VCU vs Northern Illinois 12/17/22 College Basketball Picks, Predictions, Odds
Northern Illinois Huskies (3-7) vs. VCU Rams (7-4)
December 17, 2022 4:00 pm EDT
The Line: VCU Rams -15.5 / Northern Illinois Huskies +15.5; Over/Under: +136.5
(Get latest betting odds)
The Northern Illinois Huskies and the VCU Rams meet in college basketball action from the Stuart Siegel Center on Saturday.
The Northern Illinois Huskies will look to rebound from back-to-back losses after an 88-67 loss to Gonzaga last time out. Keshawn Williams leads the Huskies in scoring with 18.2 PPG along with 4.6 RPG and 2.6 APG while David Colt has 13.5 PPG and Zarique Nutter has 11.6 PPG with 5 RPG to cap off the trio of double-digit scorers for Northern Illinois so far this season. Anthony Crump also has a team-high 5 RPG and Kaleb Thornton has 3.1 APG to lead NIU in assists up to this point in the year. As a team, Northern Illinois is averaging 69.2 PPG on 43.5% shooting from the field, 33% from three and 67.3% from the foul line this season.
The VCU Rams will look to build on their 70-62 win over Radford last time out. Adrian Baldwin Jr. has a team-high 14.2 PPG and 6.2 APG to lead VCU in scoring and assists while Brandon Johns Jr. has 12.8 PPG with 5.7 RPG to cap off the pair of double-digit scorers for VCU this season. Jayden Nunn has 9.6 PPG and Jalen DeLoach also has a team-high 6.5 RPG to lead the Rams on the glass so far this season. As a team, VCU is averaging 66.2 PPG on 41.8% shooting from the field, 29.7% from three and 69.4% from the foul line this season.
Northern Illinois is 8-1 ATS in their last 9 games following an ATS win and 5-0 ATS in their last 5 games following a loss by 20+ points while the over is 4-1 in their last 5 games overall. VCU is 1-6-1 ATS in their last 8 games following an ATS loss and 0-4-1 ATS in their last 5 home games against a team with a losing road record while the over is 4-1 in their last 5 games against a team with a winning percentage below .400.
I get the case to be made for an underdog in some spots, but Northern Illinois simply doesn’t score enough to warrant even taking a shot with them and the points in the underdog role. VCU is back to playing top-notch defense and Northern Illinois has had trouble scoring against far less this season. I just think this is a bad spot for Northern Illinois to try to compete, so give me VCU in this one.
