Getty Hasahn French of the Saint Louis Billikens.
Two Atlantic 10 contenders are set to collide as Richmond (12-3) hosts Saint Louis (13-3) on Saturday at Robins Center.
The game (6 p.m. ET start time) won’t be on TV anywhere, but you can watch it live on ESPN+:
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Once signed up for ESPN+, you can then watch Saint Louis vs Richmond live on your computer via ESPN.com, or on your phone (Android and iPhone compatible), tablet, Roku, Amazon Fire TV, Apple TV, Chromecast, PlayStation 4, Xbox One, or other streaming device via the ESPN app.
Saint Louis vs Richmond Preview
Richmond has won its last two, knocking off conference opponents Saint Joseph’s and Rhode Island within the last week. The victories moved their record to 13-3 — the Spiders’ best record through 15 games since the 1987-88 season.
Defense has been key for Richmond, which has held its two conference opponents to 56.5 points and 35.7 percent shooting from the field. However, Saint Louis will be a different beast. Both Jordan Goodwin and Hasahn French are averaging double-doubles
“We have to make sure we move the ball and get good shots, but also that we can rebound defensively and not let them have so many second half points,” Richmond head coach Chris Mooney said.
Where the Billikens haven’t excelled is in the second half of games with some sluggish finishes.
“We’re looking at what happens, and maybe we get Yuri [Collins] a break here and there a little more so he’s fresher at the end of games,” head coach Travis Ford said. “The same with Hasahn. We’ve seen at times where he got in foul trouble and gets rest, but that’s not the way we want to do it. It’s a thought because we’re not finishing games very well.”
Ford has said he’s been resistant to go to his bench after going to them earlier in the season without strong results.
“We have guys who can play,” Ford said. “I’d like to use nine or 10, but the other night we subbed some and they weren’t very good, so you get hesitant to go back to them. … You have to make a positive contribution. It’s not necessarily scoring but don’t make mistakes and maybe it’s just hold down the fort.
“(If not), that forces you to start playing five or six guys if you don’t have confidence. I’ve got confidence going into games, and maybe I need to get better confidence in them playing through mistakes. But there’s so little room for error.”
The 13-3 start has been great for Saint Louis, but Ford is making sure his team doesn’t get lackadaisical with the beefiest part of the A-10 schedule remaining.
“We need to be better and can’t get comfortable with being 13-3,” Ford said. “We can’t say ‘We’ve won and we’re OK.’ We have no room for complacency because we’re not playing as well as we need to be. It would be different if we won by 20 or 25. We need to be at a higher level overall.”
Richmond is a 5.5-point favorite for the game.