University of Richmond Athletics
Men's Basketball GAMEDAY: at JMU
12/05/2014 | Men's Basketball
HARRISONBURG, Va. - Richmond (3-3) will hope to build off momentum from an exciting home win over William & Mary as the Spiders hit the road to take on another CAA team in JMU (5-2) on Sunday afternoon at 2 p.m.
Richmond comes in with a top-20 RPI based off one of the nation's toughest schedules through six games. The Spiders' opponents so far have compiled a record of 31-9.
On Wednesday night, William & Mary's Marcus Thornton scored a game-high 37 points, but Richmond was able to hold on for a 68-67 win in an exciting intra-state rivalry game. The game featured 10 ties and nine lead changes and no team led by more than seven points. Omar Prewitt had a chance to win the game but missed a running shot at the buzzer for W&M.
Richmond's Kendall Anthony and Terry Allen each scored 18 points, a new season high from Allen. 16 of Anthony's points came in the first half and he finished 7-of-12 from the field. Allen scored eight of his 18 points from the free throw line, adding a team-high six rebounds. His eight free throws tied a new career high. Richmond forced 18 turnovers and converted those into 27 points. had more offensive rebounds (11-8) which led to 16 second-chance points.
Sunday's road game will be streamed through JMU's website through their MadiZone portal. Information on watching the free stream can be found on JMUSports.com. Fans can also listen live on 93.1 HANK FM as Bob Black and Matt Smith will have the call on Spider radio.
| 2014-15 SPIDER MEN'S BASKETBALL GAMEDAY CENTRAL - JMU |
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| Who | Richmond Spiders (3-3, 0-0) at JMU (5-2) |
| When | Sunday, Dec. 7, 2 p.m. |
| Where | Harrisonburg, Va. |
| Venue | Convocation Center (6,426) |
| TV/Live Video |
JMU MadiZone (FREE) |
| On Air | Curt Dudley, Kyle Hightower |
| Radio | 93.1 HANK FM | RichmondSpiders.com |
| On Air | Bob Black, Matt Smith |
| Live Stats | JMUSports.com |
| Game Notes | Richmond | JMU |
| Social Media | Twitter | Facebook | Instagram |
| Hashtags | #OneRichmond | #A10MBB |
Opening Tip
JMU is the fourth Virginia school that Richmond meets in the first seven games, the Spiders are 2-1 against Radford, ODU and William & Mary.
The Spiders will be looking for their first road win of the season on Sunday, going 3-0 at home and 0-3 on the road so far.
Richmond's strong strength of schedule continues to keep the Spiders high in the RPI. UR has an RPI of 15 with a strength of schedule of 1, according to ESPN's Daily RPI.
Richmond has three players averaging in double figures in Kendall Anthony (15.8), Terry Allen (11.5) and T.J. Cline (10.7).
The Spiders have only played JMU twice ('12, '13) in the Mooney era, winning both contests.
Scouting JMU
JMU has won five of its first seven games, with the only losses coming to then-no. 9 Virginia and then-no. 16 Ohio State.
The Dukes are led by Andre Nation who made his season debut at Ohio State, scoring 30 points in the last two games. Jackson Kent leads the Dukes with 16 three-pointers and 12.4 points per game. James Madison currently ranks in the middle of the CAA in most statistical categories.
JMU was picked to finish fifth in the CAA preseason poll, with Nation earning a spot on the preseason first team.
Series History
Richmond leads the all-time series with the Dukes, 32-20. The Spiders have won four of the last five matchups, including the most recent two in the Mooney era. Last season, Richmond took a 68-53 victory at home, led by Cedrick Lindsay's 14-point, nine-assist effort.
SOS Helping RPI
Through six games, Richmond has played the toughest schedule in the nation, according to ESPN's Daily RPI. The Spiders opponents have a combined record of 31-9 with UNI, N.C. State and ODU all receiving votes in the national polls.
Richmond's current RPI is 15th in the Daily RPI, leading all of the A-10.
Spreading the Wealth
The Spiders moved the ball around for a season-high 18 assists against HPU, including five from Trey Davis and four from ShawnDre' Jones. UR followed that up with a 17-assist effort against N.C. State, including a career-high six from Jones. Six different players have five or more assists for UR this season.
Richmond's assist-to-turnover ratio of 1.2 currently ranks third in the A-10 and 61st in the NCAA.
White-Hot Shooting
The Spiders were white-hot in the first half against High Point, shooting 68.0 percent from the floor. Despite a non-competitive second half, Richmond finished with a 61.2 percent game, the first time shooting over 60 percent in a game since 2011 against William & Mary.
The Spiders followed that up with an even better first half against N.C. State, shooting 72 percent from the field and finishing the game with a mark of 48 percent.
Richmond is shooting 47.7 percent from the field this season, ranking second in the A-10 and 55th in the country.
Protecting The Rock
Richmond has been very protective of the ball this season with a stellar backcourt and skilled frontcourt that rarely turns it over. Richmond currently ranks eighth in the country for fewest turnovers with 9.5 per game.
