Rhode Island vs. Dayton Prediction and Odds (Back Flyers at Home)

Dayton has emerged as an Atlantic 10 contender behind a dynamite offense and swarming defense.

After beating the likes of St. Bonaventure and St. Louis at home, the Flyers have announced themselves as threats to win the conference, trailing Davidson by a game. Friday night they face a struggling Rhode Island team that has dropped a pair in a row to fall to 3-3 in league play.

Here are the odds for this Friday night meeting, courtesy of WynnBET Sportsbook.

Rhode Island vs. Dayton Odds, Spread and Total

Spread:

• Rhode Island: +6 (-110)
• Dayton: -6 (-110)

Moneyline:

• Rhode Island: +210
• Dayton: -265

Total: 124 (Over -110/Under -110)

Rhode Island vs. Dayton Prediction and Pick

After a shaky start to the season, the youth of Dayton has turned into a well rounded team. Under the guidance of head coach Anthony Grant, the Flyers run a methodical offense that can play both on the interior and hit from beyond the arc.

The freshman duo of DaRon Holmes and Mustapha Amzil are great on the interior while guard Malachi Smith runs the offense. Smith has an assist rate of 31% and a steal rate of nearly 4% while canning 35% of his three-point tries. Dayton is top 50 nationally in effective field goal percentage but will have a stiff test against Rhode Island, who has leaned heavily on their defense to offset their poor offense in A-10 play.

The Rams are holding teams to a league low 30% from the perimeter, but are too physical for their own good, sending opponents to the foul line at a concerning level. On the road in a hostile environment, the physical brand of Rhode Island can cost them. Opponents are posting a near 40% free throw rate in A-10 play, rating 13th in that category.

Rhode Island has dropped two straight, while Dayton has lost a pair of A-10 games by a combined 2 points while winning the other 5 by an average margin of 15 points. I'm going to lay it with the Flyers at -6, and lean towards the over in a game that I see getting over with a lot of trips to the charity stripe.

PICK: Dayton -6, play to -7, lean OVER 124

All of Reed's college basketball plays can be tracked here. His best bets column for college basketball is 26-34-3 for -10.4 units.