Wichita State vs. Richmond Odds, Picks: Why to Ride With Underdog

Wichita State vs. Richmond Odds

Thursday, Nov. 17

7 p.m. ET

ESPN+

Wichita State Odds
Spread	Total	Moneyline
+4 -105	132 -105o / -115u	+160

Richmond Odds
Spread	Total	Moneyline
-4 -115	132 -105o / -115u	-190

Odds via DraftKings. Get up-to-the-minute college basketball odds here.

Wichita State hits the road for the first time this season, traveling to Richmond to face the Spiders.

Will it be the Shockers or Spiders bouncing back after losing their last game out?

Wichita State Shockers

The Shockers were shocked in the Roundhouse recently, dropping a game to Alcorn State. Wichita hit just 4-of-24 3-point attempts in that contest and to add insult to injury, former Shocker Trevin Wade poured in 14 points against his former squad.

This is a different team than last year. Head coach Isaac Brown lost arguably his four best players, including AAC Defensive Player of the Year Dexter Dennis.

Brown turned the portal for help and brought in five D-I transfers and a JUCO import. Chemistry issues hurt the Shockers last season, but it’s clear this current version has yet to gel with all their new pieces.

Defensively, Wichita should be among the country’s fiercest. With a bevy of long, rangy wings, opposing shooters should find it difficult to get off clean looks from distance.

Case in point, through two games, opponents are shooting just 22.4% from deep against the Shockers.

The offense is still a work in progress for Wichita, which has shot just 22.2% from deep and currently ranks 232nd nationally in effective field goal percentage. Brown’s team is made up of rim-attacking athletes, which is not the surest recipe for offensive efficiency.

Richmond Spiders

Richmond’s Princeton-inspired offense has attempted 3s at a top-25 rate this season, but that doesn’t mean the Spiders live and die by the longball.

If Wichita overplays on the wing, Richmond will pick apart defenders with back-cuts all game long. Forwards Neal Quinn and Matt Grace key the offense with their deft passing ability, and if this Shocker team doesn’t stay disciplined, it won’t matter how much more athletic they are.

6-foot-7 wing Tyler Burton will be the best player on the floor in this game. He put up a ridiculous 38-point, six-rebound, four-assist performance against Charleston last time out and can find his shot against any competition.

Even though Richmond has the best player — and perhaps a counter to Wichita’s athleticism edge — there’s some real concern about the Spiders’ early results.

After not dismantling a bad and depleted VMI squad, Richmond allowed short-handed Northern Iowa to hang around and then lost in overtime to Charleston (a game in which the Spiders were down by as many as 21 points).

Wichita will be by far Richmond’s toughest opponent to date. For a team that experienced its own share of roster turnover — most notably at the point guard spot — an aggressive opponent like Wichita could “punch them in the mouth” early on — so to speak — and not allow the Spiders to take control.

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Wichita State vs. Richmond Betting Pick

I’m siding with the dog in this one. Both teams had their wake-up calls last game, but Richmond has yet to see the level of aggressiveness Wichita will bring.

The Spiders are also still likely going through speed bumps as they get the newcomers on the same page with their intricate offense. Wichita’s length could disrupt their flow, and the Shockers have plenty of wings to try on Burton.

Pick: Wichita State +4.5