Atlantic 10 foes will lock horns when the Davidson Wildcats (12-6) play the VCU Rams (15-5) at Belk Arena. Action begins at 6:00 pm ET on Friday, Jan. 29 and can be seen on ES2 and ES3.
The Wildcats enter this game hoping for similar success after topping Richmond 78-70 on Monday. Peyton Aldridge was the game’s leading scorer with 34 points on 11-for-15 shooting. The Rams, meanwhile, are coming off an 84-76 win against St. Bonaventure on Sunday. JeQuan Lewis led the team in scoring by registering 26 points on 8-for-15 shooting.
Based on historical performance heading into this one, ball security could play a key role in the matchup. Davidson commits the fewest miscues in the nation (TO% of 13.3%), while the pesky defense of VCU causes the fourth-most (opponents’ TO% of 24.5%).
VCU takes on Davidson as a three-point favorite. The Over/Under (O/U) for the matchup is sitting at 161 points. Despite being 12-6 Straight Up (SU), the Wildcats have struggled to cover the spread in most of their matchups, only managing a record of 5-11-1 Against The Spread (ATS). The Wildcats are one of the best in Division I in terms of free throw percentage, shooting an impressive .760 from the free throw line. Davidson is one of the most disciplined teams in the nation with an assist-to-turnover ratio of 1.63.
In the other locker room, the Rams have 15-5 SU and 11-4 ATS records. VCU performed well ATS during its last 10 games, earning a 7-1 record. The Rams convert their three-pointers at a high percentage, ranking 44th in the nation at .381. The Rams have controlled the offensive glass with an average of 13.1 offensive rebounds per game, 47th in the country.
This game marks the season’s first head-to-head clash between the conference foes. Their previous game was a Wildcats victory, bringing the head-to-head record to an even 2-2 SU. The Wildcats lead the matchup ATS with a record of 3-1.
Predictions: SU Winner – VCU, ATS Winner – VCU, O/U – Over
Notes
Davidson is 3-6-1 ATS in its last 10 games.
Davidson is 17-8 SU in its last 25 games.
Davidson is 1-3-1 ATS in its last 5 games at home.
The VCU Rams currently hold a perfect 7-0 record against the Atlantic 10 Conference, and the Davidson Wildcats sit at 4-3 in conference games.
Ranked 82nd, the VCU Rams have an offensive rating of 110.5. The Davidson Wildcats rank 302nd with a defensive rating of just 109.3.
The Davidson Wildcats average a field goal percentage of 43.7% this season. The VCU Rams have a winning 8-3 record in games where opponents have a FG% of 43.7% or greater.
The Davidson Wildcats and the VCU Rams both rank higher in average effective field goal percentage when compared to their field goal percentages. Davidson is 201st and 108th in the nation for FG% and eFG% respectively, while VCU is 151st and 147th in these categories.
Davidson ranks 57th in assists, recording 15.8 per game. VCU ranks 81st with 15.2 assists per game.
The VCU Rams rank 47th in offensive rebounds. The Davidson Wildcats rank 117th in the nation in defensive rebounds.
On average, Davidson forces a turnover rate of 17.1%. When VCU turns over the ball at a similar or higher rate, the team has a solid 5-3 record.
