The No. 12 seed Richmond Spiders (23-12) and No. 5 seed Iowa Hawkeyes (26-9) meet Thursday for a Midwest Region first-round game of the NCAA Tournament. Tip-off from KeyBank Center in Buffalo, N.Y., is scheduled for 3:10 p.m. ET. Below, we look at the Richmond vs. Iowa odds and lines, and make our expert college basketball picks, predictions and bets.
The Spiders of Richmond burst a bubble by claiming the at-large bid in the Atlantic 10 Tournament as they upended Davidson 64-62. Richmond closed out the regular season with just three wins in the final seven games but rattled off wins over URI, VCU, Dayton and Davidson over four days to go dancing.
The Hawkeyes of Iowa did a little net cutting of their own as they captured the Big Ten Tournament with a 75-66 victory over Purdue. Iowa has picked up wins in nine of its last 10 games while going 8-2 ATS during the impressive stretch.
See also: Ferris Mowers Coaches Poll powered by USA TODAY Sports
Richmond vs. Iowa odds, spread and lines
Odds provided by Tipico Sportsbook; access USA TODAY Sports Scores and Sports Betting Odds hub for a full list. Lines last updated at 6:53 a.m. ET.
- Money line: Richmond +440 (bet $100 to win $440) | Iowa -650 (bet $650 to win $100)
- Against the spread (ATS): Richmond +10.5 (-115) | Iowa -10.5 (-107)
- Over/Under (O/U): 150.5 (O: -108 | U: -112)
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Richmond vs. Iowa odds, lines, picks and predictions
Prediction
Iowa 78, Richmond 65
Money line
Iowa (-650) will cost you six and a half times your potential return, and that’s just not worth the risk. The Big Ten champs are going to advance here, so there is no sense getting crazy and playing Richmond — that would be throwing money away.
PASS.
Against the spread
Playing the HAWKEYES -10.5 (-107) is worth the risk. The Hawkeyes don’t clown around when it comes to games they should win. Iowa is 7-1 ATS in the past eight games when favored by double digits and 9-3 ATS overall in that situation this season.
Richmond will be playing its fourth game in the last seven days with plenty of travel. The Spiders did well to get to Buffalo, but now it’s time for Iowa to squash them and advance.
Over/Under
The UNDER 150.5 (-112) might be the best play on the board in this game.
The Under is an impressive 12-4-1 in the past 17 games overall for UR. While you might see the trend that Iowa has cashed the Over in seven straight NCAA Tournament games, how exactly does that apply to this current bunch of players who played in few or none of those games?
Iowa closed the regular season on a 5-1 Under run, although it forgot how to play D in the league tourney with 74 or more points allowed in three of four games. Look for a slower start as nerves will be a factor in the matinee game.
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