Providence vs Richmond 3/19/22 College Basketball Picks, Predictions, Odds

The Providence Friars and the Richmond Spiders meet in an NCAA tournament second round matchup in college basketball action from the KeyBank Center on Saturday evening.

The Richmond Spiders come into the second round fresh off of their 67-63 win over Iowa last time out.  Jacob Gilyard led the Spiders in scoring with 24 points including an 8 of 15 mark from the field with 4 threes and a team-high 6 assists along with 6 rebounds. Tyler Burton has 18 points with 11 rebounds for the double-double. Nathan Cayo has 15 points on 7 of 11 shooting to cap off the trio of double-digit scorers for Richmond in the winning effort.

The Providence Friars come into the second round off of a 66-57 win over South Dakota State last time out. Noah Horchler and Al Durham each had 13 points on 5 of 12 shooting, with Horchler chipping in a team-high 9 rebounds while Durham has 8 rebounds and a team-high 6 assists. Jared Bynum also had points to cap off the trio of double-digit scorers for Providence in the winning effort.

Richmond is 4-0 ATS in their last 4 games overall and 4-0 ATS in their last 4 games as an underdog while the under is 3-0-1 in their last 4 NCAA tournament games. Providence is 1-8 ATS in their last 9 neutral site games as a favorite and 1-5 ATS in their last 6 NCAA tournament games while the under is 5-0 in their last 5 NCAA tournament games as a favorite.

I get the case to be made for Providence here. But it almost feels like at this number, they’re kind of begging you to take Providence. Richmond is a team I wasn’t high on for much of the year, but the Spiders looked really good in the win over Iowa and I think they could be that team that we see every tournament that goes on a run from the opening round. I’ll take my shot with Richmond and the points.