Richmond vs VCU: 2022-23 college basketball game preview, TV schedule

In-state foes Richmond and VCU will square off on Friday night on the Spiders’ home floor in the rivalry’s first installment of 2023.

Game time: Friday, January 20, 7:00 p.m. ET
TV schedule: ESPN2
Location: Robins Center, Richmond, VA

The next installment of #FridA10 should be a good one. The Richmond Spiders will welcome their in-conference, in-state rivals — the VCU Rams — to the Robins Center for a stand-alone battle on national television. Add in the fact that both teams are jockeying for position at the top of the Atlantic 10 standings and it should be a juicy one. Heck, it should be a war. Here’s what to expect.

The Spiders currently sit at 11-8 on the season and 4-2 in conference play. And it might be a tad too early to say this, but they’ve put themselves in position to compete for the treasured double-bye in the A-10 Tournament. Chris Mooney’s squad is also 9-1 in their building, with the lone loss coming in overtime to Charleston back in November. But their best win (at least according to KenPom) is over Drake. That could change by around 9:15 p.m. Eastern on Friday.

Richmond is led by all-league wing Tyler Burton and his 19.6 points per game. The 6’7″ senior also leads the team in rebounds (7.8) and steals (1.7), so it’s safe to assume he’s atop the VCU scouting report. Freshman guard Jason Nelson is the only other Spider averaging in double figures at 10.1 points per game. As a team, Richmond loves to shoot the three ball, and 37.6 percent of their points come from long range.

As for VCU, they check in at 14-5 (5-1) on the season, including a 2-1 mark on the road in conference play. One of those two wins was a huge one — a 63-62 thriller at Dayton on last Friday night. That ‘W’ moved them into a three-way tie for the top spot in the league.

The Rams bring a much more balanced attack to this one, with five of their players averaging nine or more points per game. Brandon Johns, Jr. leads the way with 12.5 per contest, but the player to watch is likely Adrian (Ace) Baldwin, Jr. In addition to his 11.9 points per game, he’s also averaging a team-best 6.0 assists and 2.4 steals. 6’7″ sophomore Jamir Watkins rounds out the double-figure scorers with 10.2 per game.

Like most games between these two teams, expect a close one. But VCU seems to be riding high right now… high enough to sneak out a big road win.

Prediction: VCU 68 – Richmond 64