University of Richmond Athletics
Men's Basketball GameDay Central - Texas Tech
12/16/2016 | Men's Basketball
UNIVERSITY OF RICHMOND, Va. - Richmond (5-4) looks to build off the momentum of its win over UMBC as the Spiders host Texas Tech (9-1) at home on ESPNU on Saturday at 12:30 p.m.
The Spiders went 24-of-26 from the free throw line in last week's win over UMBC. It marked the most free throws made in a game this year for UR and Richmond went a perfect 10-of-10 from the line in the final 36 seconds to win the game.
T.J. Cline and ShawnDre' Jones (18.4 ppg) are one of just two pairs of teammates to each rank in the top 10 of the Atlantic 10 in scoring, both tying for seventh in the league. Khwan Fore had a career-high nine rebounds with four steals in last week's win. Fore now ranks in the top 40 in the country in steals.
Saturday's game will air on ESPNU and online through the WatchESPN app. Mike Corey and Dalen Cuff will have the call.
The game will also be on the radio on ESPN 950 AM and 107.3 BBT FM and streaming on RichmondSpiders.com. Bob Black and Greg Beckwith will call the action over the radio airwaves.
| 2016-17 SPIDER MEN'S BASKETBALL GAMEDAY CENTRAL - TEXAS TECH |
|
| Who | Richmond Spiders (5-4) vs. Texas Tech (9-1) |
| When | Saturday, Dec. 17, 12:30 p.m. |
| Where | Richmond, Va. |
| Venue | Robins Center (7,201) |
| TV | ESPNU | WatchESPN |
| On Air | Mike Corey, Dalen Cuff |
| Radio | ESPN 950 AM | 107.3 BBT FM | RichmondSpiders.com |
| On Air | Bob Black, Greg Beckwith |
| Live Stats | Click Here |
| Game Notes | Notes |
Scouting Texas Tech
Led by first-year coach Chris Beard, Texas Tech comes east for its first true road game of the season on a six-game winning streak.
Junior guard Keenan Evans notched the second-best scoring total of his career
with 23 points against Nicholls State. He has recorded double-digit points in a
career-long five straight outings and has eight such efforts overall in 2016-17.
Five different Red Raiders average in double figures and Texas Tech leads the Big 12 in rebounding margin.
Series vs. Texas Tech
Saturday marks just the second game all-time against Texas Tech. The Red Raiders defeated Richmond 85-70 last season in Lubbock, Texas.
Fore's Aggressive Start
Richmond has struggled at times in the opening stretches of games, but reversed that trend against UMBC. UR got out to a 19-9 lead, in part because of the aggressiveness of Khwan Fore. He scored 10 first-half points and finished with 15 points, a career-high nine rebounds and tied his career high with four steals.
He now ranks 36th in the country in steals (2.2).
Defensive Pressure
After an uncharacteristic season of poor defense last year, the Spiders have employed a mix of man and the traditional matchup zone that UR used to employ exclusively. The Spiders have also used Khwan Fore in full-court pressure situations.
The Spiders defense currently ranks third in opponent field goal percentage (39.8) and third in three-point defense (31.5). The Spiders are also fifth with 7.2 steals per game.
Scoring Streak
T.J. Cline has now reached double figures in 22 straight games and 29 of his last 30 dating back to last season. He has 63 career double-figure scoring games, and tallied his second career double-double vs. Boston College.
Last year, Terry Allen reached double figures in 31 straight games and Kevin Anderson holds the record at 36 during the Mooney era.
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've combined for over 40 points in three of UR's nine games. They are one of just two duos in the Atlantic 10 to each rank in the top 10 of the conference in scoring.
Jones and Cline are now ranked 30th and 31st respectively in all-time points scored at Richmond.
P-R-A Machine
T.J. Cline is currently averaging 18.4 points, 6.7 rebounds and 5.1 assists per game.
He is one of just two players in the country (N.C. Central's Patrick Cole being the other) to average at least 18-6-5 in points, rebounds and assists in a game.
Cline nearly tallied a triple-double against Maryland, scoring 18 points with nine rebounds and nine assists. No player has recorded a triple-double in Richmond spider history.
Assist To...
The Spiders have always run an offense with constant motion and crisp passes that lead to shots in rhythm. Richmond is at its best when every player on the court is setting up someone else for a shot.
This year, the Spiders rank fourth in the league in assists (15.0) and second in assist-turnover ratio (1.2).
