Fordham Rams vs VCU Rams Prediction, 1/8/2025 College Basketball Picks, Best Bets & Odds

Game: Fordham Rams vs VCU Rams

Date: Wednesday, January 8, 2025

Location: Siegel Center in Richmond, VA

TV: ESPN+

The VCU Rams (11-4) will try to beat the Fordham Rams (8-7) at Siegel Center on Wednesday.

The Fordham Rams stepped onto the hardwood against St. Bonaventure and walked away from this one with a loss by a score of 86-66 in their last contest. When talking about personal fouls, the Rams left the arena with 16 while St. Bonaventure totaled 13 personal fouls. They also converted 9 of their 19 attempts from beyond the arc. St. Bonaventure shot 83.3% at the charity stripe by knocking down 15 of their 18 tries. Additionally, St. Bonaventure collected 31 rebounds (7 offensive, 24 defensive), but didn't record a block for the team. St. Bonaventure dished out 13 assists and had 11 steals for the matchup. When talking about the defense, Fordham allowed the other team to go 52.5% from the floor on 31 out of 59 shooting. They also doled out 13 assists for this game as well as creating 8 turnovers and having 5 steals. With respect to grabbing rebounds, they earned 24 with 5 of them being offensive. At the charity stripe, the Rams converted 8 of 9 shots for a percentage of 88.9%. Fordham walked away from the contest having earned a 43.6% field goal percentage (24 of 55) and converted 10 of 27 shots from distance.

Jackie Johnson III is a guy who was a major factor in the matchup. He walked away with 21 points on 8 out of 17 shooting. He was on the hardwood for 33 minutes played and pulled down 2 rebounds. He finished the game shooting 47.1% from the field and also distributed 3 assists.

Get all of our NCAA Picks

Fordham heads into this one with a win-loss mark of 8-7 so far this year. They currently have an average of 75.3 points per contest (189th in D-1) while going 43.7% from the field. The Rams are shooting 34.3% from downtown (126 of 367) and 70.9% from the free throw line. As a unit, Fordham is pulling in 35.9 rebounds per game and has racked up 218 dimes so far this season, which ranks 151st in Division 1 in terms of passing the rock. They are losing possession via turnover 13.5 times per game and as a team are committing 17.1 personal fouls per game.

Defensively, the Rams have forced 13.7 turnovers per game while drawing 17.2 fouls. They are currently ranked 282nd in D-1 in giving up assists with 218 surrendered on the season. The Rams defensively are giving up a field goal percentage of 47.2% (420 of 889) and they concede 35.1 rebounds per game as a team. They give up 36.0% on 3-point shots and they rank 298th in college in opponents points per game (76.1).

The last time they took the hardwood, the VCU Rams walked away with a victory by a final of 84-65 against Loyola. Regarding how they attacked the glass, VCU allowed Loyola to snag 24 overall (9 on the offensive glass). They finished 33.3% from 3-point land by connecting on 8 out of 24 and finished the game at 15 of 23 at the free throw line (65.2%). The Rams permitted Loyola to convert 21 out of their 55 tries from the floor which had them sitting at 38.2% for this contest. When the game finished, the Rams walked away from this one shooting 30 for 61 from the field which had them shooting 49.2%. With regard to shots from beyond the arc, VCU converted 9 of 24 attempts (37.5%). They were able to bury 15 of them for a percentage of 75.0%. Loyola committed 22 personal fouls in the game which took the Rams to the charity stripe for 20 tries. They also gave up possession of the ball 10 times, while earning 8 steals in this game. The Rams were able to pull down 19 defensive rebounds and 16 offensive boards totaling 35 in this game.

Phillip Russell ended up being a major contributor for the Rams in this game. He made 7 out of 11 in the matchup for a field goal rate of 63.6%, and had 6 rebounds. He tallied 25 points in his 31 minutes of playing time and had 3 assists for this contest.

VCU has a mark of 11-4 this season. The Rams commit 18.1 fouls every game while shooting 70.9% from the charity stripe. Their rate of dishing out assists is at 15.8 times per game (94th in the country) and they turn the ball over 11.9 times per contest. VCU has earned 1,168 points for the season (77.9 per contest) and they pull in 37.7 boards per game. On the offensive side of the ball, the Rams are shooting 45.2% from the field, which is 176th in college.

The VCU defense concedes 30.2% on shots from 3-point land (79 of 262) and opponents are knocking down 68.4% of their foul shots. They relinquish 9.9 dimes and 34.3 total rebounds per game, which is ranked 20th and 180th in Division 1. The Rams on the defensive side of the court are 19th in the country in points per game surrendered with 62.6. They have forced 14.9 TO's every game and have allowed teams to shoot 39.4% from the floor (34th in college).

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

Josh Schonwald's Pick: Take VCU

Get $60 worth of FREE premium member picks. No Obligation. No Salesman. No Credit Card. Fast Sign up with Instant Access Click Here