VCU Rams vs Duquesne Dukes Prediction, 1/3/2026 College Basketball Picks, Best Bets & Odds

Game: VCU Rams vs Duquesne Dukes

Date: Saturday, January 3, 2026

Location: UPMC Cooper Fieldhouse in Pittsburgh, PA

TV: ESPN+

The Duquesne Dukes (9-5) are welcoming the VCU Rams (10-4) at UPMC Cooper Fieldhouse on Saturday.

The VCU Rams took the court against St. Bonaventure and walked away with a win by a score of 89-82 in their last contest. VCU wrapped up the game having earned a 54.7% FG percentage (29 out of 53) and converted 5 of 20 3-point shots. When they shot from the charity stripe, the Rams buried 26 of their 28 attempts for a percentage of 92.9%. Concerning grabbing rebounds, they earned 22 with 5 of them being of the offensive sort. They also dished out 13 assists in this contest while forcing the other team into 8 turnovers and having 3 steals. In reference to the defense, VCU allowed the other team to go 50.8% from the field on 31 of 61 shooting. St. Bonaventure doled out 16 dimes and had 4 steals in this matchup. Moreover, St. Bonaventure grabbed 26 boards (10 offensive, 16 defensive), but wasn't able to record a rejection. St. Bonaventure finished the game at 93.3% from the charity stripe by knocking down 14 of 15 tries. They also made 6 out of their 10 tries from distance. In relation to personal fouls, the Rams ended up with 12 while St. Bonaventure recorded 23 personal fouls.

Lazar Djokovic is one player who was a contributor for the contest. He ended up shooting 75.0% from the field and earned 1 assist. He played 38 minutes played and also snagged 4 rebounds. He ended up finishing with 23 points on 9 of 12 shooting.

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VCU steps onto the court with a record of 10-4 on the year. They cough up possession 11.7 times per contest and as a team are committing 17.6 personal fouls every game. As a unit, VCU is pulling down 37.8 boards per contest and has earned 221 assists for the year, which ranks 91st in Division 1 in terms of passing the rock. The Rams are hitting 37.1% on three-point attempts (142 of 383) and 73.9% from the free throw line. They currently have an average of 86.8 points per game (46th in the country) while going 47.4% from the floor.

When they are on the defensive end, the Rams are forcing their opponents into 13.1 turnovers per game while drawing 20.6 personal fouls. They are surrendering 35.4% on shots from beyond the arc and they are 175th in D-1 in PPG allowed (72.9). The Rams defense is giving up a shooting percentage of 42.2% (353 of 836) and they concede 34.9 boards per game as a team. They are 174th in college in giving up assists with 180 surrendered so far this season.

The last time they took the hardwood, the Duquesne Dukes went home victorious with a score of 89-83 when they faced Davidson. The Dukes earned 34 defensive boards and 10 offensive rebounds for a total of 44 for this contest. They also coughed up the ball 12 times, while recording 5 steals for the matchup. Davidson earned 14 fouls in this contest which took the Dukes to the charity stripe for a total of 21 shots. They were able to bury 17 of the free throw attempts for a rate of 81.0%. When discussing shots from 3-point land, Duquesne converted 16 of 35 attempts (45.7%). When this game wrapped up, the Dukes shot 28 out of 69 from the field which had them at 40.6%. The Dukes permitted Davidson to make 30 of 76 tries from the field which gave them a shooting percentage of 39.5% for the contest. They went 29.7% from distance by going 11 of 37 and walked away from this one shooting 12 of 15 from the free throw line (80.0%). Regarding cleaning up the glass, Duquesne permitted Davidson to grab 31 in total (9 offensive).

Tarence Guinyard ended up being important for the Dukes in the matchup. He made 9 out of 17 for the contest for a field goal rate of 52.9%, and had 4 rebounds. He totaled 24 points in his 46 minutes on the hardwood and had 6 assists for the game.

Duquesne has a record of 9-5 for the year. On the offensive side of the ball, the Dukes are shooting 49.7% from the floor, which is 34th in the nation. Duquesne has accumulated 1,211 pts on the campaign (86.5 per contest) and they snag 38.1 boards per contest. They are assisting teammates 17.6 times per game (43rd in the country) and they lose possession via turnover 14.3 times per contest. The Dukes are committing 20.1 personal fouls every game and they hit 70.8% from the charity stripe.

The Duquesne defense surrenders 33.4% on three-point shots (110 of 329) and opponents are making 74.3% of their foul shots. They have surrendered 12.9 assists and 33.5 rebounds per game, which has them ranked 158th and 128th in the nation. The Dukes on the defensive side of the court are 266th in college in points per game surrendered with 76.8. They are forcing their opponents into 13.5 TO's per game and have let teams shoot 42.9% from the floor (156th in Division 1).

Who will win tonight's NCAA game against the spread?

Guy Bruhn's Pick: Take Duquesne

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