Sacred Heart vs Rhode Island Odds, Lines, and Spread (Dec. 7)

• Rhode Island is a 15.5-point home favorite over Sacred Heart on Tuesday night
• Rhode Island leads the nation in field goal shooting defense at 35.7%
• A look at the matchup and odds can be found below with a prediction

Two teams trying bounce back from losses over the weekend meet with Sacred Heart vs Rhode Island at 6:00 pm ET Tuesday at the Thomas M Ryan Center in Kingston.

Sacred Heart (3-6/2-4 road) fell at Brown 79-66 on Sunday. It was the Pioneers’ fourth loss in the last five games.

Rhode Island (6-2/4-0 home) had its two-game winning streak snapped with a 66-52 loss at Providence on Saturday.

In a game that will be shown on ESPN+, Rhode Island is favored by double digits.

Sacred Heart vs Rhode Island Odds

Odds as of Dec 7 at DraftKings.

Sacred Heart Outlook

Sacred Heart has one of the top backcourts among low-major teams with the duo of junior Tyler Thomas and senior Aaron Clarke.

Thomas is scoring 19.4 points a game and has reached double figures in eight of Sacred Heart’s nine contests. He is also averaging 4.6 rebounds, 2.3 assists and 1.7 steals while shooting 88.9% from the free-throw line.

https://twitter.com/SHU_MensHoops/status/1466560484702920705

Against Brown, Thomas had 18 points and three steals in a losing cause and drained four three-point field goals. He is 8 of 17 from beyond the arc in the last three games.

Clarke has averages of 17.0 points and 3.0 assists. He has scored in double digits in five straight games, including going for a season-high 24 on Sunday.

https://twitter.com/SHU_MensHoops/status/1467577694858719236

Sophomore forward Nico Galette flirted with a double-double before finishing with 10 points, eight rebounds and four assists. He is scoring 8.9 points and pulling down 9.3 rebounds a game.

Sacred Heart allowed Brown to shoot a sizzling 59.6% (31 of 52) from the field.

The Pioneers return their top nine scorers from a team that finished third in the Northeast Conference last season.

Rhode Island Outlook

Rhode Island’s defense is either outstanding or good, depending on what metric one believes. The Rams lead the nation in field goal percentage shooting allowed with 35.7 but are 133^rd in defensive rating, allowing 94.3 points per 100 possessions.

Guard Jeremy Sheppard decided to come back for another season after going through senior night ceremonies in February and Rhode Island is glad he did.

Jeremy Sheppard Senior Night Rhode Island #LoadedFam #LeadershipAcademy pic.twitter.com/0iYYoBPpi7

— Team Loaded Foundation (@TLfoundation_) February 18, 2021

Sheppard is leading the team in scoring with an 11.3 average to go with 3.3 assists and 1.6 steals. He was the only Rams player to score in double figures against Providence, finishing with 10 points but shooting just 3 of 13 and missing all five three-pointers.

Rhode Island made 2 of 13 shots (15.4%) from beyond the arc and was hammered on the boards 47-30.

Despite the poor showing on Saturday, sophomore centers and twin brothers Mahkel Mitchell and Makhi Mitchell are giving Rhode Island an inside presence in their second season since transferring from Maryland.

They have been joined at the hip forever.

Watch highlights here recent 2019 Maryland commits, twins Makhi & Mahkel Mitchell! https://t.co/CTLjQPrdLq pic.twitter.com/fPl7C0zIo3

— Courtside Films (@CourtsideFilms) August 5, 2017

Mahkel Mitchell is 17^th in the nation in blocked shots with 3.1 per game while also averaging 11.0 points and 5.0 rebounds. Makhi Mitchell has averages of 8.9 points and 6.8 rebounds.

Sacred Heart vs Rhode Island Prediction

The programs have met only once before with Rhode Island winning 56-50 in the 2005-06 season at home.

Sacred Heart has an outstanding pair of guards. However, the Pioneers figure to have a rough going against Rhode Island’s defense and solid inside game.

The Pick: Rhode Island -15.5 (-112)