transfer-built rosters, with Troy's home floor and LMU's size pulling in opposite directions.
- Donovan Oday against LMU's perimeter defense: he scored 18.6 points per game at Northern Kentucky last season on a 28 usage rate.
- No line is posted yet. Last season's adjusted net ratings had Troy 148th and LMU 169th, a thin gap for two rebuilt rosters.
Troy starts over at the top
Troy has spent two years at the top of the Sun Belt, finishing first in the regular season both times and chasing a third straight conference tournament title this winter, something no league program has done since Western Kentucky in 2001-03. Almost none of the team that built that run is left. Scott Cross is gone, Adam Howard begins his first season as head coach, and the roster returns just 9.0% of last season's minutes.
The departures read like an all-league list. Thomas Dowd, who averaged 14.4 points and 10.1 rebounds, is at Auburn. Cooper and Cobi Campbell left for Liberty, and Victor Valdes went to Georgia Tech. That 22-12 team is a history lesson, not a scouting report.
The new centerpiece is Donovan Oday, who scored 18.6 points per game at Northern Kentucky with an offensive rating of 122.3 (points produced per 100 possessions). Jacoi Hutchinson, a 31-game starter at Longwood, brings 12.3 points a night and 86.2% free-throw shooting. Caden Diggs adds a stretch option after hitting 35.6% from three at UMBC. No Troy injuries have surfaced as of Oct. 30.
Loyola Marymount vs Troy: quick answers
When is Loyola Marymount vs Troy?
Tuesday, November 10, 2026 at 7:00 PM ET.