Georgia Tech has beaten the Rams in each of the last two meetings, covering the spread each time as well. Of course, their last meeting was a few years back, but the Yellow Jackets have rebounded here in the early going after a rough year a season ago.
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HOW THE VIRGINIA COMMONWEALTH RAMS CAN COVER THE SPREAD
The Rams have had better success in recent seasons than the Yellow Jackets, but Shaka Smart is gone and Will Wade is in.
Without Smart and with Treveon Graham and his 16.2 PPG gone as well, this is a much different team than the one we’ve seen the last few years.
While Smart’s system was very fun to watch, Wade’s is a bit less risky, which is good and bad.
Defense is the name of the game for VCU who are allowing just 65 PPG, nine fewer than the offense’s scoring average.
The Virginia Commonwealth team is focused on steals in the half-court and situation and the team’s top three guards all have at least 11 steals.
Offensively, the team has been carried by Melvin Johnson who averages 19.9 PPG and is second on the team with 21 assists. Outside of him, the Rams have just one other player with more than 10 PPG and that’s fellow guard Korey Billbury with 11.
Of course, that’s not to say the team lacks depth. JeQuan Lewis leads the team in assists with 35, Mo Alie-Cox is strong defensively near the post with 12 blocks and Ahmed Hamdy Mohamed has 7.1 PPG in an average of 13 minutes on the court.
Still, for the Rams to cover the spread and get back in the win column, they’ll need Johnson to have another big game.
HOW THE GEORGIA TECH YELLOW JACKETS CAN COVER THE SPREAD
The Yellow Jackets boast a very strong offense, averaging 81 PPG thanks to a veteran team built around the duo of Marcus Georges-Hunt and Charles Mitchell.
The duo were first and second on the team in scoring, respectively, a season ago and are neck-and-neck atop the stats sheet again this season.
While retaining your two key scorers is huge, adding to it with talent—particularly experienced talent—is big and that’s what Georgia Tech did, adding transfers Adam Smith, Nick Jacobs and James White.
Eight games into the season, Georgia Tech has four different players averaging at least 10.8 PPG including Georges-Hunt and Mitchell at 14.6 and 14.5 PPG along with Smith and Jacobs at 12.1 PPG and 10.8 PPG.
Jacobs also leads the team in blocks while Mitchell is averaging a staggering 13 RPG here in the early going.
Most recently, the Yellow Jackets traveled to Tulane and captured the 76-68 win, covering the six point spread. It was their second straight win SU and ATS and they’ll look to extend that streak now to three in a row.
In that game, Mitchell recorded a double-double with 14 points and 14 assists while Georges-Hunt led the way with 19 points.
That tandem provides some great production as they did last year, but the real difference maker for this team is the extra depth provided by the new transfers. If the Jackets can get production outside of the two big guns, they’ve got a good chance. In their last game, Smith and Jacobs each scored 13-points with Jacobs a rebound away from tallying a double-double of his own.
Rebounding is also key for Georgia Tech who average 43.5 RPG, the No. 17 best mark in all of college basketball.
ANALYSIS AND PREDICTION
The Yellow Jackets appear to be a much deeper team while the Rams have struggled against some of their better competition, losing each time they went off the betting board as underdogs.
Most recently, the Rams dropped a 76-71 decision on a neutral court against Florida State. That, however, was VCU’s first pointspread loss of the season.
All in all, the Rams have done a good job keeping the game close even in defeat, though the team as a whole hasn’t been as inspiring as they’ve been in the past. Look for the home team to get the win, but for the VCU defense to make it a hard fought battle.
Georgia Tech 76, VCU 71
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Real-time spreads, totals, props and moneyline odds are all available by clicking here so start betting with BookMaker today! The Virginia Commonwealth Rams and Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets square off on Tuesday, December 15, 2015, at 9 p.m. ET at McCamish Pavilion. You can watch the game live on ESPN2.
