The Providence Friars were a little too much for South Dakota State to handle in the first round of the NCAA Tournament. But they have an opportunistic opponent in front of them on Saturday by way of the Richmond Spiders, who have picked a good time to play their best ball of the season.
And this meeting between the two, in which the winner will nail a spot in the Sweet Sixteen, takes place at the KeyBank Center in Buffalo. BetAnySports customers are going to be able to get reduced juice on this game, which gives them a shot at better odds. And they can continue to wager after the opening tip as they access Premier Lines, Ultimate Lines and Super Lines.
According to the latest basketball news, Providence, which comes into the game with a 26-5 record, defeated South Dakota State by a 66-57 count on Thursday. The Friars got 13 points and nine rebounds from Noah Horchler, along with 13 points and nine rebounds from Al Durham. Ed Croswell came off the bench to get six offensive rebounds, and that as huge as well. They only got twelve chances at the line, however, and that wasn’t the best of news for a team that relies a great deal upon earning free throws.
Ed Cooley’s team scored a number of significant wins during the season, knocking off the likes of Wisconsin, Texas Tech and UConn. They also battled tooth-and-nail with Villanova, losing a pair of games by a total of seven points.
Richmond has a 24-12 mark, but the interesting thing is that the Spiders have arguably tallied their three biggest wins in their last three games, which is an encouraging sign. They beat Dayton and Davidson to win the Atlantic 10 tournament, and then stunned Iowa 67-63, as the Hawkeyes went cold from the three-point arc (six of 29).
In the NCAA Tournament betting odds at BetAnySports for this 6:10 PM ET start, Providence is laying points:
Providence Friars -4
Richmond Spiders +4
Over 134.5 Points -110
Under 134.5 Points -110
For those who like to be on sports, Providence probably brings a better defense to the table. And Richmond will likely have a difficult time hitting long-range shots, as the Friars have allowed just 31.2% . They’re in good shape with four seniors in the starting lineup, and meaningful size on the front line in the person of 6-10 Nate Watson.
Almost 22% of Providence’s points come at the free throw line, so it stands to reason that they give themselves the best chance to win if they are at the charity stripe. But Richmond has done a very good job at defending without fouling, so those opportunities won’t come easy.
Richmond also brings a load of experience into this game, and that includes 6-10 Grant Golden, who is actually in his sixth year of college basketball. No, they are not the best when it comes to recovering their own misses, but they explore a series of screens and back-cuts with the Princeton style of offense that has been installed by coach Chris Mooney. And fundamentally they are sound, with the tenth-stingiest offensive turnover percentage in the nation.
They have enough going for them, including an important degree of momentum, that they have a chance to prevail in a tight game. So we would lean toward grabbing the points in this one.
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