BYU vs. VCU: 2025 NCAA Tournament Odds & Picks

by BettingPros Staff |
Mar 16, 2025

The 2025 NCAA Tournament is officially here! The March Madness Bracket is set, and first-round NCAA Tournament matchups are in place. It’s time to make you picks and predictions for the first round of the 2025 NCAA Tournament! We’re here to help as we’ll have picks and predictions for each of the first-round 2025 NCAA Tournament games. Here are our top picks and predictions for BYU vs. VCU.

2025 NCAA Tournament Odds & Picks: BYU vs. VCU

Let’s dive into our top picks and predictions for this opening-round NCAA Tournament matchup.

2025 NCAA Tournament Preview: BYU vs. VCU

BYU 2025 NCAA Tournament Preview

If you value momentum when making your bracket decisions, BYU appeals to you. From Feb. 10 to the end of the regular season, BYU went 8-0 and ranked as the second-best team on Bart Torvik, trailing only Duke.

You’d think it would have been because the Cougars’ top perimeter shooters, Richie Saunders and Trevin Knell, went on an unprecedented perimeter-shooting heater, but the Cougars only shot 37% from deep during that run, 81st in the country. What was a catalyst for that run was BYU’s top-ranked interior scoring, as the Cougars made 62% of looks from inside the arc over the final month of regular-season play.

Keba Keita is a shifty 6-8 center who finished with the best offensive rebounding rate and fourth-highest 2pt-shooting percentage in Big 12 play. Fousseyni Traore can step up as needed with his elite rebounding, and BYU has a plethora of reinforcements with the 12th-most bench minutes in DI ball.

Defensively, it’s not as if the Cougars are elite, but defense shouldn’t be the reason for a potential early exit. The Cougars will keep players out of the paint, allowing the second-fewest near-proximity looks in the Big 12. They don’t allow anything quick, with the 25th-best transition defense, per Shot Quality, and they rank top-10 in second-chance conversion defense.

BYU may live and die by the three, ranking top-25 in percentage of points allowed on both sides of the ball, but with the Cougars’ ability to have a dynamic offense depending on what defenses show, and with the floor their defense offers, BYU is a sneaky choice for a deep run.

VCU 2025 NCAA Tournament Preview

The VCU Rams are 28-6 and enter March Madness as Atlantic 10 champions. VCU has a balanced attack under second-year head coach Ryan Odom, who has maintained the program’s winning tradition while evolving its identity.

Though the “Havoc” pressure defense is gone, VCU remains one of the nation’s most suffocating defensive teams, excelling at rim protection and perimeter containment while generating momentum-shifting fastbreaks off turnovers. No team has held opponents to a lower effective field goal percentage than VCU.

Offensively, Odom’s four-out system features a loaded backcourt led by the dynamic Max Shulga. alongside explosive wings Joe Bamisile and Zeb Jackson, plus newcomer Phillip Russell, a mid-major scoring dynamo. The frontcourt boasts versatile defender Jack Clark from Clemson and improving center Christian Fermin, whose rim protection anchors the defense.

The 28 wins by VCU are the most since their Final Four run back in 2011. Since Jan. 1, VCU has gone 19-2 with a top-30 offense and defense. They’ve gone 12-1 in their final 13 games. While depth concerns exist with essentially an eight-man rotation, VCU’s combination of veteran leadership, defensive intensity, and multi-dimensional scoring makes the Rams a formidable opponent capable of disrupting higher seeds with their disciplined approach.

2025 NCAA Tournament Predictions: BYU vs. VCU

This game is a notable clash of styles. BYU boasts one of the more dangerous offenses in college basketball. The Cougars rank 11th nationally in adjusted offensive efficiency and 7th in effective field-goal percentage while shooting 37.1% from three-point range.

BYU is also 13-3 since mid-January behind its pro-style offense. Meanwhile, VCU has a top-tier defense and tries to slow opponents down. The Rams lead the entire country in effective field-goal percentage against (44.4%) and are 23rd nationally in adjusted defensive efficiency. Their defense also forces turnovers at the 31st-best rate in the sport.

In this matchup, BYU should come out ahead as it's already beaten some tough defensive teams in the Big 12. However, VCU hasn't dealt with a potent offense like the Cougars.

2025 NCAA Tournament Picks: BYU vs. VCU

Bet: BYU -2.5 (-110)

Check out all of our 2025 NCAA Tournament Bracket & Betting Coverage >>

2025 NCAA Tournament Sports Betting Picks

For those looking to place bets on the matchups, let's take a look at the early odds and picks for the 2025 NCAA Tournament.

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