Dayton vs Richmond 3/12/22 College Basketball Picks, Predictions, Odds

The 6-seed Richmond Spiders & 2-seed Dayton Flyers will square off at Capital One Arena this Saturday afternoon in the Semifinals of the Atlantic 10 Championship.

The 6-seed Richmond Spiders improved to 21-12 on the season after defeating the 3-seed VCU Rams, 75-64, last night. Richmond led by a 37-29 margin at halftime and was able to hold off VCU after taking a 63-49 lead with 4:33 left in regulation. Richmond shot 42.6% from the field & 47.4% from beyond the arc while allowing VCU to shoot 49.0% from the field & 36.4% from beyond the arc. Leading the way for the Spiders was Jacob Gilyard who had 32 points, 3 assists, & 4 steals.

Coming into their game against VCU, Richmond was averaging 72.0 ppg on 44.6% shooting from the field. The Spiders were averaging 8.3 three-pointers per game on 33.6% shooting from beyond the arc. Offensively, Richmond has been led by Tyler Burton (16.4 ppg, 7.5 rpg, 1.0 apg, 1.1 spg), Grant Golden (14.5 ppg, 6.2 rpg, 2.9 apg), Jacob Gilyard (12.3 ppg, 3.5 rpg, 5.6 apg, 3.1 spg), & Nathan Cayo (8.8 ppg, 4.4 rpg, 1.9 apg).

Defensively, coming into their game against VCU, Richmond was averaging 68.8 ppg on 44.4% shooting from the field. The Rams had a rebound margin of -3.5 and a turnover margin of 3.2.

The 2-seed Dayton Flyers improved to 23-9 on the season after defeating the 10-seed UMass Minutemen, 75-72, last night. Dayton had all they could handle from UMass in a tight, back-and-forth 2^nd half, however, the Flyers were able to take the lead for good after a DaRon Holmes II jumper gave the Flyers a 69-68 lead with :51 seconds left in regulation. Dayton shot 52.0% from the field & 25.0% from beyond the arc while allowing UMass to shoot 45.0% from the field & 25.0% from beyond the arc. Leading the way for the Flyers was DaRon Holmes II who had 28 points, 5 rebounds, 1 assist, & 3 blocks.

Coming into their game against UMass, Dayton was averaging 69.1 ppg on 47.7% shooting from the field. The Flyers were averaging 6.8 three-pointers per game on 37.3% shooting from beyond the arc. Offensively, Dayton has been led by DaRon Holmes II (11.9 ppg, 6.1 rpg, 1.3 apg, 2.3 bpg), Toumani Camara (10.8 ppg, 6.6 rpg, 1.7 apg), Malachi Smith (9.2 ppg, 4.2 rpg, 5.4 apg, 1.8 spg), & Kobe Elvis (8.7 ppg, 1.7 rpg, 2.1 apg).

Defensively, prior to their game against UMass, Dayton was holding their opponents to an average of 60.6 ppg on 41.0% shooting from the field. The Flyers had a rebound margin of 6.3 and a turnover margin of -1.0.

Dayton was able to defeat Richmond in their only regular season matchup this season as the Flyers defeated the Spiders by a 55-53 margin on the road in early March.

The Spiders are 1-4 ATS in their last 5 games overall & 1-6 ATS in their last 7 games vs. a team with a winning straight up record. The Flyers are 7-2 ATS in their last 9 games overall & 5-2 ATS in their last 7 neutral site games.

Richmond has been solid on both ends of the court this season as the Spiders come into this game ranked 152^nd in scoring offense, 144^th in FG%, & 167^th in scoring defense. Dayton has been led by their defense which ranks 12^th in scoring defense & 55^th in defensive FG%, and despite ranking just 225^th in scoring offense, the Flyers have shot the ball well, ranking 28^th in FG% & 31^st in 3P-FG%. Dayton is an outstanding team, however, the Flyers have been at times inconsistent this season as we’ve seen in losses to UMass Lowell & La Salle and as Richmond has the offense and experience to give Dayton some trouble in this one, I think the play here is to take Richmond and the points. Good Luck!