The 12th-seeded VCU Rams (27-7) take on the 5-seed St. Mary's Gaels (26-7) in a first round NCAA Tournament game in Albany, N.Y., on Friday at 2 p.m. ET (TBS). Below, we analyze Tipico Sportsbook’s lines around the VCU vs. St. Mary's odds, and make our expert college basketball picks, predictions and best bets.
St. Mary's lost in the WCC title game to Gonzaga while VCU won the Atlantic-10 Tournament.'VCU is on a 9-game winning streak and will look to continue it against one of the best defensive teams in the nation.
St. Mary's ranks 6th in the country allowing just 59.3 points a game. The Gaels like to slow down the game to a snail's pace and make it difficult for opponents to gain any continuity on offense. Lucky for VCU, it is also a slow-paced team and the defense of the Rams will be up to the challenge.
The Rams’ defense ranks 26th in the nation allowing just 63 PPG. This will ensure a low-scoring, slow game and whichever defense can get the last stop just might be the winner and moving on to the next round against either Iona or UConn.