A first-place showdown in the Atlantic 10 will take place when VCU visits No. 18 Saint Louis on Friday.
Saint Louis (24-2, 12-1) holds sole possession of first place. VCU (21-6, 12-2) can take over the top spot with a win.
On Tuesday, Saint Louis lost for the first time in more than two months when the Billikens fell at Rhode Island, 81-76. The other Saint Louis loss was a 78-77 defeat to Stanford on Nov. 28 on a neutral court. Against Rhode Island, Saint Louis missed the front end of three one-and-ones down the stretch to see its 18-game winning streak snapped.
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Meanwhile, VCU extended its win streak to 10 with Tuesday’s 89-75 home victory over George Washington.
The Rams had a balanced attack with six players scoring in double-figures, led by 6-foot-6 junior Tyrell Ward, who had 15 points.
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VCU at Saint Louis Odds
As of this writing, Saint Louis is an 8.5-point college basketball betting favorite, according to BetMGM.
The Over/Under is 165.5.
VCU at Saint Louis On TV
Tipoff between VCU and Saint Louis is expected shortly after 7 p.m. ET.
The game will be televised on ESPN2.
VCU at Saint Louis Prediction
I like VCU getting the points. The Rams are on a roll, and even though they are on the road, this figures to be a close game.
That said, Saint Louis is 16-0 at home, but VCU is a more than respectable 6-2 on the road.
This is a critical game for both teams, who each would like to earn enough equity with the NCAA committee if they don’t happen to win the Atlantic 10 tournament title. Saint Louis entered Thursday ranked No. 26 by KenPom, while VCU was No. 45. After this matchup, Saint Louis has four remaining games, and VCU has three.
These two met on Jan. 7 with Saint Louis winning 71-62 at VCU. Kellen Thames, a 6-foot-6 junior, led Saint Louis with a career-high 18 points, while also adding 10 rebounds.
Saint Louis entered Thursday as the nation’s leader in field goal percentage defense, holding teams to a .364 percentage. That came into play the first time the Billikens faced VCU. The Rams shot just 18-for-63 from the field (.286). Conversely, Saint Louis shot 27-for-63 (.429).
While St. Louis is tops in the nation in field goal percentage defense, VCU has also been strong. The Rams are fifth in the Atlantic 10, holding teams to a .432 mark. Saint Louis is also the conference’s leading field goal percentage team with a .517 clip, while VCU is fifth at .467. These are the top two scoring teams in the Atlantic 10, with Saint Louis averaging 90.2 points per game, while VCU averages 83.7. Saint Louis is sixth nationally in scoring offense.
The Billikens are also second in the conference in scoring defense (67.8), while VCU is eighth (72.6).
Saint Louis leads the conference in three-point field goal percentage (.408) and in three-point percentage defense (.276). VCU shoots .365 from deep and allows teams to shoot .335.
One area where St. Louis is lacking is in turnover margin at -0.50, while VCU is at 1.11.
VCU’s leading scorer is 6-foot-3 sophomore Terrence Hill Jr. (14.6 PPG), while 6-foot-11 junior Lazar Djokovic averages 13.7 points and a team-high 5.7 rebounds. Djokovic shoots .390 from deep, while Hill shoots .380.
Saint Louis 6-foot-10 senior Robbie Avila, who was limited to eight points in the first VCU game, is leading the Billikens in scoring (12.7 PPG) and assists (4.3 APG).
