The Richmond Spiders will be at Chaifetz Arena to square off against the Saint Louis Billikens in an Atlantic 10 matchup. Action gets underway at 8:00 pm ET on Wednesday, Feb. 10.
The Billikens lost a winnable game to St. Bonaventure 65-62 on Sunday. Jermaine Bishop was the team’s high scorer with 17 points. The Spiders are coming off a 69-53 win over Massachusetts on Saturday. T.J. Cline led the game in scoring with 24 points on 8-for-12 shooting.
Cline has upped his play for the Spiders, averaging 19.2 points, 6.2 rebounds, 3.2 assists, 1.2 steals, and 1.8 three-pointers over the past five games.
The Billikens have gone 8-14 Straight Up (SU) and 6-13 Against The Spread (ATS). The most recent ten-game stretch for the Billikens has gone great. Over that span, Saint Louis is averaging 78.2 points per game, well over their season average of 66.0. The Saint Louis defense has been struggling to keep points off the board during its most recent matchups. The Billikens have given up an average of 77.4 points to opponents in their last 10 games, well over their defense’s season average of 71.6 PPG.
Over on the other bench, Richmond has a SU record of 12-10 and an ATS record of 8-10. The Spiders rank 50th in the country in scoring, averaging 78.8 points per game. The Spiders are one of the top teams in the country at finding the open man with an average of 16.9 assists per game. Taking care of the basketball is something the Spiders do very well, averaging just 10.6 turnovers per game.
These conference rivals meet for what will be their first head-to-head battle of the season. Richmond won the last game in the matchup, but Saint Louis still leads the head-to-head record, 6-4 SU, over their most recent matchups. With a 5-4-1 record, the Billikens also have the advantage ATS. Neither team was able to hold the edge in field goals, rebounds, or three-pointers over the course of their latest five contests.
Predictions: SU Winner – Rich, ATS Winner – Rich
Notes
Richmond averages 78.8 points per game (ranked 50th). Saint Louis, on the other hand, allows 71.6 points per game (ranked 143rd).
Ranked 50th, the Richmond Spiders have an offensive rating of 112.7. The Saint Louis Billikens rank 201st with a defensive rating of just 104.3.
The Richmond Spiders have one of the best field goal percentages this season, ranking 18th in the nation with a FG% of 48.4%. When their opponents record a similar or higher FG%, the Saint Louis Billikens are winless with a 0-5 record.
The Saint Louis Billikens and the Richmond Spiders both rank higher in average field goal percentage when compared to their effective field goal percentages. Saint Louis is 284th and 272nd in the nation for eFG% and FG% respectively, while Richmond ranks 22nd and 18th in these categories.
Ranked 21st in the nation, Richmond has an average of 16.9 assists per game. Saint Louis ranks lower at 161st with 13.7.
The Richmond Spiders average 6.3 steals per game. When giving up 6 or more steals, the Saint Louis Billikens have an underachieving record (3-8) this season.
