University of Richmond Athletics
Men's Basketball GAMEDAY: Saint Louis
03/06/2015 | Men's Basketball
UNIVERSITY OF RICHMOND, Va. - The Richmond Spiders (18-12, 11-6) will conclude the regular season with Saint Louis (11-19, 3-14) on Saturday night at 8 p.m.
After Wednesday's win at UMass, the Spiders have now won five games in a row, including three on the road. During that streak, UR has held opponents to just 55.4 points per game and 38.5 FG shooting. Five games marks Richmond's longest winning streak this season.
Richmond's Terry Allen has averaged nearly a double-double in the winning streak with 13.4 points and 9.4 rebounds over the last five. Four players are averaging in double figures.
Saturday is Senior Night at the Robins Center where UR will honor four senior managers, walk-on Zach Chu and all-time three-pointer leader Kendall Anthony. Richmond is 8-1 on Senior Night under Chris Mooney.
Saturday's game will air on MASN in the Richmond area as well as CBS 6.3. SNY will also carry the broadcast in select areas. Away from the television, fans can watch through their SpiderTV subscription on the A-10 Digital Network. The game will be on the radio on ESPN 950 AM, 93.1 HANK FM, Sirius Ch. 93 and XM Ch. 201 with Bob Black and Greg Beckwith on headset. The audio will be streamed for free on RichmondSpiders.com.
| 2014-15 SPIDER MEN'S BASKETBALL GAMEDAY CENTRAL - SAINT LOUIS |
|
| Who | Richmond Spiders (18-12, 11-6) vs. Saint Louis (11-19, 3-14) |
| When | Saturday, March 7, 8 p.m. |
| Where | University of Richmond, Va. |
| Venue | Robins Center (7,201) |
| Live Video | MASN (channel finder), SNY (channel finder), SpiderTV portal |
| On Air | Ed Cohen, Drew Nicholas |
| Radio | ESPN 950 AM | 93.1 HANK FM | Sirius Ch. 93 | XM Ch. 201 | RichmondSpiders.com |
| On Air | Bob Black, Greg Beckwith |
| Live Stats | Click Here |
| Game Notes | Notes |
Scouting Saint Louis
The Billikens have struggled in 2015, just one year removed from an A-10 title and win in the NCAA Tournament. SLU is currently in last place with a 3-14 conference record.
Most of the Saint Louis roster is made up of underclassmen. Milik Yarborough leads the team with 10.4 points per game on 49.4 percent shooting. He is the only player averaging in double figures as Saint Louis ranks 14th in scoring (60.2)
Series vs. Saint Louis
The Billikens have taken the lead in the young series which began in 2006. SLU has won the last three games for a 7-4 series advantage. Richmond's last win came in 2011.
Spiders Win Five Straight
UR is in the midst of a five-game winning steak, including wins in six of the last seven games. Over that stretch, four players have averaged in double figures including Kendall Anthony (13.8), Terry Allen (13.4), ShawnDre' Jones (13.2) and T.J. Cline (12.4). Allen has recorded three double-doubles and has 9.4 rebounds over the streak.
UR's defense has held opponents to just 55.4 ppg and 38.5 FG shooting with a turnover margin of +5.6. The Spiders have averaged 10.0 steals in the four wins. Three of the wins have come on the road with Richmond making its longest win streak of the year.
Postseason Talk
While the Richmond players and staff are focused on the next game on the schedule, the surrounding media have caught the Spider buzz.
Richmond was listed on ESPN's Joe Lunardi's Bubble Watch as one of the Next Four Out in a segment that fluctuates daily. UR is firmly listed among many NIT Bracketologists as a high seed in the National Invitational Tournament in case Richmond doesn't make the NCAA Tournament.
With a win on Saturday, Richmond will secure the four seed and a bye to the A-10 quarterfinals on Friday. A UR win-VCU win-URI loss combination will give Richmond the three seed based on a three-way tiebreaker.
VCU Sweep
Richmond made headlines last Thursday morning after defeating nationally-ranked VCU for the second time this season in a double-overtime thriller in the Robins Center.UR became the first team to sweep the Rams in a season series since Northeastern did it in the CAA in 2010. It marked Richmond's 12 win over a ranked team since 2008, and the sixth win in the last seven games against a ranked team at home.
The Spiders only committed 12 turnovers in the win on the road, and did not give up a single fast break point to the Rams in the win at home.
Spiders Defending Well In A-10 Play
After starting A-10 play with increased offensive firepower, the Spiders have now found ways to win games with suffocating defense.
In A-10-only stats, Richmond ranks fourth in scoring defense (62.2), fourth in scoring margin (+6.0), third in FG pct (.450), third in FT pct (.714), third in 3PT FG pct (.362), first in 3PT defense (.263), third in assists (14.5), second in steals (7.8), second in turnover margin (+4.29) and second in assist/turnover ratio (1.5).
Individually, Kendall Anthony is third with 16.9 ppg. Terry Allen is fourth in steals (1.8), and T.J. Cline is eighth in 3PT FG pct (.410).
Double-Double Machine
Junior forward Terry Allen has been running hot with increased aggressiveness recently. A mismatch problem for most teams because of his height and speed, Allen has averaged 14.0 points per game against A-10 teams, shooting 50.0 percent from the field in those 17 games, which include a 21-point performance against Davidson, a 20-point game against George Mason at home and three consecutive double-doubles against St. Bonaventure, George Washington and VCU. He was one rebound away from four straight double-doubles at SJU.
Allen has recorded 21 double-digit scoring games, including 16 of the last 18 and 13 in a row. He has a team-high four double-doubles this season and five in his career.
Sixth Man of the Year?
ShawnDre' Jones has become one of the Spiders' most valuable scorers as the first player off the bench. He has 16 double-digit scoring games, capped by a 22-point effort against VCU on a career-high six threes.
Jones leads the team in three-pointers made (58) as well as assists (76), averaging 10.2 points in 28.9 minutes played. Prior to the season, Jones was named by Sports Illustrated as one of their Breakout Sophomore candidates.
Masters of Theft
In A-10 play, Richmond has mastered the art of the steal. The Spiders had 11 steals to force 19 turnovers at St. Bonaventure, then repeated the effort with 11 steals vs. GW and a season-high 13 steals at SJU. UR ranks second in the league with 7.2 steals per game, including 10.0 in the last five.
Remarkably, it's been UR's frontcourt that has led in pilfers. Terry Allen has 1.8 (4th) spg in A-10 play, followed by Deion Taylor with 1.5 steals per game in A-10 play.
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 11th in the country for fewest turnovers with 9.9 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 11 games and only gave up 12 against VCU in the first contest.
When Richmond does turn the ball over, they often do it in dead ball situations. UR only allows 10.2 points per game off turnovers and just 4.3 fastbreak points.
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 60.5 points per game, ranking second in the A-10 and 35th in the country. The Spiders' second-ranked +3.63 turnover margin has led to an average of 15.8 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 24 of the 30 games this season.
Richmond makes it a point to not allow transition baskets as opponents have averaged just 4.3 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.
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 24 of 30 games this year.
Richmond's assist-to-turnover ratio of 1.4 currently ranks second in the A-10 and 26th in the country. Against A-10 teams, UR is averaging 14.5 apg, ranking third.
Strength At Home
The Spiders are 13-3 at home this year with some outstanding defense in those games. Richmond has held opponents to just 40.8 FG shooting and 57.8 points per game at the Robins Center.
Conversely, Richmond has shot 46.6 percent from the field at home, averaging 68.0 points and 7.1 threes per game. UR has a 14.4-9.1 advantage in assists per game and a +4.9 turnover margin.
Richmond is 77-17 at home over the last six seasons, winning six of the last seven home games vs. ranked teams, including a double OT win over No. 22 VCU on 2/25.
Nail-Biting Finishes
The Spiders have had a number of close finishes this season with 17 of 30 games being determined by six or fewer points. Of those 17, nine were decided by a made or missed shot in the waning seconds with three going to overtime.
Richmond is 7-10 in games decided by six or fewer points. While they were just 4-10 in the first 14 close games, they are 3-0 in the last three.
The Spiders overcame an eight-point second-half deficit to come back and defeat Fordham with several late threes on 2/11. Richmond also forced a second OT despite a three-point deficit with four seconds left against VCU.
