In the first round of the Atlantic 10 Championship, the Saint Louis Billikens (12-19) will battle against the Rhode Island Rams (12-19) on Tuesday, March 12 at 4:30 PM ET. The showdown will take place at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York, where the Billikens are favored by 2.5 points (-110). 

The Billikens are coming off a 73-65 road victory over the St. Bonaventure Bonnies, which improved their record to 3-2 over their last five games. This includes a 94-91 win over the Rams a few games ago, which should set up another great battle here.

Impressively, leading scorer Gibson Jimerson led them to victory with 30 points over the Rams in their meeting. Jimerson currently leads them with 15.3 points per game, while shooting 40.1 percent from the field.

The Billikens love to push the ball with 75.0 points averaged per game, while making 45.0 percent of their shots. Their ball movement is identical with the Rams, at 12.8 assists per game and shows they each have similar scoring opportunities.

Their defense is their biggest issue, as they give up 79.5 points per game. This shows a slightly negative scoring margin and is dangerously high on the defensive end. 

The Rams have been going downhill after the second half of the regular season. While they are coming off a 58-50 win over the Fordham Rams, they had previously lost their last seven games.

In four of these eight losses, they were defeated by 10 points or more. This does not set them up nicely for this matchup, especially if their offense cannot keep up with the Billikens again. They will definitely need a big game from Jaden House, who currently leads them in scoring with 14.0 points each game.

Their offense produces 72.6 points per game and they make 45.9 percent of their shots. This is on par with the Billikens, which should offer another high scoring matchup for the two.

As hinted, their defense is about the same as the Billikens. They are allowing 76.4 points per game to their opponents and putting themselves at a deficit in comparison to their offense. They will need to hammer down on the defensive end in order to slow the Billikens down.

The odds presented by MyBookie reveal that the Saint Louis Billikens are 2.5-point favorites. However, market insights predict they have a 48.7 percent chance at winning.

The Billikens have already had success once over the Rams, which was just a few games back, and they have looked more appealing over their latest 10 games. Look for them to win and cover the spread.