2022 NCAA Tournament Second Round: No. 4 Providence Friars vs. No. 12 Richmond Spiders
How to Watch:
- Date: Saturday, March 19
- Time: 6:10 p.m. ET
- Location: KeyBank Center in Buffalo, NY
- TV: TNT
- Live Stream: NCAA.com
Tale of the Tape:
| No. 4 PROV | STAT | No. 12 RICH |
| Big East | Conference | Atlantic 10 |
| 26-5 | Record | 24-12 |
| 71.8 (172nd) | Points Per Game | 71.7 (174th) |
| 67.0 | Points Allowed Per Game | 68.3 |
| 0.6233 (13th) | RPI | 0.5747 (52nd) |
| 56th | Strength of Schedule | 92nd |
| At-Large Bid | Bid | Automatic Bid |
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Providence leaders:
- Nate Watson C, SR: 13.8 PPG, 5.4 RPG, 55.8% FG
- Jared Bynum, G, JR: 12.7 PPG, 3.1 RPG, 4.2 APG, 1.1 SPG, 41.7% 3PT
Richmond leaders:
- Tyler Burton, F, JR: 16.3 PPG, 7.7 RPG, 1.1 SPG, 37.7% 3PT
- Grant Golden, F, SR: 14.1 PPG, 6.1 RPG, 2.8 APG, 51.5% FG
Odds, Lines, and Past Performance:
- RICH Moneyline: +130
- PROV Moneyline: -150
- Spread: PROV -2.5
- Over/Under: 134
- ATS Record: PROV 18-13, RICH 17-15-1
- Over/Under Record: PROV 16-15, RICH 16-17
Odds courtesy of Draftkings. For the latest odds, click here.
The Pick:
- Honestly, the Spiders’ defense shocked me on Thursday. Iowa is one of the best offenses in the country and was held to just 63 points. It wasn’t just poor shot selection from Iowa, the Spiders made them work for every single shot and can certainly do that again against a Friars team that is not at the caliber Iowa is offensively speaking.
- For the Spiders, Tyler Burton double-doubled with 18 points and 11 rebounds, and Jacob Gilyard led all scorers with 24 points on 8-of-15 shooting.
- The Friars, meanwhile, survived a tough upset bid from South Dakota, in part because of a bad foul call on a Brynum three-point attempt with 29.9 seconds left. The Jackrabbits should have had the ball down by three with a final possession (or two), but instead, the Friars went up six on three made free-throws and the game was over.
- Still, the Friars’ defense should be credited. They held one of the best shooting teams in the country to 30.4% from three and put together a well-rounded performance that showcased the depth of their roster with most of their key players chipping in.
- With both teams getting their legs under them a bit, the over/under here looks a bit enticing as the teams combined to average over 143 points per game. It’s possible the line is being impacted by the tremendous defensive performances by both teams in the first round, but these are two top 75 offenses by KenPom rankings, with Providence coming in 31st and perhaps being a bit undersold by the early spread.
