Rhode Island Rams vs VCU Rams Prediction, 1/9/2021 College Basketball Pick, Tips and Odds

Game: Rhode Island Rams vs VCU Rams

Date: Saturday, January 9, 2021

Location: Stuart C. Siegel Center in Richmond, VA

TV: CBSSN

Odds/Point Spread: Rhode Island (+5.5)

The Rhode Island Rams (5-6) head to Stuart C. Siegel Center on Saturday where they'll take on the VCU Rams (9-2). VCU opens this game as 5.5-point favorites. The O/U opens at 137.

Rhode Island comes into this game with a win-loss mark of 5-6 so far this season. They are averaging 72.9 points per outing (170th in Division 1) on 46.0% from the floor. The Rams are connecting on 30.8% on shots from beyond the arc (60 of 195) and 67.4% from the charity stripe. As a unit, Rhode Island is grabbing 37.2 rebounds per game and has tallied 120 assists on the campaign, which ranks 161st in the country in terms of passing. They are turning it over 14.8 times per contest and as a squad are committing 20.6 personal fouls per contest. When they are on defense, the Rams are forcing their opponents into 13.3 turnovers per game while drawing 20.5 fouls. They are surrendering 32.9% on 3-pointers and they are ranked 211th in college basketball in PPG allowed (71.5). The Rams defensively are giving up an opponent FG percentage of 40.5% (266 of 656) and they surrender 36.2 rebounds per game as a basketball team. They are currently ranked 223rd in D-1 in allowing assists to their opponents with 125 conceded this season.

The Rhode Island Rams took the court against the Richmond Spiders and went home with a loss by a final score of 80-73 in their last game. Rhode Island wrapped up the game having earned a 52.7% FG percentage (29 out of 55) and buried 6 out of their 15 3-point attempts. From the free throw line, the Rams knocked down 9 of 16 tries for a rate of 56.3%. With respect to getting rebounds, they collected 35 with 7 of them being of the offensive sort. They also doled out 10 assists in this contest in addition to getting 3 steals and 3 rejections. With respect to defense, Rhode Island let their opponent shoot 52.7% from the field on 29 out of 55 shooting. Richmond dished out 16 dimes and had 7 steals for the contest. Furthurmore, the Spiders snagged 27 boards (7 offensive, 20 defensive) and had 3 blocked shots. Richmond finished 82.4% at the charity stripe by burying 14 of 17 tries. They also converted 8 of 18 shots from beyond the arc.

Fatts Russell is a guy who played a role in the game. He totaled 18 points on 7 out of 17 shooting. He played for 34 minutes and collected 6 boards. Russell ended up shooting 41.2% from the field and also recorded 4 dimes. An additional guy that came through in this matchup for the Rams was Antwan Walker. He grabbed 8 rebounds and earned 2 assists. He finished shooting 85.7% from the floor for the matchup by going 6-of-7 (12 points). When this game wrapped up, Walker was on the court for 21 min.

VCU has a mark of 9-2 for the campaign. The Rams are committing 19.5 fouls every game and they go 74.3% from the free throw line. They are earning an assist 14.4 times per game (128th in the nation) and they are giving up possession 15.0 times per game. VCU has totaled 843 points for the year (76.6 per contest) and they pull in 34.5 rebounds per game. As an offense, the Rams are hitting on 47.5% from the field, which ranks them 76th in the nation. The Rams on the defensive side of the court are 59th in college hoops in PPG surrendered with 64.3. The VCU defense surrenders 28.5% on shots from behind the 3-point line (63 of 221) and their opposition knocks down 68.7% of their free throw attempts. They have relinquished 11.5 dimes and 34.3 rebounds per contest, which ranks them 95th and 136th in the country. They are able to force 18.5 turnovers on a nightly basis and allow teams to shoot 39.4% from the floor (52nd in D-1).

The last time they took the court, the VCU Rams took home the win by a final score of 66-61 against the George Mason Patriots. The Rams earned 24 defensive boards and 8 offensive rebounds for a total of 32 in the game. They turned away 4 tries while getting 11 steals for the game. The Patriots had 13 fouls for the game which took the Rams to the charity stripe for 12 shots. They were able to knock down 8 of them for a percentage of 66.7%. When discussing shots from downtown, VCU knocked down 6 of 17 attempts (35.3%). Overall, the Rams shot 26 out of 58 from the floor which gave them a percentage of 44.8%. The Rams permitted the Patriots to bury 21 out of 56 tries from the field which had them at 37.5% for this game. They shot 26.7% from beyond the arc by connecting on 4 of 15 and walked away from this one shooting 15 out of 20 from the free throw line (75.0%). With respect to team rebounding, VCU allowed George Mason to snag 34 in total (11 offensive).

Nah'Shon Hyland ended up being a factor for the Rams in this matchup. He made 10 of 23 in this game for a field goal rate of 43.5%, which earned him 23 points. Hyland had 10 rebounds in his 35 mins played and totaled 2 assists in the game. Someone else who was a determining factor for VCU was Vince Williams. He finished with 12 points in his 27 minutes played via 4 of 9 from the floor in this contest. Williams ended the game having shot 44.4% from the field as well as earning 3 assists and 3 rebounds.

Who will win tonight's college basketball game against the spread?

Josh Schonwald's Pick: Take Rhode Island (+5.5)

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