Richmond (8-3, 2-1 A10) will make the trip to Fairfax for a noon tip off tomorrow vs George Mason (5-4, 1-2 A10) at EagleBank Arena on CBS Sports Network. The Spiders are coming off of what was perhaps their most complete game of the season, in a victory vs Rhode Island. The Patriots are coming into this one having dropped 2 straight to Dayton and VCU. If this game is anything like last year’s matchup in Northern Virginia, expect a lot of scoring. This will be the 64th all-time matchup between the two schools, with Richmond holding a 39-25 advantage. The Spiders won both contests last season by double digits, and had their 2nd highest scoring game of the year, dropping 97 just about a year ago.
George Mason
The Patriots are led by 6’6″ guard, Jordan Miller. Through 7 games this season, he is averaging 16.1 ppg, although he only scored 6 points & registered 5 turnovers in their most recent loss to VCU. Another guy the Spiders need to look out for is Javon Greene. He put together an impressive performance in the last meeting at EagleBank Arena, scoring 39 in the defeat. Josh Oduro is the big man for George Mason, who is coming off a near double-double, with 13 points and 9 boards vs the Rams. We can expect Grant Golden to have another solid scoring night, just as he did a year ago.
Richmond
With all five starters scoring in double figures on Wednesday night, we can expect something very similar to this on Saturday afternoon. Blake Francis will look to get out of his shooting slump once again in his homecoming. Francis went to high school just 12 miles away from George Mason. He did not get the opportunity to play in this one last year, due to his sternum injury. Jacob Gilyard is coming off a very hot shooting performance vs Rhode Island, as he netted 6 from long range, finishing with a game high 22 points. With a much needed win on Wednesday night, expect some of the pressure to dissolve for the Spiders. This team looked good throughout in their last performance, and this is a game that could swing heavily in their favor.
Prediction
This is a game that I see the Spiders winning comfortably. Richmond will take care of the basketball and find their rhythm, winning this one 86-70. As always, be sure to follow all things A10 and Richmond basketball on www.a10talk.com as well as @A10Talk & @AustinDaisey11 on Twitter. We will see you on Saturday Spider Nation!
