The George Mason Patriots and the VCU Rams meet Sunday in Atlantic 10 Tournament college basketball action from Capital One Arena. Here’s a VCU vs George Mason prediction. We will look at this from a betting perspective and determine the best VCU vs George Mason pick.
George Mason Patriots Betting Preview
The Patriots got off to a choppy 2-3 start this year, but then won eight of the next 10 outings versus Coppin State, Ferrum, James Madison, UNC Asheville, Tulane, Penn, Mount St. Mary’s and Davidson. George Mason would then beat Richmond, UMass, Dayton, George Washington, St. Bonaventure, Loyola, Davidson, George Washington, Rhode Island, Saint Louis and Saint Joseph’s. After losses to VCU and Duquesne in the next trio, the Patriots have beaten La Salle, Richmond, George Washington and Saint Joseph’s in their last four outings. That gives George Mason a 26-7 overall record this year.
On Saturday versus Saint Joseph’s, the Patriots scored 37 points in each half on the way to a 74-64 victory in the end. Leading the team in scoring was Jalen Haynes with 22 points, seven rebounds and six assists.
VCU Rams Betting Preview
Over on the VCU side, they’ve had a couple of (brief) spotty runs so far this year but overall things have been going well in the record column. The Rams took losses to Seton Hall and Nevada during a 9-2 opening run across their first 11 outings. A 1-2 stretch came in the next trio with a win over William & Mary sandwiched between losses to New Mexico and St. Bonaventure. VCU would get back on track with wins over Loyola, Fordham, Saint Louis, Saint Joseph’s, Rhode Island and St. Bonaventure from there, then the team took a loss to Saint Louis. The Rams would finish off the regular season with wins over Richmond, La Salle, Dayton, George Washington, Umass, George Mason, Richmond, Davidson and Duquesne before a loss to Dayton. Since then it’s been tournament wins over St. Bonaventure and Loyola, giving VCU a 27-6 overall record across 33 games this year so far.
In the Loyola matchup on Saturday, the Rams were up comfortably at halftime 36-27. VCU was outscored 28-26 the rest of the way but still powered out the win in the end 62-55. Topping the scoring was Max Schulga with 14 points, 10 rebounds, four assists and two steals for a double-double. Phillip Russell added 10 points with four rebounds, two assists and two steals in 29 minutes as the only other player on the team to reach double-figures. Zeb Jackson paced the bench scorers with eight points, four rebounds and four assists in 27 minutes of work.
Why the VCU Rams will win
- VCU has won 11 of its last 12 games.
- VCU has won the first half in each of its last seven games against non-AP-ranked opponents at a neutral venue.
Why the George Mason Patriots will win
- George Mason has won 24 of its last 27 games against non-AP-ranked opponents.
Total Points Facts
- Twenty-one of VCU’s last 23 games have produced a total of 131+ points.
- Five of George Mason’s last six games against Conference opponents have produced a total of 131+ points.
Matchup/League Facts
- VCU ranks 4th among Division 1 teams for opponent assist to turnover ratio this season (0.70).
- VCU ranks 6th among Division 1 teams for point differential per game this season (+15.2).
- George Mason ranks 2nd among Division 1 teams for opponent field goal percentage this season (37.9%).
- George Mason ranks 357th among Division 1 teams for field goal attempts per game this season (53.1).
VCU vs George Mason Prediction
I’ll likely just stick with VCU in this one. The Rams have been up-and-down in their two tournament games since falling to Dayton back on March 7, but they’ve still gotten the victories through perseverance, grit and a bit of luck. In their win over Loyola on Saturday, VCU posted just 12-of-21 (57.1 percent) from the line and 6-of-24 (25 percent) from 3-point range alongside a 48-38 rebounding deficit (22-9 offensive). The good news is that the Rams played some solid defense, giving up just 29.4 percent shooting to the Ramblers. The 62-point total was VCU’s lowest since carding 61 in a three-point loss to Nevada way back on November 22 though, so I’d like to see the Rams offense take off a bit better in this matchup.
These teams last played back on February 22 in a 70-54 home win for the Rams. Neither team shot well in that one (both below 39 percent), and there were 23 combined turnovers (14 for the Patriots). George Mason wasn’t very good from the line either (15-of-24 for 62.5 percent). There’s plenty to clean up on both sides, but VCU should have the advantage as the slightly better team. Still, it’ll be a good one.