Game Information
Saint Louis Billikens (18-13) vs Davidson Wildcats (17-15) - Atlantic 10 Tournament Second Round
Time: 1pm CST Thursday
How to watch: USA Network
DraftKings Odds
Spread: SLU -3.5
Total: 141.5
KenPom projection: SLU 73, Davidson 71
Billikens Begin Quest For A10 Title
The Saint Louis University Billikens play what they hope will be their first of four games in four days when they meet the Davidson Wildcats on Thursday afternoon in the second round of the Atlantic Ten Tournament.
SLU is the #5 seed and takes on a Davidson team that advanced to this game with a 69-65 victory over Richmond on Wednesday. The winner moves on to face the #4 seed Loyola Chicago in the quarterfinals on Friday.
Good Matchup For SLU?
This may be an ideal matchup for the Billikens if they realistically want to have a shot to win this tournament with their thin bench. The Wildcats play at a slow pace, as they rank 269th out of 364 teams in Division One in adjusted tempo according to KenPom.
Also, SLU’s kryptonite this season has been turnovers. The Billikens give the ball away on 18.7% of their possessions, which ranks 287th in the country. But the Wildcats are not built to exploit that weakness, as they rank 307th in the country in turning their opponents over.
Davidson Only Beats Bad Teams
SLU won the previous meeting this season at Davidson 57-56, as the Billikens battled back from down 13 points with about six minutes to go. It continued an interesting trend when it comes to these two teams this season.
SLU is a perfect 7-0 against teams that finished under .500 in Atlantic 10 play. Meanwhile, Davidson is 0-10 against teams that finished .500 or better in A10 play.
My Lean
That last stat says it all for me. Davidson loses to good teams, and SLU beats subpar teams. Despite the small spread, there is no excuse for the Billikens to lose this game. They need to go out and win it, and I have a feeling they will. The Billikens have been very clutch in big moments this season with dramatic wins over Davidson, UMass, and Duquesne - and I don’t think they’ll turtle up in their biggest game of the year.
SLU has won an Atlantic 10 Tournament game in each of the last eight years the tournament has been played, which is the longest active streak in the league. Here’s to thinking they extend that streak to nine while doing enough to cover the number.
Lean: SLU -3.5 at -105 on DraftKings
Eric Sontag hosts Domesticated Gamblers every Friday on the Sports Hub STL YouTube channel. Click here for his daily picks on all of our St. Louis area sports teams. Disclaimer