University of Richmond Athletics
Men's Basketball GAMEDAY: #22 VCU
02/24/2015 | Men's Basketball
UNIVERSITY OF RICHMOND, Va. - Richmond welcomes No. 22 VCU in this year's second edition of the Bank of America Capital City Classic on Wednesday night at 7 p.m.
The game will be played in the sold-out Robins Center and aired on ESPN2.
The Spiders (15-12, 8-6) are coming off two big wins at St. Bonaventure and against George Washington at home on Saturday. The Rams (21-6, 11-3) moved up to No. 22 in this week's AP Poll after a 78-72 win over UMass on Saturday, keeping VCU in first place in the A-10 standings.
Richmond won the first meeting between the two schools back in January, overcoming a six-point halftime deficit to win, 64-55.
In UR's last two wins, Terry Allen recorded consecutive double-doubles while ShawnDre' Jones averaged 15.5 points, shooting 64.5 percent from the field.
Head coach Chris Mooney will be going for his 200th career D-I victory on Wednesday. He has 181 wins at Richmond and won 18 games in his one year at Air Force.
Wednesday's game will air on ESPN2 marking the eighth conference game to earn a national audience for UR this year. Bob Picozzi and Jon Crispin will be on the call. Away from the television, fans can watch on the WatchESPN app on several devices. The game will be on the radio on ESPN 950 AM and 93.1 HANK FM with Bob Black and Greg Beckwith on headset. Sirius channel 134 and XM channel 201 will also pick up the radio broadcast. The audio will be streamed for free on RichmondSpiders.com.
| 2014-15 SPIDER MEN'S BASKETBALL GAMEDAY CENTRAL - #22 VCU |
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| Who | Richmond Spiders (14-12, 7-6) vs. #22 VCU Rams (21-6, 11-3) |
| When | Wednesday, Feb. 25, 7 p.m. |
| Where | Richmond, Va. |
| Venue | Robins Center (7,201) |
| Live Video | ESPN2 |
| On Air | Bob Picozzi, Jon Crispin |
| Radio | ESPN 950 AM | 93.1 HANK FM | Sirius Ch. 134 | XM Ch. 201 | RichmondSpiders.com |
| On Air | Bob Black, Greg Beckwith |
| Live Stats | Click Here |
| Game Notes | Notes |
Scouting VCU
After a rough stretch in losing three of four games after the injury to Briante Weber, the No. 22 Rams have recovered to win in a three in a row and remain in first place in the A-10 standings.
VCU averages 73.9 points per game, good for second in the league, while leading the A-10 with a +6.7 turnover margin. Treveon Graham leads the Rams with 16.3 points per game and 6.5 rebounds per contest. Melvin Johnson leads the squad with 64 threes and 12.8 points per game.
Series vs. VCU
VCU leads the all-time series with Richmond, 45-27. The teams first played each other in 1976 when the Spiders captured a 71-65 home win.
The Spiders broke out with a win in the Siegel Center earlier this season to snap the Rams' 12-game winning streak. UR's last win in the Robins Center came in 2013 when Darien Brothers hit a three to send the game to overtime where the Spiders won, 86-74.
VCU Statement
Richmond made a national statement with its win over No. 14 VCU on the road on 1/31. The Spiders were featured as Andy Katz' team of the week on ESPN.com and Kendall Anthony received written accolades from writers around the country along with the A-10 Player of the Week award.
The Spiders snapped VCU's 12-game winning streak and tallied their 11th win over a ranked team since 2008. Richmond became the first A-10 team to win at the Siegel Center since January of 2013.
Strength At Home
The Spiders are 12-3 at home this year with some outstanding defense in those games. Richmond has held opponents to just 41.4 FG shooting and 57.5 points per game at the Robins Center.
Conversely, Richmond has shot 46.9 percent from the field at home, averaging 68.1 points in 15 contests. UR has a 14.1-9.3 advantage in assists per game and a +5.5 turnover margin.
Richmond is 76-17 at home over the last six seasons, winning five of the last six home games vs. ranked teams. Last season, UR beat No. 12 UMass at home, 58-55.
Spiders Scoring Well In A-10 Play
Richmond has played very well offensively in 2015. The Spiders have dominated at home in conference play and played the A-10's top teams on the road very closely.
In A-10-only stats, Richmond ranks fourth in scoring (69.6), fourth in scoring margin (+6.4), third in FG pct (.458), second in FT pct (.732), third in 3PT FG pct (.372), first in 3PT defense (.287), fourth in assists (14.1), second in steals (7.5), second in turnover margin (+4.36) and second in assist/turnover ratio (1.5).
Individually, Kendall Anthony is third with 17.0 ppg and fourth in FT pct (.836). Terry Allen is fifth in steals (1.9), and T.J. Cline is fifth in 3PT FG pct (.429).
Masters of Theft
In A-10 play, Richmond has mastered the art of the steal. The Spiders had a season-high 11 steals to force 19 turnovers at St. Bonaventure, then repeated the effort with 11 steals vs. GW. UR ranks second in the league with 7.5 steals in A-10 play.
Remarkably, it's been UR's frontcourt that has led in pilfers. Terry Allen has 1.9 (5th) spg in A-10 play, followed by Deion Taylor with 1.4 steals per game (T-13th).
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 is currently second in the A-10 and ranks seventh in the country for fewest turnovers with 9.7 per game.
The Spiders only committed four turnovers against Northeastern, the best mark since 3/14/13 when Richmond had a three-turnover game against Charlotte. The Spiders have committed single digit turnovers in 10 games and only gave up 12 against VCU, one of the nation's top teams in turning teams over.
When Richmond does turn the ball over, they often do it in dead ball situations. UR only allows 10.5 points per game off turnovers and just 4.2 fastbreak points.
Free Throws Coming In Hot
Richmond went 20-23 from the line, including 12-12 in the final five minutes, in the win over George Mason on 1/8. The Spiders then went 18-22 from the line in the second half to seal a win at VCU. UR is averaging 14.1 made FTs per game in conference play and rank second in the A-10 with a 73.2 team percentage.
Kendall Anthony has a team-high 87 free throws made for a mark of 81.3, good for second in the league. Alonzo Nelson-Ododa has drastically improved his FT shooting after going under 55 percent through his first two seasons. Terry Allen is fifth at 78.9.
Richmond is the only team with three players in the top 10 in FT percentage, while Allen and Nelson-Ododa are the top FT-shooting forwards in the league.
The Spiders have been clutch at the end of games, hitting 80.6 percent of their free throws in the final five minutes of regulation and overtime. UR went 10-of-12 over that stretch to seal a huge road win at VCU. On two occasions, Anthony has hit free throws with less than four seconds remaining to send a game into overtime.
Masters of Theft
In A-10 play, Richmond has mastered the art of the steal. The Spiders had a season-high 11 steals to force 19 turnovers at St. Bonaventure. UR ranks second in the league with 7.2 steals in A-10 play.
Remarkably, it's been UR's frontcourt that has led in pilfers. Terry Allen has 1.7 (5th) spg in A-10 play, followed by Deion Taylor and Trey Davis with 1.5 steals per game (T-13th).
Spreading the Wealth
Richmond made a season-high 25 assists on 31 made baskets in the win over Davidson on 1/17, the most assists since UR's 26 in a win over UNCW on 11/13/12.
UR has only played two games with single-digit assists, and has won the assist battle in 21 of 27 games this year.
Richmond's assist-to-turnover ratio of 1.35 currently ranks second in the A-10 and 26th in the country. Against A-10 teams, UR is averaging 14.1 apg, ranking fourth.
Nail-Biting Finishes
The Spiders have had a number of close finishes this season with 14 of 27 games being determined by six or fewer points. Of those 14, eight were decided by a made or missed shot in the waning seconds with two going to overtime.
Richmond is 4-10 in games decided by six or fewer points. The line has been extremely thin on the road where Richmond's point margin is just -2.7 despite a 2-9 record.
The Spiders overcame an eight-point second-half deficit to come back and defeat Fordham with several late threes on 2/11.
Nelson-Ododa Out Indefinitely
Richmond forward Alonzo Nelson-Ododa will be out indefinitely after he underwent surgery on Tuesday, Feb. 10.
The surgery repaired a fractured bone around Nelson-Ododa's right eye. He was injured in the first half of Richmond's game against Rhode Island after he received an elbow to the face going for a rebound.
The junior was also diagnosed with a concussion on Sunday night at the hospital.
Anthony Becomes 3-PT King
Kendall Anthony tied a career high with seven threes in a statement win against Davidson. His biggest three came in the first half as the ball hit the front rim, bounced off the backboard and rolled in for his 242nd career trey, passing Jonathan Baker for first all-time. Anthony needed just 619 attempts while Baker's record had taken 634.
Getting Caught In The Web
Richmond's defensive reputation extends beyond the region as teams and media around the country have come to respect UR's unique approach to a matchup zone.
This season, opponents are averaging just 60.8 points per game, ranking second in the A-10 and 46th in the country. The Spiders' second-ranked +3.6 turnover margin has led to an average of 15.9 points off turnovers, including 29 against Duquesne, 27 vs. William & Mary and 25 against URI. The Spiders have won the points off turnovers battle in 22 of the 27 games this season, including against VCU.
Richmond makes it a point to not allow transition baskets as opponents have averaged just 4.2 transition points per game.
Against St. Bonaventure in January, the Spiders nearly held an A-10 opponent under 40 points for the first time in five years, while limiting the Bonnies to an 0-for-10 performance from three. Against the A-10's best offense in Davidson, Richmond held the Wildcats to a season-low 63 points and only 27.3 percent 3PT shooting.
