WASHINGTON, DC - MARCH 11: E.C. Matthews #0 of the Rhode Island Rams dribbles past Rusty Reigel #32 of the Davidson Wildcats during the first half in the Championship of the Atlantic 10 Basketball Tournament at Capital One Arena on March 11, 2018 in Washington, DC. (Photo by Patrick Smith/Getty Images)
Rhode Island vs Oklahoma: Rams Open as Two Point Favorites
Given the seeding, this was pretty much expected. Rhody has opened as two-point favorites for Thursday’s NCAA Tournament first round game versus Oklahoma.
The 7-seed versus 10-seed game often yield some of the best first round games of the NCAA Tournament. And if the odds makers are to be believed, they’re expecting the same this year. Seven seed Rhode Island has opened as slim two point favorites over 10 seed Oklahoma, according to SportsBookReview.com. They had the line posted last night, shortly after the Selection Show ended. The Rams and Sooners will square off on Thursday afternoon in Pittsburgh.
OU finished off their pre-NCAA campaign at 18-13 overall, but they stumbled down the stretch. To say the least. Oklahoma dropped 8 of their last 10 and 11 of their last 15, and none of their wins came away from home. The Sooners did finish 3-2 on neutral courts, although the last time they picked up a non-home win was December 30th. Yep, they have zero road/neutral wins in 2018. OU also finished an abysmal 10-20 against the spread, including 2-10 ATS in their last 12. They’re also 3-13 against the spread in road/neutral games.
Meanwhile, Rhody tallied a 25-7 record on the season, but they’ve had their recent struggles as well. URI is just 3-3 in their last six, but they did win 16 straight prior to that. The Rams are 3-2 on neutral courts this season. They also check in at 15-13-2 against the spread, although they’re just 2-6 ATS in their last eight.
This is what March is about. A razor-thin line between two good tournament teams. Let’s do it.
