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The Richmond Spiders are set to face the Iowa Hawkeyes. Check out our March Madness odds series, which includes our Richmond Iowa prediction, odds, and pick.
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The Richmond Spiders and head coach Chris Mooney entered this season knowing they hadn't been to the NCAA Tournament since 2011. The Spiders came into this 2022 season with a senior-laden group which was going to make one final run at the Big Dance. The season did not start well. Richmond continuously stumbled and was very clearly a team which entered late February knowing it would have to win the Atlantic 10 Tournament to get an automatic bid into the NCAAs. The March Madness odds were stacked against this team, especially since Richmond did not get a first-round bye and needed to win four games in four days to capture the autobid. When Richmond fell behind Rhode Island by 14 points in that first-round game, the outlook was extremely bleak for the Spiders. Yet, they rallied to win that game. They won their quarterfinal over VCU. They won their semifinal over Dayton, a team which was the first team out of the NCAA Tournament as revealed on Selection Sunday. They then faced Atlantic 10 regular-season champion Davidson in the A-10 final on Sunday. They trailed by six points with under two minutes left, and it still seemed that after all their fight and struggle, the Spiders were still going to come up short. Yet, Richmond scored 10 points in the final 1:40 to capture a dramatic victory and cross the threshold. It's an amazing story of resilience and a triumph over the odds. It's part of the picture when thinking about a Richmond Iowa prediction.
Iowa has not been to the Sweet 16 since 1999, so the Hawkeyes know they have a lot to prove in this NCAA Tournament. Coach Fran McCaffery is a solid coach, regularly getting Iowa into the NCAA Tournament, but winning two games in the same NCAA Tournament has been elusive for Fran. Iowa has a very realistic chance of making the Sweet 16 this year, but it has to go through Richmond to do it.
Keegan Murray is Iowa's star player, the guy who can put the Hawkeyes on his back and carry them for a few games in March. The supporting cast obviously needs to help if Murray is off his game, but Iowa's most direct path to victory involves Murray going off and being his best self. This is something to remember when making a Richmond Iowa pick.
Courtesy of FanDuel, here are the Richmond-Iowa odds:
March Madness Odds: Richmond-Iowa Odds
Richmond: +10.5 (-110)
Iowa: -10.5 (-110)
Over: 151 (-110)
Under: 151 (-110)
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Why Richmond Could Cover the Spread
The Spiders went through so much adversity to get here, and they are a double-digit underdog. They could lose by nine points and still cover? That seems almost too good to be true.
Why Iowa Could Cover the Spread
The Hawkeyes, if their offense is clicking, can crush Richmond and run up the score.
Final Richmond-Iowa Prediction & Pick
Iowa should win, but not by 11 or more points. Richmond has shown it will battle, even though it might not win outright. Hawkeyes by six.
Final Richmond-Iowa Pick: Richmond +10.5
