VCU Rams (17-6) vs. Saint Louis Billikens (15-7)
February 3, 2023 7:00 pm EDT
The Line: Saint Louis Billikens -2 / VCU Rams +2 ; Over/Under: 141.5
(Get latest betting odds)
The VCU Rams and the Saint Louis Billikens meet Friday in college basketball action from Chaifetz Arena. VCU is 17-6 overall this year. The Rams beat Davidson in their last game. As for Saint Louis, they’re currently 15-7 after a loss to Fordham on Tuesday. Check back all season long for free college basketball picks at Sports Chat Place.
VCU Rams
VCU took losses to Arizona State, Memphis, Temple, Jacksonville and Duquesne in their first 16 outings this year. The Rams are 6-1 since then with wins over Loyola IL, Dayton, UMass, Richmond, George Mason and Davidson.
On Tuesday versus Davidson, VCU trailed 34-32 going into the second half. The Rams hit a 29-25 stretch from there and won it in comeback fashion 61-59. Adrian Baldwin led the team on 14 points with seven assists.
Saint Louis Billikens
Over on the Saint Louis side, they lost to Maryland, Auburn, Iona, Boise State, SIU Edwardsville and UMass in their first 16 games. The Billikens are 5-1 in their last six outings with a lone loss to Fordham in that time.
Matched up against Fordham on Tuesday, the Billikens managed a 36-31 edge in the first half. Saint Louis fell behind on a 44-29 second-half run and lost 75-65, however. Francis Okoro was the leading scorer on 21 points and 11 rebounds.
ANDREW’S FREE PICK
I’ll probably stick with Saint Louis here. You could make a case either way, though; we should have a good matchup on our hands. In any case, the Billikens had a bad second half in their last outing versus a good Fordham team, but they’ve done well recently otherwise. Saint Louis is on a 7-2 run right now, scoring 74 or more points in seven of those nine outings. As for VCU, they’re 7-1 in their last eight games and playing pretty good defense these days. If the Billikens get off to a promising start here I can see them covering but I could go either way.
