The 2nd-seeded Dayton Flyers (22-11) and No. 1 VCU Rams (26-7) tangle in the Sunday title game of the Atlantic-10 Conference Tournament in Brooklyn. The battle at the Barclays Center will tip off at 1 p.m. ET (CBS). Below, we analyze Tipico Sportsbook’s lines around the Dayton vs. VCU odds, and make our expert college basketball picks, predictions and bets.
Dayton beat No. 10 Saint Joseph’s 60-54 and then No. 3 Fordham 78-68 to advance to Sunday’s title game. UD shooting has fluctuated wildly of late, but the Flyers were on target Saturday against Fordham when they went 23-of-28 (82.1%) on 2-point attempts.
VCU has advanced with wins over No. 8 Davidson 71-53 and No. 4 St. Louis 90-78. The Rams have won 8 in a row and 6 of those games have been decided by double-digit margins.
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Dayton vs. VCU odds
Provided by Tipico Sportsbook; access USA TODAY Sports Scores and Sports Betting Odds hub for a full list. Lines last updated at 12:57 a.m. ET.
- Moneyline: Dayton +125 (bet $100 to win $125) | VCU -145 (bet $145 to win $100).
- Against the spread (ATS): Dayton +2.5 (-110) | VCU -2.5 (-110)
- Over/Under (O/U): 124.5 (O: -115 | U: -105)
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Dayton vs. VCU picks and predictions
Prediction
Dayton 66, VCU 59
Moneyline
In this series the underdog has won 4 in a row ATS.
Recency bias has this line tilted too far toward the Rams. Peg VCU as being due for some regression in its shooting numbers.
The youthful Flyers continue to take good care of the basketball after struggling in that facet of the game early this season. Figure UD having an important edge on the boards and on getting looks at the rim or thereabouts.
TAKE DAYTON +125.
Against the spread
The ML at plus-money is the way to go, but if you need a little insurance look for Dayton to take the game by around 2 full possessions.
TAKE THE FLYERS +2.5 (-115).
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Over/Under
This game sets up as a mid-to-slow-pace affair with a lot of highly-contested looks. The total here is fair: PASS.
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