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Richmond vs Providence Game Preview, Live Stream, Odds, Picks & Predictions

12th Seed Looks to Follow Up Huge Upset in Opener

· Mar 18 - 5 minutes read

A-10, Big East Teams Clash in Second Round

Richmond looked to be on its way out of the Atlantic 10 tournament on more than one occasion, but now stands a win away from the Sweet 16. They will face a Providence team that had lost its March Madness bracket opener in six of the last seven tournaments.

Richmond was just 1-2 in Quad 1 games and 7-11 against Quad 1 or 2 opponents compared to a 14-5 mark in those games for Providence, but none of that matters now other than in determining the March Madness odds.

Richmond vs Providence Game Preview, Live Stream, Odds, Picks & Predictions

Providence is listed at +1200 in the odds to reach the Final Four while Richmond is well back at +2800.

Let’s check the latest news, stats, injury reports, and March Madness Odds for Richmond vs Providence. We’ve plenty of predictions for you to consider.

Richmond Busted Plenty of March Madness Brackets

Richmond twice rallied from 15-point deficits during its run to the Atlantic 10 tournament championship, so expectations were rather low when the Spiders drew Big Ten tournament champion Iowa in the first round of the Midwest Region.

Jacob Gilyard, a 5-foot-9 senior guard, played like the biggest player on the court with 24 points as Richmond posted its first NCAA Tournament win since 2011. Gilyard was 4 of 4 from the line in the final 15 seconds after Iowa pulled within two points.

Kansas City’s Jacob Gilyard scores a game-high 24 and the 12th-seeded Richmond Spiders upset the No. 5 Iowa Hawkeyes 67-63 in the first round of the #NCAATournament. It’s @G1LYARD SZN for the @BarstowSchool grad! #MarchMadness pic.twitter.com/M17uAecrMr

— Jeff Rosen (@jeff_rosen88) March 17, 2022

Big Ten scoring leader Keegan Murray had yet another 20-point effort but, other than Patrick McCaffrey, there was little offensive support for Murray. The Spiders limited Iowa’s other three starters to 17 points on 6-of-18 shooting.

Richmond improved to 3-0 against No. 5 seeds in the March Madness brackets, although the Spiders lost their next game in two of the previous three occasions.

Richmond has been the underdog in each of its last four games. The Spiders not only won each of those matchups, but also covered against the college basketball spreads in every one.

Defense Carries Providence into Second Round

South Dakota State, which had the longest active winning streak among men’s Division I teams, came into Thursday’s first-round game leading the country in 3-point percentage. However, after making 45 percent of its 3-pointers going into the NCAA Tournament, the Jackrabbits were just 7 of 23 from downtown.

Providence lost by 27 points in the Big East semifinals in its previous game and was viewed as a prime candidate for an upset. However, seniors Noah Horchler and Al Durham had 13 points each while Jared Bynum added 12 points off the bench, including three clutch free throws on a disputed foul call with 29 seconds left to play as Providence won 66-57.

It was the Friars’ 15th win by single digits, leading some to suggest that Providence isn’t as good as its record.

“If luck is the narrative that continues to keep us connected and winning, we’ll take it,” Providence coach Ed Cooley said.

The Friars have covered against the Las Vegas odds in four of its last six games.

Richmond vs Providence Head-to-Head

Providence has won its last three games against Richmond, although the teams haven’t met since 2003, so the series history won’t be helpful to those who bet online. Nine months after the Friars eliminated Richmond from the 2003 NCAA Tournament with a 67-49 win as a 1½-point underdog, the Friars came away with a one-point win as a one-point favorite.

Richmond vs Providence Game Information

Game: Richmond (24-12) vs. Providence (26-5)
Location: KeyBank Center, Buffalo, NY
Day/Time: Saturday, 6:10 p.m. ET
Live stream: TBS.com
2022 March Madness bracket

Richmond vs Providence Betting Lines

Richmond vs Providence Prediction

The sixth-place team in the Atlantic 10 meeting the Big East regular-season champion would seem like an easy team to pick. However, just take a look at some of the other March Madness matchups that seemed to be foregone conclusions.

Richmond is among the national leaders in the fewest turnovers per game and fewest fouls committed. Those are two critical categories to excel in at this time of the year. Providence doesn’t rank in the top 75 in any major offensive category, but the sum of the parts is better than the individual talent. As much as the March Madness predictions were calling for an early exit for the Friars, it is hard to go against them in this one.