University of Richmond Athletics
Men's Basketball Set to Dual With Dukes
01/28/2003 | Men's Basketball
Jan. 28, 2003
Complete Notes in PDF Format
Download Free Acrobat Reader
Richmond, winners of six of its past seven games, opens up a three-game home stand tonight versus West rival Duquesne. Richmond (11-6, 5-1 A-10) has played six Atlantic 10 contests thus far, with four of those games on the road. The Spiders are 3-1 in A-10 road games, registering the most wins of any A-10 team as a visitor this season. They are 2-0 at home versus conference competition.
NOTES OF INTEREST ... The Spiders have won three games, their longest win streak of the season. Four times this season, Richmond had boasted a win streak of two games. The last time Richmond captured three consecutive victories was through the first three rounds of the NIT last season; defeating Wagner, Montana State and Minnesota before falling to Syracuse in the quarterfinals of the tournament. Richmond last boasted four wins in a row last season, starting with a home victory over Fordham and continuing until the semifinals of the Atlantic 10 Tournament with a win over La Salle.
Richmond has held eight of its 17 opponents to 60 points or fewer this season. They are 8-0 in those contests. The Spiders have held 14 of their 17 opponents this season to 70 points or less. They are 11-3 this season when holding an opponent to that number. The Spiders are 0-3 when allowing an opponent to score 73 or more points.
The Spiders 7-1 start at home in the Robins Center is their best since 1998-99. That Richmond squad went 11-1 at home, its only loss coming on Jan. 4, a 65-61 setback to Southern Methodist. Ironically, Richmond's only loss this season at home came on the same date- Jan. 4- a 68-62 loss to Wake Forest.
Its' all about balance. The Spiders sport a balanced attack this season with no player averaging over 13.2 points per game. Six players are averaging 7.8 ppg or more. The last time a Richmond team finished the season with a player averaging less than 13.2 ppg was the 1982-83 season when a freshman named Johnny Newman led the charge with 12.2 points a contest. He was aided by Jeff Pehl's 11.3 ppg and Tom Bethea's 11.6 average.
Duquesne shot .636 (7-11) from 3-point range against the Spiders on January 18. It was the best trifecta performance by an opponent since VCU shot 7-9 (.777) versus the Spiders on Dec. 9, 1992. However, in that contest, Richmond fell, 82-63, while the Spiders captured a victory in Pittsburgh despite Duquesne's hot shooting.
The Spiders 3-point accurancy was equally impressive at Duquesne. Richmond shot a season-best .571 from long-range (12-21). It marked the best 3-point field goal percentage by a Spiders team since Feb. 21, 2001- a .615 outing (8-13) at home in a 77-57 win over George Mason. It was the best 3-point percentage at a road/neutral site since the Spiders lit up then head coach Jerry Wainwright's UNC Wilmington Seahawks in the 1998 CAA Finals on 11-16 from '3' (.668) in route to an automatic bid in the NCAA Tournament.
