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- The 18th-ranked Saint Louis Billikens are 7.5-point favorites vs VCU in a battle at the top of the Atlantic 10 Conference
- Saint Louis just had an 18-game win streak snapped, while VCU has won 10 in a row
- See below for my VCU vs Saint Louis prediction and best bets
The best of the Atlantic 10 is on full showcase Friday, when the #18 Saint Louis Billikens (21-6, 1st in A-10) host the VCU Rams (24-2, 12-1 A-10) in a battle for first in the conference.
Saint Louis just saw its 18-game win streak come to an end, and will be facing a scorching hot VCU, which has ripped off ten wins in a row. Still, online sportsbooks aren’t giving much love to the visitors in Friday’s college basketball odds, as the Rams try to hand the Billikens their first home loss of the year.
Actions tips off Friday night at 7:00 pm ET from Chaifetz Arena in St. Louis, MO, with ESPN2 carrying the broadcast.
VCU vs Saint Louis Odds & Betting Lines
The Billikens are 7.5-point favorites, getting -120 odds to cover, meaning you’ll need to wager $120 dollars to get a $100 profit in return. That’s a lot better than the moneyline, where the Billikens are heavy -430 favorites.
A Rams outright win pays off at a cool +330, while the total checks in at 165.5 points.
Odds as of Feb 20. New customers can claim a FanDuel promo code to get a bonus to bet on college basketball.
Prediction site Kalshi also has a market for this game and you can get a much better price on the Billikens winning straight-up. The “Yes” on a Saint Louis win is trading at 77c, which means you would profit 23c on every “Yes” contract and is equivalent to -335 odds. The spread at Kalshi is listed at Saint Louis -8.5, a point higher than at FanDuel.
VCU vs Saint Louis Prediction
It’s been one of the good basketball stories, as Saint Louis has played its way onto the big board in the latest March Madness odds, even though it’s at a distant +12500 number.
The Billikens are one of the elite offensive teams in college hoops, posting 90.2 points per game, which ranks third in the nation.
They rank third in field goal shooting (51.7%) and second at shooting the rock from distance, at a lively 40.8% clip. Seven players are averaging at least 9.3 points per game this season, led by Robbie Avila’s modest 12.7 points per game.
But they were far from their dominant selves last time out, getting upended by Rhode Island 81-76. They couldn’t get out of their own way, turning the ball over 18 times — 11 before the game was even 10 minutes old — which were converted into 28 points against.
Defensively Saint Louis also ranks first in college basketball in both field goal (36.5%) and 3-point (27.6%) shooting defense, but were torched by the RI Rams, who shot an equal 41% from the field and 3-point range.
That might lead some to believe the Billikens aren’t next-level ready, as they rank 172nd in the strength of schedule metric over at KenPom.
Perhaps losing is just what Saint Louis needed, because they’re going to need to be focussed against VCU. These Rams just wiped George Washington 89-75, giving them 10 straight wins, and puts them in position to leapfrog Saint Louis to take the A-10 top spot.
They’ve got enough scoring, ranking second in the conference behind the Billikens at 83.7 points per game, and they sit inside the Top 5 in both field goal and 3-point shooting.
The one thing the Rams don’t have, however, is a win against a ranked team this season. During their 10-game fun run, VCU didn’t let an opponent cross 75 points.
VCU vs Ranked Teams This Season
It’s going to be a tall task against the Billikens, who have been held under 80 points just four times in the last 19 games.
One of those was by VCU, in a 71-62 loss to Saint Louis on January 7, but the Rams didn’t have enough offensively to land the plane in that one, shooting a rough 18-for-63 for the game, including 6-for-24 from 3-point range.
Now, they have to come into Chaifetz Arena to try and beat a team that’s 16-0 at home, and has gone 7-3-0 agianst the spread in its own gym the last 10 games.
As strong as VCU is playing, Saint Louis should be in a surly mood, and find its way back into the win column in what amounts to the biggest game of the season so far.
