College hoops fans get a Friday evening treat when the Rhode Island Rams visit the VCU Rams in a 7 p.m. ET tip at Stuart C. Siegel Center. Rhode Island is favored by 3.5 points, down 1.5 from the open.
The over-under, or total number Vegas thinks will be scored, is 151.5, unchanged from the open.
Before you make any picks on the battle of the Rams, you need to see what SportsLine college basketball expert Matt Norlander has to say.
Norlander is a national award-winning writer for CBS Sports who has covered college basketball since 2007. From insightful features to weekly game analysis, Norlander covers the sport from every angle. Every October, he gives out the Internet's most thorough ranking of all 351 Division I college basketball teams.
Now Norlander has studied every angle of this marquee matchup and has locked in his strong point-spread pick. He's sharing it at SportsLine.
Norlander knows Rhode Island has yet to lose a conference game. The 22nd-ranked Rams have won 13 consecutive games, which includes five straight road wins.
They've done it thanks to an elite defense. Rhode Island, which has held opponents to 58 points or fewer in three of its past five games, is only allowing 66.7 points per game.
However, URI's defense will be tested against VCU's talented offense. VCU, which is averaging 77.5 points, is led by senior forward Justin Tillman, who is averaging 18.2 points and 9.7 rebounds.
But just because VCU's offense has been explosive this season doesn't mean it can stay within the 3.5-point spread.
Rhode Island is 10-3 against the spread in its past 13 games against A-10 opponents and 9-4 against the spread in its past 13 games on the road.
Norlander has evaluated all of these circumstances and has locked in his pick against the spread. You can only see it over at SportsLine.
So what side do you need to be all over in Rhode Island vs. VCU? Visit SportsLine now to find out which side of Rhode Island-VCU you should back, all from one of the nation's top college basketball analysts.
