Friars look to advance to Sweet 16 for first time since 1997
How to watch Providence vs. Richmond in the NCAA Tournament
Day: Saturday, March 19
Time: 6:10 p.m. ET
TV: TNT
Watch Online: March Madness Live
How to bet on Providence vs. Richmond in the NCAA Tournament
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Spread: Providence -3.5 | Richmond +3.5
Total: 134.5
Moneyline: Providence -170 | Richmond +150
On Saturday evening, the Providence Friars (26-5, 14-3) will look to advance to the Sweet 16 for the first time since 1997. It will be the Richmond Spiders (24-12, 10-8), fresh off an upset over Iowa, standing in their way.
Providence advanced to the Round of 32 by defeating the upstart South Dakota State Jackrabbits. The Friars held them to just 57 points, a season-low, and got 13 points each from Al Durham and Noah Horchler in the 66-57 victory. The win was Ed Cooley’s second in the NCAA Tournament since arriving at Providence.
The Spiders knocked off Iowa thanks to 24 points from point guard Jacob Gilyard. The fifth-year senior hit 4 of 7 from beyond the arc and also dished 6 assists, setting up teammates Tyler Burton and Nathan Cayo to score in double-figures as well.
Burton, Richmond’s leading scorer, has close connections to Providence. His father, Quinton Burton, was a freshman and rode the bench as the Friars went to the Final Four in 1987. In four years with Providence, the elder Burton scored 599 points and corralled 284 rebounds.
The younger Burton was unranked coming out of high school and did not receive an offer with his father’s school despite getting a visit. Now, he has the opportunity to prove that he should have followed in his father’s footsteps around the Ocean State.
These two teams have remarkably similar profiles. Burton and Horchler are both scoring forwards with a knack for finding rebounds. Gilyard and Jared Bynum are both undersized guards that can knock down shots and facilitate the offense. Grant Golden and Nate Watson are both 6-10 centers that take a lot of shots. And most notably, Richmond is just about as old and experienced as Providence.
The Friars will need to channel the excellent defense the team played in the opening round to come away from Saturday night with a victory. Richmond likes the Princeton offense, playing with five guys outside the arc and using backdoor cuts and screens. The offense hasn’t blown the doors off opponents, but it’s been effective enough to get a bucket when needed over the past few weeks. The outside-in nature will put a strain on Providence’s bigs, especially Nate Watson, and it can create open looks from deep where Richmond likes to shoot.
Richmond will test Providence’s toughness for all forty minutes. If the Friars can win that battle, they’ll be scheduling flights to Chicago for the Sweet 16.