THE BASICS
Richmond (18-7, 10-2 A-10) at Rhode Island (11-14, 5-7 A-10)
Tip-Off: Wednesday, Feb. 21, 7:02 p.m. EST
Coverage: Watch:: ESPN+ | Watch: International Audience | Listen: Varsity Network | Live Stats | Game Notes

RHODE ISLAND VS. RICHMOND - SERIES NOTES

• Wednesday's game will be the 31st all time between Rhode Island and Richmond.
• The visiting Spiders hold a 19-11 edge in the series, including five straight victories over Rhode Island.
• Rhode Island is 8-5 against Richmond when hosting the Spiders.
• Last season, Richmond won 64-57 at the Robins Center. 
• In that game, the Spiders scored the first nine points of the contest - seven by Tyler Burton - and Rhode Island was not able to complete the comeback, despite outscoring Richmond over the final 36:42.
• Burton, who is now playing at Villanova, had 23 points in the contest.
• Richmond is one of the toughest teams in the country to score against. The Spiders lead the Atlantic 10 and rank ninth nationally in field goal defense, holding opponents to .395 shooting from the field.
• The Spiders manage to defend without fouling, averaging just 14.1 fouls per game, which is the 17th lowest average in the country.
• Richmond turns the ball over just 8.3 times per game, the lowest average in the country.

RHODE ISLAND TAKING CARE OF THE BALL

• Over the last six games, Rhode Island has averaged just 10.3 turnovers per contest.
• Twice in that span, the Rams have had less than 10 in a game, giving the ball away just eight times against both George Mason (Jan. 27) and Loyola Chicago (Feb. 18). 
• This has the team's overall turnovers per game down to 12.5, the program's lowest since the 2019-20 season, when the Rams averaged 11.9 turnovers per game.

CONFERENCE SEEDING STARTING TO TAKE SHAPE

• With six regular-season games remaining, Rhode Island entered the week tied with Duquesne for ninth place in the Atlantic 10.
• The Dukes hosted Saint Louis Tuesday night and beat URI head-to-head, giving them the tiebreaker.
• Rhode Island will need to move up at least one spot in the standings to avoid playing in the opening round of the Atlantic 10 Championship.
• URI and Duquesne entered the week a half game behind Saint Joseph's and one game behind George Mason, respectively.
• The teams that entered the week in places five through 10 in the league (St. Bonaventure, Massachusetts, George Mason, Saint Joseph's, Duquesne and URI) are all separated by just 1.5 games.
• Seeds 10-15 in the final conference standings play on the first day of the championship and would need to win five games in six days to win the tournament.
• Seeds 5-9 earn a one-round bye in the championship.
• Seeds 1-4 earn a double bye and need to win three games to be crowned.