Richmond (+12) vs Virginia - 4:00pm Pacific - Game #607-608
After three consecutive losing seasons and a predicted last place finish, Richmond surprised all with a 4th place finish in the A-10. The Spiders are excited for any postseason opportunity, but particularly for the chance to play instate ACC rival Virginia after the Cavs discontinued the series in 2005. Richmond won 12 of 18 before losses to Xavier vs St Joe's to end the season which were the team's first consecutive losses in over three months. A-10 freshman of the year Kevin Anderson gave Richmond a true PG to compliment underrated post Geriot and wing Gonzalez. For UVA this game represents a difficult pill to swallow following a tie for 1st place in the ACC just a season ago. After a humbling loss in the ACC Tournament, Cavs star G Singletary was quoted saying, "The passion wasn't there". If the Cavs could not find motivation in that spot it is unlikely we will see a focused effort here. Richmond's Princeton offensive and matchup zone are difficult to prepare for even without only one day of prep and a lack of focus. Virginia gives up 3 pointers at an alarming rate (36.7%) and doesn't have strong post play which makes them a great opponent for the Spiders. Richmond has been solid on the road this season going 9-4 ATS and have less than an hour drive west on I-64 with motivation clearly in their favor. Take the points.

Play: Richmond +12  1.0 UNIT  |  WIN 64-66
Houston at Nevada (-4) - 6:00pm Pacific - Game #613-614
With four new starters and a true freshman point guard it took Nevada some time to mature, but the Wolfpack were solid down the stretch going 11-4 over the final seven weeks. Their only bad outing came in a Bracket Buster game at Southern Illinois, which head coach Fox later admitted to not putting much emphasis on. Nevada led at halftime and rallied from a 13 point second half deficit to tie New Mexico State late in WAC semifinal game despite a raucous home crowd helping the Aggies all the way. Nevada is 45-4 at home over the past three seasons, have won 6 straight here, and five of those have been by double digits. Houston played just one non-conference road game, losing at UMass, and only beat two teams with winning records on the road all season with UCF and Tulane both finishing just one game above .500. Since beating a struggling Kentucky team at home in mid December, the Cougars have gone 1-7 vs teams with a Sagarin rating of 125 or better and limp into this with a 1-5 ATS streak overall. With travel limiting their already short prep time they will be up against it here. Give the points.

Play: Nevada -4  1.0 UNIT  |  LOSS 79-80


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