College Basketball Picks: VCU Rams vs. Alabama Crimson Tide
Written by Matthew Regaw
Mon, 28 Nov 2011
Category sportsbook
Feedback Rating - no votes
Alabama enters this game undefeated on the young college basketball season, but they can’t take VCU Lightly.
Can VCU Repeat the Magic From a Year Ago?
The latest college basketball odds on this game opened with Alabama as a 15 point favorite and that number has increased to 16 at most offshore locations with 57% of the public on the Tide.
Although VCU coach Shaka Smart only has one of his top five scorers returning from last season – Bradford Burgess – the Crimson Tide know not to take the Rams lightly.
Alabama coach Grant's team didn't receive much of a test Wednesday, easily beating Alabama A&M 82-45 despite playing mostly freshmen and substitutes. Charles Hankerson Jr. led five Crimson Tide players in double digits, scoring 16 points. Alabama's top three scorers, Tony Mitchell (14.7 points per game), had two points in eight minutes, Trevor Releford (12.0) scored six in 16 and JaMychal Green (14.4) didn’t play.
The Crimson Tide, off to their best start since opening 7-0 in 2006-07, won their 23rd straight home game and 21st in a row at Coleman Coliseum over unranked, non-conference opponents.
VCU arrives in Tuscaloosa as an unranked foe from a mid-major conference, the Colonial Athletic Association, but that doesn't mean much to Grant.
Grant knows what it is like to be on the other side, having coached at VCU for three seasons prior to taking the Alabama job in March 2009.
Burgess played for Grant when he coached the Rams, and the lone senior for VCU is averaging a team-best 11.2 points. He had 16 points and five rebounds in Wednesday’s 68-45 win over Western Kentucky, the Rams' second victory over the Hilltoppers in four days.
VCU was sound defensively Wednesday, allowing its fewest points in 97 games while limiting Western Kentucky to 35.0 percent shooting in the second half (7 of 20) and one point in the final 3:56.
The college basketball trends favor VCU in this game. The Crimson Tide are 3-10-2 ATS in their last 15 games after allowing less than 50 points in their previous game and the Rams are 11-5 ATS in their last 16 road games vs. a team with a winning home record.
The Rams may not be the same team they were a year ago, but they still have the talent to play with Alabama and keep this game close.
College Basketball Free Pick: VCU Rams +16