The Richmond Spiders will take on the Saint Louis Billikens in a huge Atlantic-10 battle. Both teams have been much better since their first meeting when St. Louis beat Richmond. Can Saint Louis pull off the series sweep? Let’s take a look at the NCAAB odds for this matchup!
Saint Louis Billikens vs. Richmond Spiders
Friday, February 25, 2022 – 7:00 PM EST at Robins Center
The Saint Louis Billikens will take on the Richmond Spiders, on the road, looking to gain ground in the A-10 standings. Neither one of these teams is going to win the Atlantic 10 regular-season title, but seeding matters once the conference tournament slate begins.
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Richmond is currently 10-3 at home this season and has won three straight games in their own building. Saint Louis will look to change that tonight after already defeating Richmond earlier this season, 76-69 in the first conference game of the year.
However, if you recall, that game was played on January 2. And let’s be real. Both teams have improved since that game. Once the regular season concludes, both teams could finish the season with 20 wins.
The Richmond Spiders have a 52.4 percent effective field goal percentage but have been able to limit turnovers on the offensive end. Richmond limits turnovers to 14.3 percent per game while knocking down 34.2 percent from downtown and 53.2 percent from inside the arc.
Richmond doesn’t get to the line a whole lot while shooting 71.6 percent from the line. However, against Saint Louis, there’s going to be more opportunity. On defense, the Billikens have held opponents to a 47.7 percent effective field goal percentage.
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Teams are shooting 31.9 percent from deep and 47.5 percent from inside. However, the Billikens don’t force many turnovers, at just 18 percent per game. When it comes to rebounding, Saint Louis is holding teams to 27.4 percent offensive rebounds. It’s not the best rate, but an average rate that, against Richmond, should be fine.
Meanwhile, the Billikens are shooting an effective field goal percentage of 51.1 percent. St. Louis is currently earning 34.5 percent offensive rebounds on the season, which is an extremely good rate. Saint Louis’s attempts from deep are limited, however, the Billikens are still shooting 36.4% from downtown.
They pick and choose their spots wisely and it shows. Inside the arc, Saint Louis is shooting 49.6 percent. Teams have shot 49.1 percent against Richmond from inside and 35.7 percent from outside. Of course, Saint Louis would have more success against Richmond with more three-point attempts, however, that just won’t happen.
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Lastly, Richmond is also keeping teams away from the foul line at a solid rate. Despite Saint Louis being a quality free-throw shooting team, Richmond should be able to find a way to keep Saint Louis away from the line.
Prediction
Ultimately, I like Richmond to pull away, at home. The Spiders will limit turnovers and shoot at a higher percentage from inside the arc. Richmond will also get to the line at a higher rate as well, which will help the Spiders hold onto the lead. This is not one of my NCAAB picks.
NCAAB Pick: Richmond -2.5 (-110) with BetOnline (visit our BetOnline Review)
*The line and/or odds on picks in this article might have moved since the content was commissioned. For updated line movements, visit BMR’s free betting odds product.
