Robins Center, Richmond, VA
Tuesday, January 17, 2023
7:00PM
Media
TV: N/A
Online: ESPN +
Radio: Tune In Radio
App: Varsity Network
Previews
Richmond Fan Forum
The Rams keep their road swing going with a trip to Richmond to take on the Spiders. Both universities are coming off road losses as URI lost at UMass & Richmond lost at St. Bonaventure. The Spiders enter this contest with a 10-8 recording and are 3-2 in the conference. Looking at their schedule & who they have beaten, there is no signature out of conference win in their unless you want to consider a win against Temple on a neutral floor a signature win. (The Owls were favored by just 1 in that game.) They did get rolled by Clemson by almost 30. The Spiders are 2-0 at home in conference play & they have a road win at Davison.
Chris Mooney’s Richmond is coming off an impressive run in the A10 tournament, winning 4 games to win the A10 Championship. As a 12 seed, they scored the upset against Iowa before getting rolled by Providence in the next round. After being on the hotseat in previous years, that postseason solidified Mooney’s job at Richmond for at least the foreseeable future. On the court, the Spiders are once again led by Tyler Burton. This 6’7” preseason all-conference first team player is an absolute beast. He went for 17.7 & 7.5 last season and somehow increased those numbers to 19.4 & 7.8 this year. His 19.4 points per game is currently good for 33rd in the country. The only other double-digit scorer is guard Jason Nelson. This freshman undersized speedy guard is averaging 10.2 points per game & is third on the team in assists. Inexplicably leading the Spiders in assists is their 7-foot center Neal Quinn who is averaging almost 3 per game. Six-foot nine Forward Matt Grace is second on the team in assists. The Spiders’ height is going to cause some problems for Rhody. When Rhody goes man to man, I am guessing Ish will have the unlucky assignment of being matched up against Burton, Martin will have Grace & Samb/Tchikou will be on the seven-footer Quinn.
If Rhody wants to stay in this game to pull off an upset, they need to clean up the turnovers. They can play so sloppy at times that it is maddening. In addition to that, Bray also needs to stop going 1 on 5. One bright side to Rhody’s last game was Tchikou having his best game of the season minus the 3-point attempt. He went for 8 & 6 and had ZERO turnovers. He earned the most minutes he has played since early on this season. While looking at some team comparisons, Rhody averages over 2.5 turnovers per game more than the Spiders while Richmond shoots the 3 ball over 6% better. Not a recipe for success in this one.
If Rhody hopes to pick up their first true road win of the season, they are going to need to play an almost flawless game. Both Ish & Bray need to be on & they need an efficient performance from either Carey or Martin. The Rams have lost 4 in a row to the Spiders including 2 of 3 at the Robins Center. One other thing, I would negligent if I did not mention Rhody has hit the race to 10 points in the first half in 9 of the last 11 games. This one will certainly be plus money on the road (probably +150), so why not. Ha ha. I am guessing Richmond will be favored by about 8 points in this contest. Will Rhody have enough to pull of the upset? Let’s ask the Magic 8 Ball. It says…concentrate and ask again. Damnit. Ok, let me attempt to concentrate. The Magic 8 Ball says…outlook not so good. This way this team has been playing, I may need to start using a different kind of 8 ball. My prediction is Tyler Burton goes for 22 & 11 with the final score being Richmond 73 – URI 66. Go Rhody!!
Opponent
Record:
10-8, 3-2 in the A10
24-13, 10-8 in the A10 (Last Season)
Rankings (URI):
NCAA NET: 129 (236)
RPI: 132 (214)
KenPom: 103 (210)
BPI: 95 (227)
Sagarin: 100 (201)
Barttovik: 112 (202)
Leaders:
Points – Tyler Burton 19.4 (Sr., F)
Rebounds – Tyler Burton 7.8 (Sr., F)
Assists – Neal Quinn 2.9 (Sr., C) (1.3 TO per game)
Historical
Series: 11-18
H: 8-5, A: 3-10, N: 0-3
Most Recent Matchup: 3/10/22 64-59 L at A10 Tournament
Most Recent Win Streak: 4 – Richmond
Match-up Predictor: 11.6% Chance of URI Winning