Halftime Report

After a tough loss on the road their last time out, Massachusetts looks much better today on their home court. They have a bit of a cushion as they currently lead VCU 38-26.

Massachusetts came into the matchup with some extra motivation after the defeat they were dealt the last time these two teams faced off. We’ll see if they’re able to flip the script or if it’ll just be more of the same.

Who’s Playing

VCU Rams @ Massachusetts Minutemen

Current Records: VCU 17-8, Massachusetts 16-9

How To Watch

• When: Tuesday, February 20, 2024 at 7 p.m. ET
• Where: Mullins Center — Amherst, Massachusetts
• TV: CBS Sports Network
• Follow: CBS Sports App
• Watch on Connected TV: CBS Sports App on Roku and Fire TV
• Live Stream: CBSSports.com or fuboTV (Try for free. Regional restrictions may apply.)
• Ticket Cost: $15.00

What to Know

We’ve got another exciting Atlantic 10 matchup on schedule as the VCU Rams and the Massachusetts Minutemen are set to tip at 7:00 p.m. ET on February 20th at Mullins Center. VCU is coming into the match hot, having won their last four games.

VCU scored the most points they’ve had all season to find success on Friday. They came out on top against the Billikens by a score of 95-85. The high flying offensive effort was a huge turnaround for VCU considering their 49-point performance the contest before.

VCU can attribute much of their success to Joe Bamisile, who scored 27 points, and Max Shulga, who scored 26 points along with six rebounds. As a matter of fact, that’s the most points Shulga has scored all season.

Meanwhile, the point spread may have favored Massachusetts last Saturday, but the final result did not. They were just a bucket shy of victory and fell 82-81 to the Explorers.

Josh Cohen put forth a good effort for the losing side as he dropped a double-double on 21 points and 13 rebounds. He didn’t help Massachusetts’ cause all that much against the Spiders on Wednesday but the same can’t be said for this contest. Another player making a difference was Matt Cross, who scored 15 points along with eight rebounds and three steals.

The Rams have been performing incredibly well recently as they’ve won nine of their last ten matchups, which provided a nice bump to their 17-8 record this season. As for the Minutemen, their loss dropped their record down to 16-9.

Keep an eye on the arc in Tuesday’s game: VCU have been dynamite from deep this season, having made 36.7% of their threes per game. It’s a different story for Massachusetts, though, as they’ve only made 31.5% of their threes this season. Given VCU’s sizable advantage in that area, the Minutemen will need to find a way to close that gap.

Everything came up roses for VCU against the Minutemen in their previous meeting back in January of 2023 as the squad secured a 83-55 win. The rematch might be a little tougher for VCU since the team won’t have the home-court advantage this time around. We’ll see if the change in venue makes a difference.

Odds

Massachusetts is a 3.5-point favorite against VCU, according to the latest college basketball odds.

The line has drifted a bit towards the Minutemen, as the game opened with the Minutemen as a 1.5-point favorite.

The over/under is 144.5 points.

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Series History

VCU has won 6 out of their last 8 games against Massachusetts.

• Jan 17, 2023 – VCU 83 vs. Massachusetts 55
• Feb 26, 2022 – VCU 77 vs. Massachusetts 62
• Feb 26, 2020 – Massachusetts 60 vs. VCU 52
• Jan 19, 2019 – VCU 68 vs. Massachusetts 50
• Feb 21, 2018 – VCU 82 vs. Massachusetts 78
• Jan 07, 2017 – VCU 81 vs. Massachusetts 64
• Mar 11, 2016 – VCU 85 vs. Massachusetts 70
• Feb 11, 2016 – Massachusetts 69 vs. VCU 63