Game of the Night
Rhode Island Rams vs Richmond Spiders – 7:00 ET (ESPNU/WatchESPN)
The Essentials:
| Category | Rhode Island | Richmond |
|---|---|---|
| Record | 9-5 | 8-5 |
| Conference Record | 1-0 | 0-1 |
| Home Record | 8-3 | – |
| Away Record | – | 2-3 |
| Kenpom Ranking | 64 | 70 |
| RPI Ranking | 108 | 80 |
| Points Leader | McGlynn (12.8) | Allen (20.0) |
| Rebounds Leader | Iverson (6.9) | Allen (8.2) |
| Assists Leader | Garrett (4.3) | Cline (3.8) |
| Spread | -4 | +4 |
Rhode Island gets their first real test of the Atlantic 10 season after dismantling Saint Louis 85-57. They take on a streaky Richmond squad looking to notch an A10 game in the win column after losing a tight opener to St. Joseph’s, 77-73.
The Richmond Spiders come into this game on a bit of a losing skid, dropping their last two. They closed out their non conference schedule with a loss on the road to Texas Tech, and opened with the loss to St. Joseph’s. One of the keys for Richmond will be to get forward T.J. Cline going – he is just 41% from the field and 1/5 from three in Richmond’s last two contests.
Rhode Island, on the other hand, is definitely the hotter team of the two. Winners of two straight, the Rams are doing it with balance. They had five players score in double figures in their opener against Saint Louis. Should this game come down to the wire, leading scorer and senior guard Four McGlynn has shown an ability to take over a game – like the 33 points he scored in an OT win over Brown. The game looks to be a low scoring one, with both teams trying to dominate the glass and slow the pace down – second chance points look to be key in this one.
Elsewhere in A10 Action
Saint Joseph’s Hawks vs VCU Rams – 7:00 ET
VCU (9-5) gets their first major test in conference play this season, as they head to Philadelphia to take on Saint Joseph’s (11-2). The Hawks have won seven straight games, including quality wins against Temple and Virginia Tech. They beat Richmond on the road in their first A10 game, and are looking to add another good win. The matchup to watch here is St. Joseph’s star DeAndre Bembry, who averages 16.3 points, 7.8 rebounds, and 4.2 assists per game, and VCU’s Melvin Johnson who can fill it up to the tune of 18.6 points per game.
