University of Richmond Athletics
Men's Basketball Hosts St. Bonaventure Saturday At 7 P.M.
01/16/2009 | Men's Basketball
Jan. 16, 2009
| LISTEN | GAMETRACKER 
UNIVERSITY OF RICHMOND, Va. - The Richmond men's basketball team hosts St. Bonaventure on Saturday at 7 p.m. in the Robins Center.
Richmond's 2009 Athletics Hall of Fame inductees will be honored during the game, along with the 2008 National Championship football team.
SCOUTING ST. BONAVENTURE: The Bonnies were off to a 10-4 start, including a 1-0 league record before losing its last two games at home to Duquesne 98-80 and Saint Joseph's 62-51. St. Bonaventure is 4-4 at home this season and 0-2 on neutral courts, but a perfect 6-0 in road games. Jonathan Hall leads the team in scoring at 13.8 ppg and Andrew Nicholson is averaging 12.7 ppg.
THE LATEST
Quick Hitters
Sophomore Justin Harper is averaging 15.0 points per game in the seven games he has played at least 25 minutes. He has battled foul trouble this season, leading the team with 53 personal fouls...the Spiders are in the 12th game of a 13-game stretch when they leave Virginia just twice, including last Saturday's visit less than a mile over the border at George Washington...the Spiders had their streak of scoring 70 points in seven-consecutive games snapped in the 60-48 win over George Washington on Jan. 10. That was the longest such streak since the 1993-94 season... Richmond has scored over 70 points in 11 of 16 games this season...Richmond has outrebounded the opposition in four of the last seven games and five of the the last eight games...Chris Mooney has won his first conference road game in all four seasons at Richmond...one game into his fourth season of Atlantic 10 play, Richmond head coach Chris Mooney has wins over 12 of the Spiders' 13 conference opponents with the exception Xavier...the Spiders have shot over 50 percent from the field in five games this season...Richmond is 9-1 when it shoots a higher field goal percentage than its opponent...the Spiders have made at least 30 field goals six times this season...Richmond has made at least seven three-pointers in 11 of the 16 games this season...junior David Gonzalvez has 897 career points...Gonzalvez has made at least five field goals in all but one game this season and at least seven field goals in eight games...Richmond is averaging 30.5 points in the paint per game, including outscoring now No. 3 ranked Wake Forest 48-46 in the paint...the Spiders have led by at least six points in 39 of the last 48 games, including 12 of 16 games this season...the Spiders have trailed at the half in only three of 15 games this season and have been in no worse than a one-possession game at the half in 38 of the last 49 games...Richmond has led by at least 20 points in six games this season.
Turning The Defense Up
The Spiders allowed 70.6 points per game through the first 10 games as they got off to a 5-5 start. Four of those five losses were by seven points or less and the Spiders allowed over 75 points in four of the setbacks. Without center Dan Geriot, who is out for the entire season with a torn ACL, the Spiders were re-adjusting to playing their match-up zone with a group of inexperienced underclassmen. After allowing 86 points in a seven-point loss to currently No. 3 ranked Wake Forest, the Spiders have turned up the defensive pressure. In the last six games Richmond has held the opposition to 58.7 points per game and has kept four of the six opponents under 40 percent shooting, after doing so just three times in the first 10 games.
Spiders Pile Up A-10 Honors
Richmond freshman Kevin Anderson was named the 2007-08 Atlantic 10 Rookie of the Year and earned a spot on the conference's All-Rookie Team, while sophomore Dan Geriot was named Third-Team All-Atlantic 10. Geriot became just the second sophomore to earn Atlantic 10 Player of the Week honors this season on March 2. Anderson was named A-10 Rookie of the Week six of the last eight weeks of the 2007-08 season. Only four players in Atlantic 10 history have earned conference Rookie of the Week honors more than Anderson's six awards. Anderson became the first conference Rookie of the Year for the Spiders since Charles Stephens won the CAA Rookie of the Year in 1999. Anderson gives the Spiders All-Rookie selections in each of the past two seasons, joining 2007 All-Rookie selection Geriot.
Las Aranas In Espana
The Spiders, or Las Aranas, as they are known in Spanish, had a very productive trip to Spain in August. Sporting specially-made European-style uniforms that said Las Aranas on the front, Richmond finished the trip 2-2, including a 95-94 overtime loss in which the Spiders overcame a 14-point fourth-quarter deficit to force OT. Richmond showed that it can score points, even without center Dan Geriot, as the Spiders averaged 91.3 points per game in the four contests. Eight of the 11 players in uniform on the trip scored in double-figures at least once. Sophomore Kevin Anderson, the 2008 Atlantic 10 Rookie of the Year, averaged 23.7 points per game on the trip with a pair of 30-point games. Anderson scored 35 points in the overtime loss to Caja Rioja and had 30 points in the 91-77 win over Illescas Toledo. Junior Justin Harper averaged 15.0 points and 5.0 rebounds over the first two games before rolling his ankle in the opening minutes of the trip's third game. Redshirt freshman Conor Smith showed his long-range shooting ability making 15 three-pointers over the first three games of the trip and averaging 11.8 points per game. Conor Smith had a 21-point effort on seven three-pointers and an 18-point night on six treys. Redshirt freshman Josh Duinker, an Australian who joined the team in January, averaged 11.0 points and 6.0 boards per game, narrowly missing a double-double in the second game with 11-points and nine rebounds. Duinker showed that he can score inside and outside, making a pair of three-pointers in the win over Illescas Toledo to close the trip. Sophomore Kevin Smith averaged 10.0 points per game and 6.3 rebounds, while senior David Gonzalvez came off an injury prior to the trip to average 9.5 points, including 19 points in the trip finale. Not only was the trip beneficial to the Spiders on the court, but off the court it served as 12 days of bonding for the players and coaches. "This trip was terrific, not just because of how well our guys played, but because of what they got to experience," Richmond head coach Chris Mooney said. Said Anderson, "I think we've been bonding great this year, as we bond off the court, we bond on the court."
Guarded Optimism
Richmond has the best scoring guard combination in the Atlantic 10 with junior guard David Gonzalvez sixth in the league at 16.0 points per game and sophomore Kevin Anderson eighth at 15.4. Anderson has scored in double-figures in 24 of the last 25 games and Gonzalvez has scored in double-figures in 16 of the last 17 games. Gonzalvez and Anderson are both in the top 10 in the conference in field goal percentage with Gonzalvez sixth (.490) and Anderson seventh (.486).
A Game Of Percentages
The Spiders are second in the Atlantic 10 in field goal percentage at 48.1 percent, but do not get the impression Richmond is shooting a higher percentage than its opponents every time out. In Richmond's nine victories, the Spiders have had the advantage in shooting percentage, but in six of the seven losses Richmond's opponent has shot better from the field. The problem has not been that the Spiders are not shooting well in the losses, just once have the Spiders shot less than 42.2 percent and they are shooting 44.8 percent in the seven losses. The problem has been that Richmond's defense has allowed the opponents to shoot 48.1 percent in its losses, while having held the opposition to 39.1 percent in wins.
Stealing The Show
Last season the Spiders had 257 steals - just five short of the school record - led by Kevin Anderson's 55 steals, which ranked 10th on the all-time single-season list. Richmond was second in the Atlantic 10 in steals and 45th in the nation in steals at 8.3 per contest. The Spiders had double-digits steals in 10 games last season and are back at it this season, with double-digit steals in four games, including a season-high 12 vs. currently No. 3 ranked Wake Forest. Richmond is averaging 8.0 steals per game through 16 contests this season, which is second in the A-10. The Spiders have at least five steals in 48 of the last 50 games. Anderson leads the team and is 10th in the A-10 at 1.63 per game. David Gonzalvez is second on the team and 12th in the A-10 at 1.56 pg, while sophomore Kevin Smith is third on the team at 1.25.
Causing Turnover
Last year, the Spiders were third in the A-10 in turnovers forced, causing 16.6 turnovers per game and forcing the opposition into 20 or more turnovers seven times. The Spiders are forcing 15.8 turnovers per game through 16 games this season, which is tied for fifth in the A-10. Richmond has forced 17 or more turnovers seven times.
A-10-tion
The Atlantic 10 has 108 non-conference wins this season, second to only last season's non-conference total of 130. A-10 teams have amassed 15 wins over BCS conference teams thus far, the most of any non-BCS league and good for fourth nationally. According to RealTime RPI, the Atlantic 10 ranks fourth among Division I conferences in Strength of Schedule.
Gunning Down The Running
The Spiders have made a habit of preventing teams from pushing the tempo during Chris Mooney's tenure. In 2006-07, Richmond allowed the opposition to score more than 10 fast break points in just three of 30 games. The Spiders allowed 5.4 fast break points per game in 2006-07 and cut that down to 4.6 fast break points per game last winter. Richmond has held the opposition to eight or less fast break points in 39 of 47 games, dating back to the start of the 2007-08 season. In 16 games this season, Richmond has allowed just 82 fast break points for a 5.1 per game average. The Spiders had 16 fast break points to Syracuse's eight on Nov. 18 in the Carrier Dome and held Wake Forest to four fast break points. "Controlling the transition game is key," head coach Chris Mooney says. "If you can stop a team from getting transition baskets you have a chance to guard them throughout the night."
Tenacious D
In Chris Mooney's first season at Richmond in 2005-06, the Spiders led the nation in fewest points allowed for most of the season, not allowing 60 points or more for the first 10 games of the year. The Spiders finished the year allowing 57.8 points per game, which ranked seventh in the country. In 2006-07, with five freshmen seeing the bulk of the minutes, the Spiders did not have as much success defensively, but last season, the more mature Spiders were fourth in the A-10 in fewest points allowed at 66.0 per game. Richmond held 16 teams to 65 points or less and did not allow over 66 points in regulation in nine of the last 12 games. After a slow start on the defensive end this season, Richmond has held four of its last six opponents to 60 points or less, including the last three. Richmond held back-to-back opponents (Rice and George Washington) to under 50 points for the first time since the 1950-51. The Spiders have held opponents to 50 points or less 17 times in 108 games under Mooney and have held teams to 60 points or less 34 times. Richmond has allowed over 70 points just 26 times in Mooney's four seasons and has allowed 80 or more points nine times.
