VCU Rams vs Saint Louis Billikens Prediction, 2/16/2024 College Basketball Picks, Best Bets & Odds

Game: VCU Rams vs Saint Louis Billikens

Date: Friday, February 16, 2024

Location: Chaifetz Arena in St. Louis, MO

TV: ESPN

Chaifetz Arena is where the Saint Louis Billikens (9-15) will compete against the VCU Rams (16-8) on Friday.

The VCU Rams took the court against Dayton and earned the victory with a final of 49-47 in their last contest. VCU ended the contest with a 37.7% field goal percentage (20 of 53) and converted 5 of their 21 shots from 3-point land. From the charity stripe, the Rams buried 4 of their 8 shots for a percentage of 50.0%. Regarding grabbing rebounds, they collected 34 with 4 of them being of the offensive variety. They also doled out 13 assists for this contest while forcing the opposition into 8 turnovers and getting 6 steals. When discussing defense, VCU allowed their opponent to shoot 36.2% from the field on 17 of 47 shooting. Dayton dished out 9 assists and had 5 steals for the game. On top of that, Dayton pulled down 29 boards (2 offensive, 27 defensive), but wasn't able to put a block in the stat sheet. Dayton finished the game shooting 50.0% from the charity stripe by burying 9 of their 18 attempts. They converted 4 out of their 17 attempts from 3-point range. When talking about personal fouls, the Rams ended up with 12 while Dayton accumulated 11 personal fouls.

Jason Nelson is someone who was a major factor for the contest. He went 80.0% from the floor but had no dimes when the game ended. He played for 14 minutes played and collected 1 rebound. He ended up walking away with 11 points on 4 of 5 shooting.

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VCU steps onto the hardwood with a win-loss record of 16-8 on the campaign. They are losing possession via turnover 12.3 times per game and as a squad are committing 16.4 personal fouls per game. As a team, VCU is collecting 35.9 boards per game and has earned 340 dimes this year, which has them ranked 146th in the country in terms of passing the ball. The Rams are hitting 35.7% on three-point attempts (199 of 557) and 78.0% from the charity stripe. They are averaging 71.5 points per contest (251st in Division 1) while shooting 44.5% from the floor.

When they are on defense, the Rams are forcing 10.8 turnovers per game while drawing 17.4 fouls. They currently rank 9th in college basketball in giving up assists to their opponents with 239 conceded for the year. The Rams defense is giving up an opponent shooting percentage of 39.5% (537 of 1,361) and they concede 33.0 rebounds per game as a unit. They are giving up 28.7% on 3-point attempts and they are ranked 31st in college basketball in points per game allowed (65.1).

When they last stepped on the hardwood, the Saint Louis Billikens took a loss by a final score of 87-86 when they faced Saint Joseph's. In relation to how they cleaned up the glass, Saint Louis allowed Saint Joseph's to collect 27 in total (7 on the offensive side). They shot 35.5% from three-point range by shooting 11 out of 31 and finished the contest at 18 of 25 from the charity stripe (72.0%). The Billikens permitted Saint Joseph's to convert 29 out of their 66 tries from the floor which gave them a rate of 43.9% in this contest. Overall, the Billikens ended up going 28 out of 57 from the field which had them at 49.1%. In reference to shooting from downtown, Saint Louis knocked down 11 out of their 26 attempts (42.3%). They were able to make 19 of them for a percentage of 86.4%. Saint Joseph's was called for 18 personal fouls in this game which got the Billikens to the charity stripe for 22 shots. They gave up possession of the ball 21 times, while getting 7 steals in this contest. The Billikens were able to corral 31 defensive boards and 7 offensive rebounds totaling 38 in the matchup.

Sincere Parker ended up having an impact for the Billikens in this game. He accumulated 34 points in his 28 minutes on the hardwood and totaled 1 assist in this contest. He converted 12 out of 19 in this matchup giving him a rate of 63.2%, and tallied 9 rebounds.

Saint Louis has a mark of 9-15 on the year. When it comes to offensive execution, the Billikens are hitting on 44.4% from the floor, which ranks them 203rd in the country. Saint Louis has accounted for 1,765 pts this season (73.5 per contest) and they average 34.4 rebounds per contest. They are getting an assist 11.9 times per contest (292nd in college hoops) and they are turning it over 12.4 times per contest. The Billikens are committing 18.4 fouls per contest while shooting 73.8% from the free throw line.

The Saint Louis defense allows 34.2% on 3-point attempts (207 of 606) and their opposition knocks down 72.6% of their free throw attempts. They relinquish 13.4 dimes and 35.6 rebounds per contest, which ranks 236th and 233rd in the nation. The Billikens on the defensive end are ranked 322nd in college basketball in PPG given up with 77.6. They are able to force 9.9 TO's per game and allow teams to shoot 44.7% from the field (248th in D-1).

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

Guy Bruhn's Pick: Take Saint Louis

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