WHO: GW (19-6, 7-4) vs. Richmond (17-8, 7-3)
WHEN: Tuesday, Feb. 18 @ 7 p.m.
WHERE: Robins Center

This game just got much more important. A loss to the Spiders would be three in a row, and with a daunting matchup against Saint Louis looming in the future, this game could easily make or break GW’s NCAA Tournament chances.

Case for Richmond:

A drastically different team than the Colonials, Richmond will try to slow down the pace and wear out GW with its sturdy defense.

The Spiders own the second-best defense in the Atlantic 10, giving up a mere 65.7 points per game. In their upset win over Massachusetts – still the No. 1 scoring team in the league – they held the Minutemen to their lowest point total of the season, 55.

They are third in field-goal defense (.410 percent) and second in three-point field goal defense (.285 percent). A pretty hefty task for even a high-powered offense like GW to overcome.

Packing the middle will be sophomore forward Alonzo Nelson-Ododa, who leads the A-10 with 2.4 blocks per game. Along with fellow forward Terry Allen, the two big bodies will look to cause similar problems for forwards Isaiah Armwood and Kevin Larsen as the UMass frontcourt was able to Saturday.

On offense, for much of the season, Richmond was led by a two-man wrecking crew: senior guard Cendrick Lindsay and junior guard Kendall Anthony. They both rank in the top 10 in scoring in the A-10, Lindsay at 18.3 ppg (third) and Anthony at 15.9 ppg (seventh). To compare, GW’s highest scorer, graduate student Maurice Creek, averages 14 points per game.

But earlier this month, Lindsay sustained a season-ending torn meniscus in both knees. The Spiders have survived thus far, with wins over A-10 bottomfeeders, Duquesne and Fordham, but GW will be on a whole other level.

On his own and in front of an average of 5,590 Spider fans, Anthony will look to make it a four-game winning streak and put the Colonials in a very tough bubble position.

Case for GW:

Richmond lost to Saint Bonaventure, but then defeated Dayton and UMass – two teams GW lost to. Then they lost to VCU and pulled out a two-point win to split with the Bonnies. Bottom line: Richmond is good, but as GW has been in conference play, they’re also a little inconsistent.

It’s more than likely that GW will win the battle on the glass Tuesday. Not only is Richmond the worst rebounding team in the league, averaging just over 32 boards per game, but they are also the second-worst rebounding defense, giving up 38.1 rebounds per game. The Colonials are second in the A-10, at 37.4.

So taking the rebounding numbers out of the picture, GW will need to get back to their unselfish ways handling the ball in order to maneuver the Richmond defense.

GW ranks third in the conference at 14.7 assists per game, but had just 12 in the loss to UMass, thanks solely to the seven dimes that came off the hands of Joe McDonald. In the easy wins against Duquesne and Fordham, the Colonials dished out 23 and 20 assists, respectively. Quick ball movement that avoids the slow pace that Richmond likes to play at will be key.

Also a given then, will be the continued production from fast-break specialist Patricio Garino. The forward led GW with 20 points in the loss to UMass and has been the most consistent player as of late. He single-handedly can change the pace of Tuesday’s game.

To pull out a win, though, one of GW’s other double digit scorers – Armwood, Larsen, Creek and McDonald – will need to step up there offensive play. A few weeks ago, this didn’t seem like a must win, but now, it’s about as close to one as you can get.

This post was updated Feb. 18, 2014 at 2:51 p.m. to reflect the following:
Correction appended
The Hatchet incorrectly reported that Cendrick Lyndsay was still active this season, but he is out with an injury.