The No.9-seeded Richmond Spiders square off against the No.8-seeded Fordham Rams in the second round of the A10 tournament at the Barclays Center. The game starts at 12:00 pm ET on Thursday, Mar. 10 and can be seen on NBS.
The Rams edged Rhode Island 64-61 in their last matchup. With 27 points and 11 rebounds, Ryan Rhoomes recorded his 11th double-double this season. The Spiders, meanwhile, are feeling some disappointment after the 83-73 loss at the hands of George Mason in their last outing. T.J. Cline led the game in scoring with 23 points.
Cline has been hot over the last five games for the Spiders, averaging 23.8 points, 5.2 rebounds, 4.2 assists, and 2.0 three-pointers.
Based on each team’s statistical profile, the turnover story could loom large in this showdown. Richmond commits the sixth-fewest errors in the nation (TO% of 14.7%), while Fordham’s gambling defense causes the second-most (opponents’ TO% of 23.1%).
The Spiders have won both matchups against the Rams this season, including a 71-67 win the last time these two teams met. Rhoomes had a double-double in the defeat with 19 points and 12 rebounds.
The Rams look to build on their records of 17-12 Straight Up (SU) and 10-10-2 Against The Spread (ATS). The Rams prevent teams from making three-pointers, ranking 27th in the nation with 199 total three-pointers allowed (6.0 per game).
In the other locker room, Richmond has a SU record of 15-15 and an ATS record of 10-15-1. Most recently, Richmond is 6-2-2 ATS over the last 10 games. When it comes to making good decisions with the ball, not many are better than the Spiders. They have one of the top assist-to-turnover ratios in the country at 1.68. The Richmond defense has been a problem for competitors, allowing only 7.0 field goals from three-point range per game.
With the Spiders’ last win against Fordham, their SU record against Fordham moves to 10-0 over their most recent meetings. Additionally, Richmond leads the matchup ATS with a record of 6-4. When it comes to field goals, rebounds, or three-pointers, neither team was able to hold the advantage in all three of these categories over their past five meetings against one another.
Predictions: SU Winner – Ford, ATS Winner – Ford
Notes
“Fordham is 5-1-1 ATS in its last 7 games “.
“Fordham is 5-1 SU in its last 6 games “.
“The total has gone UNDER in 5 of Fordham’s last 7 games “.
“Fordham is 4-9 ATS in its last 13 games when playing Richmond”.
“Fordham is 0-5 SU in its last 5 games when playing Richmond”.
“The total has gone OVER in 4 of Fordham’s last 5 games when playing Richmond”.
The Richmond Spiders have a defensive rating of 108.3 (ranked 98th), while the Fordham Rams have an offensive rating of 104.8 (ranked 200th).
Richmond beats Fordham in both possessions per game and points per possession. The Spiders average 69.2 possessions and 1.121 points per possession, while the Rams average 68.6 possessions with 1.048 points per possession.
The Richmond Spiders have one of the best effective field goal percentages this season, ranking 17th in the country with an eFG% of 55.4%. When their opponents record a similar or higher eFG%, the Fordham Rams have a losing 3-7 record.
Richmond ranks among the best in the nation in assists at 16th (17.0 assists per game). Fordham is ranked 39th with 15.8 assists per game.
The Fordham Rams make an average of 8.5 steals per game, ranked 11th in the nation. When the Richmond Spiders allow 8 or more steals, they are undefeated (2-0).
