University of Richmond Athletics
Spider Basketball GameDay - Northern Iowa
12/04/2015 | Men's Basketball
UNIVERSITY OF RICHMOND, Va. - Richmond basketball returns home after a tough road trip where the Spiders faced three consecutive power-five programs. The Spiders (4-3) now face perennial NCAA tournament program Northern Iowa (5-1) on Saturday at 6 p.m. in the Robins Center.
Saturday's game is a rematch of last year's battle in Iowa where the Panthers won 55-50. The two teams had never played before last season. In the preseason, NCAA.com rated this as the fourth-best non-conference game of the college basketball season.
Both schools have knocked off nationally-ranked opponents as UNI beat No. 1 North Carolina and the Spiders toppled No. 14 Cal.
Richmond is averaging 81.7 points per game with a team field goal percentage of 47.7. The Spiders are third in the Atlantic 10 in each category.
Terry Allen is the reigning Atlantic 10 Player of the Week after he torched nationally-ranked Cal for a career-high 34 points and 13 rebounds. Allen is averaging 21.1 points per game, which ranks third in the league and top 25 in the country. His 8.0 rebounds per game also rank third in the A-10.
Saturday's game will be broadcast on Comcast SportsNet Mid-Atlantic as well as CBS 6.3 in the Richmond area. Bob Black and Greg Beckwith will be on the headset. Fans can stream the action online through the subscription-based Atlantic 10 Network. It will also be on the radio on ESPN 950 AM and 93.1 HANK FM with Robert Fish and Matt Smith calling the action. The audio will be streamed for free on RichmondSpiders.com.
| 2015-16 SPIDER MEN'S BASKETBALL GAMEDAY CENTRAL - NORTHERN IOWA |
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| Who | Richmond Spiders (4-3) vs. Northern Iowa (5-1) |
| When | Saturday, Dec. 5, 6 p.m. |
| Where | Richmond, Va. |
| Venue | Robins Center (7,201) |
| Live Video | Comcast SportsNet Mid-Atlantic, CBS 6.3, Atlantic 10 Network |
| On Air | Bob Black, Greg Beckwith |
| Radio | ESPN 950 AM | 93.1 HANK FM | RichmondSpiders.com |
| On Air | Robert Fish, Matt Smith |
| Live Stats | Click Here |
| Game Notes | Notes |
Scouting Northern Iowa
Northern Iowa enters Saturday's game on a five-game winning streak, having knocked off No. 1 North Carolina at home on 11/21.
The Panthers are led by Wes Washpun, who averages 16.3 points and has a team-best 39 assists in six games. Matt Bohannon is the team leader in three-pointers with 18 treys. Jeremy Morgan is the team's leading rebounder, pulling down 6.2 boards per contest with 13.8 points per game.
UNI averages 82.0 points per game with a team field goal percentage of 52.3. The Panthers have shot 44.2 percent from three, and held opponents to just 29.3 percent from long range. UNI currently sports a rebounding margin of +5.0.
Series vs. UNI
Richmond played UNI for the first time last season, falling out in Iowa by a score of 55-50.
Man Among Boys
Terry Allen was one of the best players on the court in the Las Vegas Invitational which featured Cal, West Virginia and San Diego State. Allen scored 54 points and had 19 rebounds in two games against nationally ranked teams. His 34 points and 13 rebounds against Cal set new career highs as he tallied his eighth double-double in the last 16 games dating back to last year. Allen also hit 17 free throws against Cal, the most by any Richmond player dating back to 1969.
He was named to the LVI All-Tournament team for his efforts. On Monday, Allen was tabbed Atlantic 10 Player of the Week, his first career A-10 weekly honor.
Allen now ranks third in the A-10 in scoring (21.1), third in rebounding (8.0) and in the top 15 in FG pct, FT pct, assists, steals, blocks, assist/TO ratio and offensive rebounds.
Don't Stop 'Til You Get Enough
Richmond has averaged 81.7 points in the first seven games of the season, ranking third in the A10 and 64th in the country in scoring offense. The hot start is the most points through seven games for Richmond since 1980.
Richmond's scoring record for one season is 84.8 points back in 1965-66.
Finishing Strong
Against both Wake Forest and Cal, the Spiders built double-digit second-half leads, only to see the favorites go on big runs late. However, when WF drew to within two and after Cal built a four-point lead with less than five minutes left, the Spider defense only allowed a combined two field goals in both games, outscoring the opposition, 24-9, to end the game. Richmond shot 15-18 from the free throw line to close those two wins.
Nerdy Numbers
The Spiders have posted some impressive numbers in Ken Pomeroy's advanced statistics. UR's offensive efficiency of 109.7 ranks 37th in the country, while the team's effective FG percentage of 54.1 is 51st in the NCAA. The Spiders have dished an assist 58.4 percent of made field goals, ranking 68th in the nation.
Richmond has only been blocked in just 5.0 percent of possessions, a mark that is 19th in the nation. Despite playing one of the national leaders in forcing turnovers in WVU and the SEC's top defense at Florida, Richmond still boasts a turnover percentage of 14.5 per possession, which ranks 22nd in the country.
Record Watch
Terry Allen reached the 1,000-point plateau with his 25 points against B-CU. He became the 44th member of the 1,000-point club at UR, and eighth player to reach it under Coach Mooney. With 1,087 career points, he's now 35th all-time and 10 points behind Rodney Rice.
Coach Chris Mooney is just nine wins away from 200 victories at the University of Richmond. He is currently third all-time in wins at the school, just eight behind Malcolm U. Pitt for second all-time.
Ball Hawkers
Richmond was very protective of the ball last season with a stellar backcourt and skilled frontcourt that rarely turns it over. Richmond finished second in the A-10 and 11th in the country for fewest turnovers with 9.9 per game, setting a new school record.
Through seven games of the 2015-16 season, Richmond has just 10.4 turnovers per game which ranks second in the A-10 and 29th in the country.
Pass...Pass...Pass...SCORE
Richmond's frontcourt is asked to handle the ball a lot away from the basket and the Spiders usually have five players touch the ball on any one possession. Quick ball movement and sharp passes lead to open shoots and fluid offense. The Spiders rank 68th in the country with an assist percentage of 58.4.
Richmond made 29 assists against Stetson, just two away from the school record. They followed it up with 18 assists at Wake Forest, and 21 against Bethune-Cookman.
As a team, Richmond sports a 1.58 assist-to-turnover ratio which ranks 26th in the country.
So far this season, Spider bigs are leading the team in assists with Allen and Cline tallying 22 assists. Point guard ShawnDre' Jones also has 22 assists. Cline's assist-to-turnover ratio of 2.2 ranks 10th in the Atlantic 10.
From DOWNTOWN
One of Richmond's great strengths as an offense is the great array of strong three-point shooters. UR ranks fourth in the A-10 with a 38.2 percentage rate from long range. The Spiders hit 15 treys against Stetson, just one away from the Robins Center record.
While ShawnDre' Jones leads the team with 17 threes, Spider forwards T.J. Cline (10 threes) and Marshall Wood (15 threes) stretch the defense with their outside shooting.
Gimme That
Although Richmond's defense has struggled at times to force bad shots, the Spiders have been extremely effective at creating turnovers. UR forced 20 Wake Forest turnovers last week, thanks to 11 steals.
Richmond ranks fifth in the A-10 with a +1.8 turnover margin.
Born To Run
The Spiders have been able to score in bunches and do it as a swift pace. UR has averaged 7.3 fast break points per game, and outscored opponents 51-32 in fast break points this year.
Take Me Home Tonight
Richmond is 82-19 at home over the last seven seasons, winning six of the last seven home games vs. ranked teams, including a double OT win over No. 22 VCU on 2/25.
Richmond's 16 home wins in 2014-15 is tops for the most wins in any single season at the Robins Center.
