Spider Basketball GameDay - VCU
01/15/2016 | Men's Basketball
UNIVERSITY OF RICHMOND, Va. - Richmond (10-6, 2-2) and VCU (12-5, 4-0) meet for the 75th time on Saturday afternoon in the Bank of America Capital City Classic. Tip is at 2 p.m. with the game airing nationally on CBS Sports Network.
Richmond has won three of the last four series contests in the Robins Center and last year swept the Rams in the regular season.
The Spiders have won two games in a row with sizzling hot shooting to beat Fordham and La Salle. UR knocked down 24 threes in the two wins and shot a combined 55.3 percent from the field.
Terry Allen notched his 26th-straight double-digit performance against La Salle with 26 points and a career-high 16 rebounds.
Marshall Wood tied the Richmond record for most threes in consecutive games after he tallied seven at Fordham and another five treys at home against La Salle.
This game features two sets of high school teammates in Trey Davis-Jordan Burgess (Benedictine) and Khwan Fore-Gerron Scissum (Lee).
The game will be broadcast on CBS Sports Network with Tom McCarthy and Mo Cassara calling the action. It will also be on the radio on ESPN 950 AM and 93.1 HANK FM with Bob Black and Greg Beckwith on the headset. The audio will be streamed for free on RichmondSpiders.com.
| 2015-16 SPIDER MEN'S BASKETBALL GAMEDAY CENTRAL - VCU |
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| Who | Richmond Spiders (10-6, 2-2) vs. VCU Rams (12-5, 4-0) |
| When | Saturday, Jan. 16, 2 p.m. |
| Where | Richmond, Va. |
| Venue | Robins Center (7,201) |
| TV | CBS Sports Network |
| On Air | Tom McCarthy, Mo Cassara |
| Radio | ESPN 950 AM | 93.1 HANK FM | Sirius 119 | XM 205 | RichmondSpiders.com |
| On Air | Bob Black, Greg Beckwith |
| Live Stats | Click Here |
| Game Notes | Notes |
Scouting VCU
VCU has won seven games in a row and started 4-0 in conference play.
The Rams rank fourth in the country in steals (10.4) and fifth in the country in turnover margin (+6.1).
Melvin Johnson is the nation's leader in three-pointers made with 3.8 per game. He is averaging 18.5 points per game and shooting 45.8 percent from long range. He also has 30 steals and 38 assists.
Korey Billbury is second on the team with 11.8 points and 5.0 rebounds per contest.
Series vs. VCU
Richmond and VCU meet for the 75th time in a series that began in 1976. The Rams hold the all-time edge, 46-28, although Richmond swept the regular season series last year. The Spiders have won three of the last four games in the Robins Center, including a double-overtime thriller last year.
The rivalry features two sets of high school teammates in Trey Davis-Jordan Burgess (Benedictine) and Khwan Fore-Gerron Scissum (Lee).
Player of the Year Candidate
Terry Allen has received praise from the national basketball media with writeups from ESPN, CBS, American Sports Network, Cox Sports and others on his stellar play to start the season.
Allen ranks 28th in the country with 20.1 points per game and is fourth in the conference with 8.4 rebounds per game. Allen also ranks sixth in the conference in steals per game with 1.8.
He has tallied eight 20-point games and five double-doubles this season. His five double-doubles lead the Atlantic 10 and tie for third in the Atlantic 10.
Allen is one of just three players in the country to average at least 20 points and eight rebounds per game.
Dating back to last year, he has put together 26 straight double-digit scoring games and has 11 double-doubles in his last 26 games played. His active double-digit scoring streak is the longest in the Atlantic 10, and tied for eighth in the country.
Don't Stop 'Til You Get Enough
Richmond has averaged 79.1 points per game this season, ranking second in the A-10 and 64th in the country in scoring offense.
The most points scored in one season under Coach Mooney was 70.0 in 2012-13. Richmond's scoring record for one season is 84.8 points back in 1965-66.
Bombs Away
Richmond has been setting the nets on fire from long range. Over the last two games, Marshall Wood has hit 12 threes, tying the school record for most treys in consecutive games.
ShawnDre' Jones has also been hot from outside as he now ranks 21st in the country in three-point FG percentage and seventh in the league in threes made.
The Spiders lead the A-10 in three-point percentage as a team (39.2) and boast five players with 10 or more threes.
Craziness in the Bronx
Richmond set a number of records in its heart-stopping win at Fordham on Jan. 10. The Spiders overcame a 15-point first-half deficit thanks to 17 straight points from Marshall Wood. UR used a 15-0 run over just 2:10 to take a lead before halftime.
UR scored its most points in a conference game since 2012. Marshall Wood's seven threes tied for the most threes in a game in program history. ShawnDre' Jones' 35 points were the most by a Spider since Darien Brothers in 2013.
11 and perfect
Richmond's Trey Davis dished 11 assists without a turnover in the Spiders' win over Fordham. That was a career high for Davis, and the most assists in a game since Cedrick Lindsay had 11 assists in 2012.
Davis is tied for second in the country for the most assists without a turnover in a game this year. Baylor's Lester Medford had 12 assists without a turnover against NMSU (12/23).
Resume Building
Richmond finished the non-conference portion of the schedule with an 8-4 record and quality wins over Wake Forest, then-no. 14 California and Northern Iowa. Two of those wins came away from the Robins Center.
According to ESPN, UR's strength of schedule is 95. Four of UR's losses came to teams in the top 40 of the RPI: West Virginia (13), Texas Tech (19), Florida (25), Saint Joe's (39).
Nerdy Numbers
The Spiders have posted some impressive numbers in Ken Pomeroy's advanced statistics. UR's offensive efficiency of 115.5 ranks 19th in the country, while the team's effective FG percentage of 57.2 is 8th in the NCAA. The Spiders have dished an assist on 61.2 percent of made shots, ranking 36th.
Despite playing some of the national leaders in defense and turnovers forced in West Virginia, ODU and Fordham, Richmond still boasts a turnover percentage of 16.0, which ranks 40th in the country.
From Sixth Man To Lead Man
Last year's Atlantic 10 Sixth Man of the Year, ShawnDre' Jones, has stepped up big as UR's next All-Conference-type point guard.
Following in the small but mighty shoes of Kevin Anderson, Cedrick Lindsay and Kendall Anthony, Jones moves Richmond's offense with his speed, leadership and basketball savvy.
He is averaging 15.3 points per game with a 46.2 three-point percentage (2nd in A-10) and a team-best 82.3 percent mark from the free throw line. Jones also ranks sixth in the Atlantic 10 with an assist-to-turnover ratio of 2.4.
T.J., Point-Forward
T.J. Cline has a unique role on the floor for the Spiders. While he technically plays the five position on the floor, Cline acts like a point guard on offense much of the time. He handles the ball at the top of the key in traffic, distributing the ball and leading the team in assists. He is also a dangerous threat to shoot the three if a defense sags on him.
However, T.J. provides an excellent alternate option to Terry Allen's post game as Cline also possesses several patented scoring moves from the block with his back to the basket.
Cline has posted three 20-point games and currently leads the team in assists with 4.0 per game. Only two players taller than Cline's 6-9 frame have recorded more assists than him this season (Ben Simmons, LSU; Nathan Boothe, Toledo).
Marshall, Marshall, Marshall
Redshirt-junior Marshall Wood has made an immediate impact after transferring from Virginia Tech before last season. He is averaging 10.8 points per game after starting the last two contests in place of the injured Deion Taylor.
Wood is a threat from long range with the second-most threes on the team as he is shooting 36-of-85 (.424) from long range.
Record Watch
Terry Allen reached the 1,000-point plateau with his 25 points against Bethune-Cookman. He became the 44th member of the 1,000-point club at UR, and eighth player to reach it under Coach Mooney. With 1,261 career points, he's now 25th all-time and six points behind Darien Brothers.
Coach Chris Mooney is just three wins away from 200 victories at the University ofRichmond. He is currently tied for second with Malcolm U. Pitt all-time in wins at the school.
Career-High Mania
While Richmond has certainly welcomed a crop of six newcomers who have scored their first points for the Spiders this season, the whole team has actually been setting new career marks left and right in the first three months. 10 different Spider players have recorded new career highs in points, nine in rebounds and 11 in assists.
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