VCU Rams vs Butler Bulldogs

Betting Odds

Point Spread: Butler (-2.5)
Game Total Line: (133)
(wagering lines available at 5Dimes)

A pair of Cinderella teams find themselves just one more victory away from playing for the national title on April 4 when the VCU Rams clash with the Butler Bulldogs in the first of two Final Four games scheduled for this Saturday. Tip-off from Reliant Stadium in Houston is set for 6:09 p.m. (ET) and the game will be broadcast on CBS.

If it was a movie script people would have a hard time buying it, but VCU’s improbable five-game run through this year’s NCAA Men’s Tournament is for real and it is now just two wins away from winning all it. You had to be impressed with the Rams’ 94-76 dismantling of No.3 seed Purdue in the third round as a 9.5-point underdog or their dramatic 72-71 OT win over No.10 seed Florida State as a 4.5 point underdog in the Sweet 16, but Sunday’s win over Kansas in the Elite Eight defies explanation. VCU came in as an 11-point underdog to the No.1 seeded Jayhawks and used a barrage of three-point shots to pull-off the 71-61 upset that landed it in the Final Four.

The Rams have been unstoppable from beyond the arc during this run with Bradford Burgess going 6-for-7 as part of his game-high 26 points against the Seminoles and Jamie Skeen going 4-for-7 as part of his game-high 26 points against the Jayhawks. VCU shot just 39.6 percent from the field and was outrebounded by Kansas 42-32, but its 48 percent shooting from three-point range proved to be the difference.

Butler returns to the Final Four for the second year in a row, but there were few people out there that had the No.8 seed penciled in their bracket all the way to this point. The Bulldogs caught everyone’s attention with a 71-70 win over No.1 seed Pittsburgh in the third round as an eight-point underdog and stunned No.4 seed Wisconsin 61-54 as a 4.5 underdog in the Sweet 16, but saved its best effort for the Elite Eight with a 74-71 OT victory over No.2 seed Florida as a four-point underdog.

Matt Howard and Shelvin Mack, who were instrumental in last season’s run to the national title game, have stepped things up to an even higher level in this year’s run. Howard had a team-high 20 points in the win over the Badgers, while Mack exploded for 30 points against Pitt and led the way against the Gators with a game-high 27 points. Butler has done a great job controlling the boards in its last two games with a 71-61 edge in rebounds.

VCU is 6-1 against the spread in its last seven games and the total has stayed ‘under’ in three of its five games in this tournament. Butler is 7-1 ATS in its last eight games and the total has stayed ‘under’ in seven of its last 10 games overall.

Against the Spread Game Pick

There is no edge for either team in guts and determination as they cancel each other out in those categories, but you have to give the edge in experience to Butler. The stage becomes bigger than life at this point, and the Bulldogs rely on last year’s trip to the Final Four as a stepping stone to victory over the Rams and a repeat appearance in the title game.
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