Basketball Game Preview: Saint Mary's Panthers vs. Richmond Oilers

The Saint Mary's Panthers and the Richmond Oilers will face off at 6:00 p.m. on Thursday without much rest having both just played. Given that both suffered a loss in their last games, they both have a little extra motivation heading into this matchup.

Saint Mary's will face Richmond after dropping another heartbreaker against Pinole Valley on Wednesday, which marked the second time in a row the team's come within 3.1 of beating them. Saint Mary's fell 58-50 to Pinole Valley. The Panthers haven't had much luck with the Spartans recently, as the team's come up short the last eight times they've met.

Meanwhile, Richmond was not able to break out of their rough patch on Wednesday as the team picked up their 18th straight loss dating back to last season. They took a blow against Salesian College Preparatory, falling 80-14. The Oilers were in a tough position after the first half, with the score already sitting at 52-5.

Richmond's defeat dropped their record down to 0-17. As for Saint Mary's, their loss dropped their record down to 14-13.

Everything came up roses for Saint Mary's against Richmond when the teams last played two weeks ago, as the squad secured a 94-27 victory. The rematch might be a little tougher for Saint Mary's since the team won't have the home-court advantage this time around. We'll see if the change in venue makes a difference.