VCU vs Saint Louis Prediction, Game Preview, Live Stream, Odds and Picks
Collins Leads Billikens Against Rams
Yuri Collins will try to rebound from his worst game of the season when the Saint Louis Billikens host the VCU Rams Friday in a battle for first place in the Atlantic 10.
Collins, the lone player in the country averaging a double-double with assists, matched his career-low with just one helper as the Billikens saw their season-high six-game win streak halted Tuesday in a 10-point loss to the surging Fordham Rams.
The junior, whose 767 career assists are 16 shy of passing Richmond’s Jacob Gilyard for the most in Atlantic 10 history, struggled against Fordham’s press defense, as the Billikens recorded 16 turnovers against just five assists.
“We just weren’t handling the ball as well as we usually do,” Saint Louis head coach Travis Ford told the media about his team, whose previous season-low in assists was eight. “Guys were stumbling around. They got momentum and kept turning it up.”
The Rams saw their own six-game win streak end Saturday in a home loss to St. Bonaventure but got right to work with a 61-59 win against Davidson on Tuesday.
Adrian Baldwin Jr., who entered the Davidson game with 27 turnovers in his last nine games, didn’t have a single giveaway while recording 14 points, seven assists and five rebounds and hitting the game-winning shot for VCU.
The Rams have scored 71.3 points per game in the 42 games Baldwin has played over the last two seasons and just 59.2 points in the 13 games he has missed.
Let’s check the latest college basketball news, stats, injury reports and college basketball lines for VCU vs Saint Louis. We’ve got plenty of NCAA basketball picks for you to consider.
Jimerson Looking for Range
Gibson Jimerson isn’t shooting 3-pointers as well this season as he did in his first three with the Billikens, but he can heat up at a moment’s notice.
The senior, who has two years of eligibility remaining due to a redshirt year as a freshman and the extra year given due to the pandemic, has gone 4-for-16 from beyond the arc in the last four games, dropping his percentage to a career-low 36.4.
The 6-5 guard, born in Richmond, VA, the home of the Rams, made 87 3-pointers last season, the second most in team history.
Jimmerson, who had 19 points last season vs. VCU, is in the top eight in school history in career 3-pointers made (199) and attempted (497) and 3-point percentage (40%).
Shriver Red-Hot from Deep
David Shriver, a transfer from Hartford, has logged just 19 minutes per game this season, but as his 3-point shooting has improved so has his time on the court.
After shooting 18-of-59 (30.5%) in the season’s first 13 games, Shriver, a 6-6 senior forward from West Virginia, has caught fire, making 22-of-33 (66.7%) during VCU’s recent six-game winning streak and 25-of-48 (52.1%) in Atlantic 10 games.
Not bad for a player who started his career at a Division II school before heading to Hartford, where he led the America East Conference with 88 treys last season.
“It’s something I never dreamed of, playing D-II my first couple years of college basketball and then coming to a place like this,” Shriver told the media. “It’s the best fans I have ever been around. Just to be able to play in atmospheres like this.”
VCU vs Saint Louis Game Injuries
VCU vs Saint Louis Head-to-Head
The Rams have won nine of the last 11 games against the Billikens but have dropped the last two meetings at Chaifetz Arena. VCU holds an 11-5 lead in the series.
VCU vs Saint Louis Information
- Game: VCU (17-6, 8-2 A10) vs Saint Louis (15-7, 7-2)
- Location: Chaifetz Arena, St. Louis, MO
- Day/Time: Friday, Feb. 3, 7:00 p.m. ET
- VCU vs Saint Louis Live stream: TBS.com
VCU vs Saint Louis Betting Lines
VCU vs Saint Louis Picks and Prediction
VCU is a mediocre 5-7 against the spread at home and 8-10-1 as a favorite but is still preferred by 2½ points over the Rams on the NCAAB lines. The Billikens, whose last seven games have finished under 143 points, are 3-5 against the number on the road.
The Rams and Billikens have finished under 141 points -the total points for this game- in 10 of their 12 matchups in the Atlantic 10, with the one over requiring overtime.
Saint Louis is listed at -140 in our Las Vegas college basketball odds. This means that if you wager $100 on the Billikens, you have a chance to win $71. VCU is +120, offering a chance to win $120 on a $100 wager.
The implied probability attached to the betting lines gives Saint Louis a 58.33% chance to win, with the Rams 45.45%.
The odds and predictions in the article are based on the time of writing and publication. They may differ as to when the actual event takes place.
