The No.2-seeded Miami (FL) Hurricanes get together with the No.1-seeded Richmond Spiders in the quarterfinals of the NIT tournament at Robins Center. The game starts at 7:00 pm ET on Tuesday, Mar. 24 and will air on ESPN.
The Spiders beat Arizona State 76-70 in the second round. Kendall Anthony had a good game, finishing with 15 points, three assists, and two rebounds for the Spiders. The Hurricanes, meanwhile, are coming off a 73-66 win over Alabama in the second round. Tonye Jekiri scored 11 points and recorded eight rebounds earning his 10th double-double of the season.
Half-court execution will be at a premium as Richmond ranks 314th in the nation in possessions per game (62.5 possessions per game), while Miami (FL) is 288th (63.6).
Richmond is a small one-point favorite in this game and the Over/Under (O/U) is currently unavailable. The Spiders look to build on their records of 21-13 Straight Up (SU) and 15-15-1 Against The Spread (ATS). Few teams in the nation have a higher assist-to-turnover ratio than Richmond, which ranks 25th at 1.36.
Across the court, Miami (FL) has a SU record of 23-12 and an ATS record of 15-17-1. The Hurricanes are shooting lights out from the foul line so far, with a .736 free throw percentage that ranks 35th in Division I. The Hurricanes rarely make the wrong play with the ball. They have the 32nd-best assist-to-turnover ratio in the country at 1.32.
Richmond and Miami (FL) have not played one another in a regular season matchup in recent years.
Predictions: SU Winner – MIA, ATS Winner – MIA
Notes
Ranked 64th, the Miami (FL) Hurricanes have an offensive rating of 108.3. The Richmond Spiders rank 110th with a defensive rating of just 177.0.
The Richmond Spiders average a field goal percentage of 45.3% this season. The Miami (FL) Hurricanes are 6-8 when opponents have a FG% of 45.3% or greater.
The Richmond Spiders and the Miami (FL) Hurricanes both rank higher in average effective field goal percentage when compared to their field goal percentages. Richmond is 86th and 75th in the nation for FG% and eFG% respectively, while Miami (FL) is 161st and 90th in these categories.
The 25th-ranked team in the category, Richmond has an assist-to-turnover ratio of 1.36 this season. Miami (FL) ranks 32nd with an A/TO of 1.32.
