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The VCU Rams take on the Saint Louis Billikens. Check out our college basketball odds series for our VCU Saint Louis prediction and pick. Find out how to watch VCU Saint Louis.
The college basketball season has been a story of unpredictability and lots of teams having a chance to do something, as opposed to a year in which two or five teams form an elite top tier and lord themselves over the rest of college basketball. This is a season marked by noticeable balance across the country, and the best teams have not achieved much of any separation — if any at all — from the competition. So it is in the Atlantic 10, which is certain to be a one-bid league. There isn't a single team which is so good and so formidable that it has been able to make a strong at-large case. There are a lot of decent teams, but no especially strong ones with a resume which will get the attention of the Division I Men's Basketball Committee. The Atlantic 10 will have just one team in the field on Selection Sunday.
Within this context, the big prize in the A-10 is to win the regular-season conference championship and secure an automatic bid to the NIT if a team can't win the conference tournament and go to the NCAA Tournament. Right now, VCU leads the Atlantic 10 standings with an 8-2 record. Saint Louis is in second place with a 7-2 mark. Dayton is third at 7-3. Fordham is fourth at 6-3. Every other team in the conference has at least four losses. You can see why this will be a one-bid league. VCU and SLU will try to win it.
Courtesy of FanDuel, here are the VCU-Saint Louis College Basketball odds.
College Basketball Odds: VCU-Saint Louis Odds
VCU Rams: +2.5 (-105)
Saint Louis Billikens: -2.5 (-115)
Over: 140.5 (-110)
Under: 140.5 (-110)
How To Watch VCU vs. Saint Louis
TV: ESPN2
Stream: ESPN+
Article Continues Below
Time: 5:00 p.m. ET, 2:00 p.m. PT
*Watch VCU-Saint Louis LIVE with fuboTV (Click for free trial)*
Why VCU Could Cover the Spread
The Saint Louis Billikens have a great chance to win the Atlantic 10, but this is where the mediocrity of the conference shapes conversations about how good each conference team truly is. SLU might win the A-10 regular season title, but this has not been a good season for the Billikens. Coach Travis Ford has not been able to bring out the best in his players. One by one, SLU missed chances to accumulate a solid, high-quality NCAA Tournament resume. Maryland, Boise State, Iona, Auburn — SLU missed all of those opportunities to build its portfolio. Providence is the one top team the Billikens were able to beat, and yet a loss to SIU-Edwardsville canceled out that high-end win. A loss to UMass also hurt. Saint Louis does show signs of being a really good team, but those signs coexist with a lot of blemishes on this team's track record. It's hard to trust SLU.
Why Saint Louis Could Cover the Spread
The VCU Rams have lost to a lot of teams which will probably not be in the NCAA Tournament: Temple, Jacksonville, Duquesne, Saint Bonaventure, and maybe (bubble-hugging) Arizona State. VCU has beaten the especially weak teams on its schedule, but as soon as the level of competition increases, the Rams have not usually measured up. That's something which can play in SLU's favor. The other obvious point to make is that the Billikens are playing at home and should play this game with a lot of energy and emotion, which will carry them to victory.
Final VCU-Saint Louis Prediction & Pick
Stay away from this game. The Atlantic 10 Conference is a one-bid league with a lot of volatility and no especially great teams. The A-10 is full of parity and balance, and the quality of teams is hard to determine because the caliber of opposition is also hard to judge.
Final VCU-Saint Louis Prediction & Pick: VCU +2.5
