It will be a battle between Atlantic 10 opponents when the VCU Rams (18-7) welcome the Rhode Island Rams (14-11) to Stuart Siegel Center. The game begins at 7:30 pm ET on Tuesday, Feb. 16 and will air on CCS.
The Rams easily got past Saint Louis 85-52 on Saturday. Korey Billbury led all scorers on the team with 20 points on 8-for-11 shooting. The Rams are coming off a bitter 68-66 loss to Dayton on Friday. Rhode Island lost despite the best efforts of Hassan Martin, who recorded his second double-double of the season with 15 points and 10 rebounds.
The Rams enter the game with records of 18-7 Straight Up (SU) and 14-8 Against The Spread (ATS). The Rams have seen a decline in scoring as of late, averaging 67.8 points during the last 10 games compared to their season average of 77.8 points per game. Turning to the defensive side, the Rams are third in the country in steals with 9.8 per game.
On the other side, Rhode Island has a SU record of 14-11 and an ATS record of 10-13. Rhode Island has done particularly well ATS over its past 10 matchups, going 7-3. During the last 10 games, they averaged 81.5 PPG, above their 70.2 PPG season average. Rhode Island’s three-point defense is one of the top in the country, with opponents making only 4.0 shots from the three-point line per game. They average 5.2 blocks per game, good for 26th in the nation.
The conference foes will be facing off in their first head-to-head clash of the season. When they last met the Rams were winners, bumping their SU record to 4-1 over Rhode Island. The Rams also hold the advantage ATS with a record of 3-2.
Predictions: SU Winner – VCU, ATS Winner – VCU
Notes
VCU averages 77.8 points per game this season. Rhode Island is one of the best teams in points allowed, giving up just 64.1 points per game (ranked 19th).
VCU averages 79.2 points per home game (ranked 96th). Rhode Island allows 70.9 points per away game (ranked 65th).
VCU won its last game by a 33-point margin. In games decided by a margin of 18 points or more, Rhode Island is 6-1. VCU is 10-0 in blowouts this season.
The VCU Rams rank 75th for their offensive rating of 110.7. The Rhode Island Rams have a defensive rating of 98.4 (ranked 70th).
On average, VCU has 70.3 possessions per game and scores 1.107 points on each possession. Rhode Island has both fewer possessions (65.4) and scores fewer points during those possessions (1.075).
Rhode Island has an average effective field goal percentage of 50.7%. VCU is a solid 9-4 when opponents have a similar or higher effective field goal percentage.
VCU ranks 99th in assists, registering 14.7 per game. Rhode Island performs worse at 275th with 11.9 assists per game.
Rhode Island, the 26th-ranked team in blocked shots, registers an average of 5.2 per game. VCU does worse, ranked 171st with 3.4.
The VCU Rams make an average of 9.8 steals per game, ranked third in the nation. When the Rhode Island Rams allow 9 or more steals, they are undefeated (1-0).
