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NCAA Tournament: Iowa vs Richmond 3/17/22 College Basketball Picks, Predictions, Odds

Richmond Spiders (23-12) vs. Iowa Hawkeyes (26-9)
March 17, 2022 3:10 pm EDT
The Line: Iowa Hawkeyes -9.5 / Richmond Spiders +9.5; Over/Under: 150.5
(Get latest betting odds)

The Iowa Hawkeyes and Richmond Spiders clash Thursday in the first round of the NCAA Tournament at the KeyBank Center.

The 12-seed Richmond Spiders finished their regular season with an overall record of 23-12 and was able to punch their ticket to the NCAA Championship after winning the Atlantic 10 Tournament by upsetting the Davidson Wildcats by a 64-62 margin. Richmond earned just the 6-seed in the Atlantic 10 Tournament after finishing conference play with a 10-8 record, however, the Spiders were outstanding throughout the Tournament and was able to get the automatic bid after defeating three very good teams in VCU, Dayton, & Davidson. Richmond struggled a bit during conference play during the regular season, however, this is still a team that has a lot of quality wins this season, led by victories over Hofstra, Northern Iowa, Toledo, Dayton, & Davidson.

On the season, Richmond is averaging 71.9 ppg on 44.4% shooting from the field. The Spiders averaged 8.2 three-pointers per game on 33.8% shooting from beyond the arc. Offensively, Richmond has been led by Tyler Burton (16.3 ppg, 7.5 rpg, 1.0 apg, 1.1 spg), Grant Golden (14.3 ppg, 6.2 rpg, 2.9 apg), Jacob Gilyard (12.9 ppg, 3.4 rpg, 5.5 apg, 3.1 apg), & Nathan Cayo (8.7 ppg, 4.3 rpg, 1.8 apg).

Defensively, Richmond is allowing their opponents to average 71.9 ppg on 44.4% shooting from the field. The Spiders had a rebound margin of -3.4 and a turnover margin of 3.4.

The 5-seed Iowa Hawkeyes finished their regular season with an overall record of 26-9 and earned their trip to the NCAA Championship after winning the Big Ten Championship by defeating the 9th ranked Purdue Boilermakers by a 75-66 margin. Iowa earned just the 5-seed for the Big Ten Championship with a conference record of 12-8, however, the Hawkeyes were outstanding throughout the Tournament and secured the Big Ten Championship by defeating Northwestern, Rutgers, Indiana, & Purdue. Iowa didn’t pick up many key victories in their non-conference schedule with their best winning coming against Virginia, however, the Hawkeyes were decent in Big Ten regular season play, picking up wins against Indiana, Ohio State, Michigan State, & Michigan.

On the season, Iowa is averaging 84.0 ppg on 46.5% shooting from the field. The Hawkeyes are averaging 9.3 three-pointers per game on 37.1% shooting from beyond the arc. Offensively, Iowa has been led by Keegan Murray (23.7 ppg, 8.6 rpg, 1.4 apg, 1.3 spg), Jordan Bohannon (11.2 ppg, 1.3 rpg, 1.8 apg), Patrick McCaffery (10.4 ppg, 3.6 rpg, 1.6 apg), & Kris Murray (10.0 ppg, 4.3 rpg, 1.0 apg).

Defensively, Iowa is allowing their opponents to an average of 71.4 ppg on 43.8% shooting from the field. The Hawkeyes have a rebound margin of 1.9 and a turnover margin of 4.3.

The Spiders are 4-1 ATS in their last 5 neutral site games, however, are just 1-4 ATS in their last 5 Thursday games. The Hawkeyes are 6-1 ATS in their last 7 games overall & 4-1 ATS in their last 5 games following a ATS win.

Richmond has been decent on both ends of the court this season as the Spiders come into this game ranked 150th in scoring offense, t-157th in scoring defense, & 21st in turnover margin. Iowa was led by their offense which ranks 4th in scoring offense, 50th in FG%, & 24th in three-pointers made per game, however, the Hawkeyes did struggle a bit on the defensive end as they come into this matchup ranked just 239th in scoring defense & 204th in defensive FG%.

Richmond went on a great run in the A-10 Tournament to secure an NCAA bid and certainly has some explosive offensive weapons, however, I think this is just a tough matchup for the Spiders. Iowa has one of the best offensives in the country and as the Hawkeyes have been outstanding on a neutral court this season, posting a 5-0 record, I think Iowa does enough in this one to cover this large spread. Good Luck!

Brett Nault's Free Pick: Iowa Hawkeyes -9.5

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Brett Nault

Brett has been involved with sports his entire life, whether playing them or betting on them, and loves using his education in data analytics to break down all matchups to get you a competitive edge. Follow Brett Nault on Twitter @BrettCU05

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