Yes, there can be such a thing as a letdown in the NCAA Tournament and that might be facing Iowa after winning the Big Ten Tournament. Richmond is playing with free money in a way -- if the Spiders hadn't won the Atlantic 10 Tournament, they wouldn't be here. Their defense was much improved in that tourney. Richmond is also a very veteran team and, for what it's worth, RU is 3-0 vs No. 5 seeds in the NCAA Tournament in school history. I don't think Richmond wins here, but now that it's up to +10.5 we'll take it.

Iowa's defensive numbers for the entire season are not great, but the Hawkeyes have been much better on that end of the court for the last month, and this total hasn't quite caught onto that yet. Also, Richmond is one of the weaker teams in this tournament and it doesn't do anything particularly well other than not turn the ball over. Don't be surprised if Iowa builds a big lead and then takes its foot off the gas in the second half.

I'll bet on a letdown spot for the Hawkeyes here. They just dominated the Big Ten and while I do think they beat the Spiders, I like Gilyard and company to keep it close. This Richmond team is sneaky and effective. They stole a bid by winning their tournament for a reason. I like Richmond to play a to a dignified loss, I project 7.5 points when all is said and done with the late game fouls. Take the +10 and trust the Spiders to play it tight.

Richmond was on a heater through the Atlantic 10 tournament as it bowled over VCU, Dayton and Davidson on the way to punching its ticket to the NCAA Tournament. But Iowa has been on a heater since the start of February, and it's got the best player on the floor in Keegan Murray. The Hawkeyes have won 12 of their last 14 games outright and covered the spread in 8 of their last 10, and I think they add another cover to that run in a mismatch that deserves a point spread closer to those 2-15 or 3-14 matchups.