Rhode Island at Dayton odds, picks and predictions

The Rhode Island Rams (9-8, 3-1 A-10) and Dayton Flyers (14-2, 4-0) clash in Atlantic-10 action Saturday afternoon. The opening tipoff at UD Arena will be at 12:30 p.m. ET (USA Network). Below, we analyze FanDuel Sportsbook’s lines around the Rhode Island vs. Dayton odds and make our expert college basketball picks, predictions and best bets.

Rhode Island is fresh off a Wednesday game that saw the Rams get blasted 99-64 by St. Bonaventure. Eight-point-underdog URI was torched by Bonnies shooting (65.9% effective field goal) and by 18 turnovers. The setback ended a string of 4 consecutive victories straight up and against the spread (ATS).

Dayton, ranked No. 23 in the USA TODAY Sports Coaches Poll, last played on Tuesday when it failed to cover as a 12-point favorite but nonetheless won its 11th straight in a 70-65 home triumph over St. Louis. Leveraging a 40.6% mark from beyond the arc, the Flyers have gone 8-0 thus far on their home hardwood.

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Rhode Island at Dayton odds

Provided by FanDuel Sportsbook; access USA TODAY Sports Scores and Sports Betting Odds hub for a full list. Lines last updated at 9:45 a.m. ET.

• Moneyline: Rhode Island +680 (bet $100 to win $680) | Dayton -1100 (bet $1,100 to win $100)
• Against the spread (ATS): Rhode Island +12.5 (-102) | Dayton -12.5 (-120)
• Over/Under (O/U): 142.5 (O: -110 | U: -110)

Rhode Island at Dayton picks and predictions

Prediction

Dayton 76, Rhode Island 61

Moneyline

Too much juice drowning out any potential leverage. PASS.

Against the spread

The Rams are just 2-6 ATS in their last 8 games against UD. But that includes 2 ATS wins in the last 3 meetings, and the most recent matchup resulted in a 75-70 URI win Jan. 25 with the Flyers favored by 9.

Dayton jumped out to a fast start in that last game and then fell apart. Look for a revenge effort on home hardwood in this game at UD Arena. Rhode Island has played 3 other Quad 1 games this season and is 0-3 ATS. Other Rams games that stand out as comps were tilts against Northwestern (Nov. 18), Washington State (Nov. 19), Yale (Nov. 26) and St. Bonaventure. URI went 1-3 ATS across those games against decent teams that squelch pace.

UD’s defensive free-throw frequency and URI’s 3-point defense loom as big factors here. BACK THE FLYERS -12.5 (-120).

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Over/Under

Dayton’s last 5 A-10 games have cashed on the Under.

The Flyers force teams into bad looks. Then they get the ball and run a methodical, efficient offense. URI is normally solid in getting 2nd-chance buckets, but big-body F Josaphat Bilau is out indefinitely with a knee injury.

The best play in this match-up is the UNDER 142.5 (-110).

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