A10 foes will clash when the George Washington Colonials (11-15, 4-9 A10) challenge the VCU Rams (15-11, 7-6 A10) at Charles E. Smith Center. Action begins at 4 p.m. ET on Saturday, February 17, 2018.
VCU Rams at George Washington Colonials Betting Preview
The last time the Rams played, they fell to the Davidson Wildcats, 74-63. VCU’s Justin Tillman had a solid performance, leading the team in scoring with 22 points on 9-for-15 shooting. Davidson did a great job of making free throws (14-15; 93.3 percent). VCU, meanwhile, held the Wildcats to an offensive rebounding percentage of 10.7 (below their season average of 23.5).
The Colonials come in on a high note after defeating the Massachusetts Minutemen in their last contest, 83-72. George Washington rallied around Patrick Steeves, who was the teams leading scorer with 16 points on 8-for-10 shooting. George Washington dominated nearly every stat category in the game. They had an extraordinary offensive rebounding percentage of 50.0 (above their season average of 29.8) and an effective field goal percentage of 0.533 (above their season average of 0.477). Massachusetts recorded marks of 29.7 and 0.459, respectively, for those same stats.
George Washington could have difficulty getting to the foul line in this meeting. The Colonials currently rank 287th in the nation with a free throw attempt (FTA) rate of 0.204, while VCU ranks 84th in FTA rate allowed (0.208).
Yuta Watanabe has been impressive over the last five games for George Washington, averaging 19.2 points, 6.8 rebounds and 1.8 blocks per game.
These teams have already met once this season. The Rams won 87-63. The Rams played a perfect game. They had an absurd offensive rebounding percentage of 42.9 and a turnover percentage of 15.4. For those same stats, the Colonials were 21.4 and 22.2, respectively. Tillman was a top performer in the victory, with 18 points and eight rebounds.
VCU Rams vs. George Washington Colonials Prediction
Basketball Tip: SU Winner – VCU, ATS Winner – VCU, O/U – Under
Betting Notes:
- The Rams average 15.2 assists per game, which ranks 73rd in the NCAA. The Colonials rank 119th in assists allowed per game (13.2).
- VCU averages 6.6 steals per game, which ranks 98th in the NCAA. George Washington ranks 131st in steals allowed per game (6.4).
- VCU ranks 113th in three pointers attempted per game (23.0) while George Washington ranks 274th (17.8).
- The Rams rank 95th in rebounds per game (36.8) while the Colonials rank 237th (33.2).
- George Washington ranks 24th in blocks per game (5.1) while VCU ranks 164th (2.7).
Betting Trends:
- The Colonials average margin of defeat in their last five games has been 3.2, down from 5.4 for the season.
- During their last five games, the Rams have scored an average of 75.8 points per game (1.1 below their season average) and allowed an average of 78.4 points per game (3.1 above their season average).
