The VCU Rams (21-8) wrap up the regular season at Stuart Siegel Center as they host the Davidson Wildcats (17-10). Action begins at 7:00 pm ET on Wednesday, Mar. 2 and will air on CCS.
The Rams beat George Washington 69-65 on Saturday. Jonathan Williams led all scorers on the team with 17 points on 7-for-11 shooting.
Ball control could weigh heavily in this showdown. Davidson commits the sixth-fewest errors in the nation (TO% of 14.6%), while the disruptive defense of VCU forces the sixth-most (opponents’ TO% of 23.4%).
This will be the second matchup of the season between these two teams. The Rams won the first game 79-69. Despite the loss, Gibbs had a standout performance with 37 points, three rebounds, three assists, one steal, and seven three-pointers.
The Rams are attempting to build on their records of 21-8 Straight Up (SU) and 17-9 Against The Spread (ATS). The Rams are one of the best in Division I in terms of field-goal percentage, shooting a superb .378 from beyond the arc. The VCU defense has done poorly against opposing offenses during the last 10 games, allowing an average of 75.3 points per game, well above their season average of 67.2.
Over on the other bench, the Wildcats have a 17-10 SU record, but have struggled ATS with a 9-16-1 record. Davidson is one of the top foul-shooting teams in the nation, converting .760 of their shots from the line. The Wildcats are the better of the two teams when it comes to assist-to-turnover ratio, ranking 18th in Division I at 1.49. The last 10 games have really brought out the best of the Wildcats on the defensive end. They’ve allowed 69.0 points per game during that span, which is lower than their season average of 78.4.
With the Rams’ last win against the Wildcats, their SU record against Davidson moves to 3-2. On the other hand, Davidson leads the matchup ATS with a record of 3-2.
Predictions: SU Winner – VCU, ATS Winner – VCU
Notes
“Virginia Commonwealth is 4-1 ATS in its last 5 games “.
“Virginia Commonwealth is 16-3 SU in its last 19 games “.
“Virginia Commonwealth is 6-2 ATS in its last 8 games at home”.
“The total has gone OVER in 4 of Virginia Commonwealth’s last 6 games at home”.
VCU averages 77.7 points per game (ranked 62nd). Davidson, on the other hand, allows 78.4 points per game (ranked 240th).
VCU scores 79.8 points per home game (ranked 79th). Davidson ranks a poor 245th in points allowed on the road, allowing 83.0 points.
Ranked 72nd, the VCU Rams have an offensive rating of 110.9. The Davidson Wildcats rank 264th with a defensive rating of just 110.0.
With 70.1 possessions and 1.109 points per possession, the VCU Rams perform worse on both metrics than the Davidson Wildcats. Davidson averages 71.2 possessions and 1.126 points per possession.
Davidson has an average effective field goal percentage of 52.5%. VCU is a solid 8-4 when opponents have a similar or higher effective field goal percentage.
On average, VCU attempts 20.0 three pointers and Davidson attempts 27.0. Both teams have winning records when they have 20 or more three point attempts. The VCU Rams sit at 11-3 and the Davidson Wildcats are 17-9.
The 18th-ranked team in the category, Davidson has an assist-to-turnover ratio of 1.49 this season. VCU ranks 67th with an A/TO of 1.25.
The VCU Rams rank fourth in steals this season, with an average of 9.4 per game. When the Davidson Wildcats allow at least 9 steals, they have a winning 5-2 record.
