The Oklahoma Sooners and VCU Rams took care of business in the first round of the NCAA Tournament with their victories over CSU Bakersfield and Oregon State. Both teams will square off today at 5:15 p.m. ET on CBS in one of the more intriguing second round matchups.
The betting odds also make for a difficult prediction, but here's our advice on how to come out on top.
Oklahoma heads into today's game as six-point favorites, but their win over CSU Bakersfield wasn't all that convincing. They allowed 68 points and were only up seven at half, although they managed to pull away by the score of 82-68.
Their first half performance was especially concerning because CSU Bakersfield actually led for a good portion of it. They failed to cover the first half spread (-7.5) and the full game (-14.5), which bodes well for bettors who like VCU.
The Sooners have now failed to cover the spread for six consecutive games, and the over has hit just once in their past 11 contests. On the season, they're just 12-19 against the spread with a 2-8 record in their past 10 games and 8-17 as the favorite.
On the other hand, the Rams handily covered the first half (-2) and the game (-4) against the Oregon State Beavers. They're 7-3 ATS in their past 10 games and 21-9 on the year, including 5-3 as the underdog. The over has covered five times in their past 10 games and twice when that figure was at least 148.
VCU should give Oklahoma a tough matchup, but the Sooners should pull away. Their experience in the Big 12, although such experience hasn't mattered in this tournament, should play a significant factor in this game.
However, the Rams will likely cover both the first half (+3) and the game (+6) in a close one. Also, expect the under to hit in this one because VCU has given up an average of 68.8 points over their past 10 games, Oklahoma has scored 75 points or more in just four of their last 10 games and only two of those matchups featured a point total of over 148.
Prediction: Oklahoma 74, VCU 71
Take VCU +3 for first half, VCU +6 for the game, and the under at 148
