A local rivalry between two Atlantic 10 teams going in opposite directions takes place when VCU visits Richmond at the Robins Center on Tuesday.
VCU (22-5, 12-2) is tied for first place with George Mason after beating the Patriots, 70-54, Saturday at home. That was the sixth consecutive win for the Rams, the longest current streak in the Atlantic 10. It also snapped George Mason’s 11-game win streak. Graduate guard Max Shulga led VCU with 22 points, shooting 5 of 9 from the field, including 4 of 7 from beyond the arc.
Richmond (10-18, 5-10) saw its modest two-game win streak snapped during Saturday’s 78-62 loss at St. Joseph’s. Dusan Neskovic, a 6-foot-8 graduate student, led Richmond with 14 points.
VCU at Richmond Odds
VCU is a 13.5-point college basketball betting odds favorite on BetMGM with the Over/Under at 135.5.
The moneyline for VCU is -1200 while it is +725 for Richmond.
VCU at Richmond On TV
The game between VCU and Richmond will be on CBS Sports Network.
Tipoff is scheduled for shortly after 7 p.m. ET.
VCU at Richmond Prediction
I like VCU laying the points.
These two met on Feb. 1 at VCU and the Rams stomped Richmond, 90-49. It was the most lopsided win over Richmond in a series that VCU leads 22-9.
This game was well over by halftime when VCU led 44-13. The Rams shot 33 for 51 from the field (.647), including 16 of 29 (.552) from three-point range. In the disastrous first half, Richmond shot just 4 for 21 from the field (.190), including 0 for 7 from three-point range.
This game features the highest and lowest-scoring teams in the Atlantic 10. VCU leads, averaging 78.2 PPG while Richmond is 15th and last at 67.4 PPG. In addition, VCU is second in the conference in scoring defense, allowing 62.6 PPG, and Richmond is 11th at 72.0.
Joe Bamisile, a 6-foot-4 graduate student, and Shulga are averaging 15.6 and 15.5 PPG, respectively, for VCU. Shulga is also sixth in the conference in three-point percentage (.425).
Neskovic leads Richmond with a 13.7 scoring average.
For the season, neither team has been a great three-point shooting group, with VCU shooting .339 and the Spiders shooting .312. Richmond leads the Atlantic 10 in free throw shooting (.792) while VCU is fifth (.734). One of the few positives in the first game was that Richmond hit 14 of 16 from the foul line (.875). VCU, which lived on the three-pointer that game, hit all eight of its free throw attempts.
Here is a big difference between the two teams – VCU has a 3.22 turnover margin, best in the Atlantic 10. Richmond stands at 0.00.
Richmond will have to handle the defensive pressure to be competitive.
