The Dayton Flyers (19-9, 11-4) will host the Rhode Island Rams (13-14, 6-9) in Atlantic 10 hoops action Friday night with tipoff scheduled for 7 ET. The Flyers are 7.5-point favorites with the total at 135.5 in the latest Dayton vs. Rhode Island odds. The Flyers still have an outside shot of running down VCU to win the A-10 regular-season title, while Rhode Island is fighting hard to get back to above .500 for a chance at a postseason bid. So before you make your Dayton vs. Rhode Island picks on Friday night, be sure to check out the college basketball predictions from the proven computer model at SportsLine.
This model, which simulates every game 10,000 times, has raked in the winnings for those following its picks. Over the past two years, the SportsLine Projection Model has returned nearly $4,200 to $100 players on its top-rated college basketball picks. It also entered Week 17 of the 2018-19 college basketball season on a blistering 107-79 run against the spread. Anyone who has followed it is way up.
Now the model has simulated Dayton vs. Rhode Island 10,000 times. We can tell you it is leaning over, and it also has a strong against the spread pick that hits in well over 60 percent of simulations. You absolutely need to see it over at SportsLine before you lock in your own picks.
For Friday's contest, one reason why Rhode Island could struggle as road underdogs is its inefficient offense. The Rams are the worst 3-point shooting team out of 353 Division-I programs in the nation, hitting just 26.6 percent of their attempts. They don't have a player with more than two attempts who shoots better than 32.7 percent from 3-point range, and that makes it incredibly difficult to make up ground when they trail.
On the road against a Dayton squad that has already beaten Rhode Island by 29 points in its own building, the anticipation is that Rhode Island could be playing from behind again. That's not ideal for a team that ranks 227th in adjusted offensive efficiency and 329th in the nation in effective field goal percentage.
However, the Flyers also have some issues on the offense ends as well and aren't a lock to cover the Dayton vs. Rhode Island spread.
The Flyers don't shoot it particularly well from behind the 3-point line either, making 33.5 percent of their shots from beyond the arc to rank 224th nationally. To make up for that, they like to work the ball inside and get 57.7 percent of their scoring from inside the arc. That's the sixth-highest rate in the nation.
Against a Rhode Island squad that has a legit rim protector in Cyril Langevine, that could be a problem if he has a big game. He averages 1.5 blocks per game and is also a capable scorer and rebounder who averages 14.3 points and 10.2 rebounds per contest. If Dayton struggles to keep him in check on both ends, Rhode Island is physical enough to make a game out of it.
Who wins Rhode Island vs. Dayton? And which side of the spread hits in well over 60 percent of simulations? Visit SportsLine now to find out which side of the Rhode Island vs. Dayton spread you should be all over, all from the model that has returned more than $4,000 to $100 players the last two years.
