The Richmond Spiders will square off with crosstown rival VCU this evening at the Siegel Center (7:00/CBSSN). The two teams split last season’s series, with both teams winning at home. With the crowd not being a factor, this game has the potential to swing in either direction. Richmond is just one game in from their 3rd Covid pause of the season, where they defeated Division III St. Mary’s College (MD) on Sunday evening at the Robins Center. VCU is coming off a win against St. Bonaventure, and have won 5 straight.
It’s hard to take much of anything from a game against a D-III opponent, but one thing is for certain. Richmond hit shots. This is important for a number of reasons, but I think the biggest reason is due to their lack of success shooting the rock at home. Obviously this game tonight is away from the Robins Center, but Blake Francis & Jacob Gilyard both saw their shots fall in the victory on Sunday night. Something that could bode well for the team’s overall confidence this evening. The Spiders need to feed Grant Golden down low tonight and limit Bones Hyland. He torched Richmond last year on Broad Street, propelling the Rams to a lopsided victory. In a big time game this late in the season, expect these two squads to make their own energy tonight due to the lack of fans in attendance.
This is a great opportunity for the Spiders to potentially get off that “First Four Out” line that we have been seeing a lot lately. All eyes will be on this matchup in the Commonwealth tonight, and I expect Richmond to shine. My prediction for tonight is Richmond 78 – VCU 70. The Spiders will prevail due to strong shooting from Blake Francis and Jacob Gilyard will light up the stat sheet in the steals department. I will be on site tonight covering this one, so make sure to follow @AustinDaisey11 on Twitter, as well as @A10Talk. See you tonight Spider Nation!
