University of Richmond Athletics
Men's Basketball GameDay Central - Robert Morris
11/18/2016 | Men's Basketball
UNIVERSITY OF RICHMOND, Va. - Richmond begins play in the Thanksgiving Week Barclays Center Classic with a home-site game against Robert Morris on Sunday at 1:30 p.m. in the Robins Center.
The game will mark the first meeting all-time between the Spiders and Colonials.
Richmond's ShawnDre' Jones was named Atlantic 10 Player of the Week last week after going off for 31 points against VMI. He followed that up with a 23-point effort vs. ODU. He currently ranks 12th in the country in points per game (27.0).
Sunday will be Harry Potter Day at the Robins Center with activities throughout the day to create an enjoyable atmosphere and promote the release of the new movie release.
Sunday's game will air on Comcast SportsNet Plus in the mid-atlantic area. It will also be streamed online at Atlantic10.com. Bob Black and Sean Robertson will be on the call.
The game will also be on the radio on ESPN 950 AM and 107.3 BBT FM and streaming on RichmondSpiders.com. Robert Fish and Matt Smith will call the action over the radio airwaves.
| 2016-17 SPIDER MEN'S BASKETBALL GAMEDAY CENTRAL - RMU |
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| Who | Richmond Spiders (1-1) vs. Robert Morris Colonials (0-3) |
| When | Sunday, Nov. 20, 1:30 p.m. |
| Where | Richmond, Va. |
| Venue | Robins Center (7,201) |
| TV | CSN+ | Channel Finder | Atlantic 10 Network |
| On Air | Bob Black, Sean Robertson |
| Radio | ESPN 950 AM | 107.3 BBT FM | RichmondSpiders.com |
| On Air | Robert Fish, Matt Smith |
| Live Stats | Click Here |
| Game Notes | Notes |
Scouting Robert Morris
Robert Morris enters the Robins Center after a 75-62 loss to future UR opponent Bucknell. The Colonials have losses to Penn, DePaul and Bucknell to start the season.
The Colonials are leading their rebounding margin (+2.3) but but have given up 17.0 turnovers per game. Isaiah Still leads the squad with 16.3 points per game on a team high seven threes.
Series vs. Robert Morris
This game marks Richmond's first contest against Robert Morris.
Senior Floor Leader
ShawnDre' Jones displayed tremendous mettle in Richmond's tough season-opening win over VMI. He shot 9-of-13 from the floor, including 4-of-5 from three and 9-of-11 from the foul line. He also had three assists and three steals. With the game tied and less than 15 seconds remaining, Jones drove the left side and forced a foul on his shot. His free throws on the personal foul and eventual technical gave Richmond its three-point win.
Jones' 31-point game marks the first 30-point effort in a season opener since Kevin Steenberge (30) in 2004 against Seton Hall.It was also just the 19th 30-point game since 2000 by any Richmond Spider. Jones was named Atlantic 10 Co-Player of the Week for his efforts.
National Rankings
ShawnDre' Jones currently ranks 12th in the country and second in the Atlantic 10 with 27.0 points per game. Jones also ranks 10th in the country with a three-point shooting percentage of 75.0. He is fourth in the league with 3.0 threes per game and sixth in the conference with 35.5 minutes per game.
T.J. Cline is fourth in the conference with 6.0 assists per game, while De'Monte Buckingham is ninth in the conference with 1.5 blocks per contest.
Early Season Tournament Success
Richmond begins play in the Barclays Center Classic with home-hosted games against Robert Morris and Hampton. The Spiders will then travel to New York to face Maryland and Kansas State/Boston College in the Barclays Center on Friday and Saturday of Thanksgiving weekend.
UR has had tremendous success in early season tournaments under Coach Mooney, posting a 12-6 record in neutral site, exempt tournament games. The Spiders have won the South Padre Island Invitational, Orange Bowl Classic, Chicago Invitational and Gotham Classic with major wins over Missouri, Mississippi State, Purdue, Rutgers and California all coming in early season tournament play.
Jones-Cline Connection
T.J. Cline and ShawnDre' Jones are one of the Atlantic 10's best duos, especially in the pick and roll and pick and pop. They have combined for over 40 points in each of the first two games, marking the sixth time they've done that in their careers.
They've also combined for 19 assists with nine assists going to each other.
Containing The Best
Richmond has traditionally done a good job of containing another team's leading scorer. So far this season, Richmond held VMI's Q.J. Peterson (19.8 ppg) to 6-18 shooting including 1-6 from three. UR also forced ODU's Brandan Stith (23.0 ppg) to just seven points.
Sherod Comes Out Strong
On Friday night, Nick Sherod became the first true freshman to start in a season opener since the 2006-07 season when three freshmen started (David Brewster, Brian Morris, Dan Geriot). Sherod went on grab a game-high nine rebounds in his debut and score five points.
Deeper Bench
The Spiders boast a deeper bench this season as nine players entered the game within the first eight minutes vs. VMI. All nine eventually played at least 10 minutes. Four of the nine are fresh faces with transfer Kwesi Abakah and freshmen Nick Sherod, De'Monte Buckingham and Grant Golden all seeing action early on.
Second-Half Push
Richmond's offense kicked it into high gear in the second half of the VMI win. The Spiders shot 61.9 percent from the field and went 6-9 from deep after shooting just 1-9 from three in the first half. The Spiders nearly doubled their scoring output with 47 second-half points to just 25 in the first half.
Against ODU, UR shot 50 percent in the second half after starting out at 38.5 percent.
Scoring Streak
T.J. Cline has now reached double figures in 15 straight games and 22 of his last 23 dating back to last season. He and ShawnDre' Jones each have 56 career double-figure scoring games.
