Vanderbilt vs Richmond | Prediction & Pick

Vandy looks to avoid being bitten by Spiders

It’s been twenty years since the Billy Owens and the highly-touted Syracuse Orange were upset in the first round of the NCAA Tournament by the Richmond Spiders. This year’s Vanderbilt Commodores try to avoid the same fate when they face Richmond in a second round contest in the Southwest Region in Denver.

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#5 Vanderbilt (23-10, 9-7 SEC) vs. #12 Richmond (27-7, 13-3 A-10)

Date/Time: Thursday, March 17, 4:10 PM ET
Venue: Pepsi Center in Denver, CO.
Broadcast: TBS

Money Line: Richmond +110, Vanderbilt -130
Spread: Vanderbilt -2
Over/Under: 135

In 1991, the Spiders became the first team seeded 15th to win a tournament game in history when they knocked off a stunned Syracuse squad. In fact, Richmond is the only school in the history of the tournament to win at least one tournament game as a 12th, 13th, 14th and 15th seeded team.

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Another omen the Commodores are weary of is the fact that they are a #5 seed. Since the tournament expanded to 64 teams in 1985, only three times has all four of the teams with the fifth seed won at least one game (1988, 2000, and 2007). The Commodores are in the big dance for the second straight campaign, as well as for the fourth time in five seasons. But they have been knocked off in the first game in their last two appearances, including last year to Murray State.

Vanderbilt hopes that they can use their offensive capabilities to outscore Richmond in this match-up. The Commodores finished the season 30th in the entire country in scoring, averaging 76.2 points per game as a team. They can point to victories over North Carolina, Belmont, and Marquette out-of-conference, as well as losing to West Virginia and Missouri by three points each, as a sign that they can play in big games.

Versatile guard John Jenkins leads the Vanderbilt attack at 19.5 points per contest. He’s one of four Vandy players averaging double figures: Jeffery Taylor (15.1 PPG), Festus Ezeli (12.8 PPG), and Brad Tinsley (10.6 PPG) are the others.

For Richmond, Justin Harper finished fourth in the Atlantic-10 Conference in scoring at 17.9 points per contest. Kevin Anderson also contributes 16.5 points per game, as the Spiders finished third in the regular season and then won their conference tournament in Atlantic City.

The odds makers have the Vanderbilt Commodores as a -2 point favorite with an over/under of 135.

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Prediction: Though the line may not indicate it, a Richmond victory would still be consider an upset – one that we see happening.

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Vanderbilt Commodores Betting Trends:

• Vanderbilt is 1-3-1 ATS in its last 5 games
• Vanderbilt is 8-4 SU in its last 12 games
• The total has gone OVER in 4 of Vanderbilt’s last 6 games