University of Richmond Athletics
Men's Basketball GameDay Central - Wake Forest
12/02/2016 | Men's Basketball
UNIVERSITY OF RICHMOND, Va. - Richmond (4-3) returns home for a holiday homestand that starts with long-time rival Wake Forest (5-2) on Saturday at noon on ESPNU.
Richmond will look to bounce back from a tough 73-68 loss at Bucknell on Wednesday night, while Wake Forest is coming off a defeat to Northwestern.
Senior T.J. Cline continues to amaze as he tallied his 20th consecutive double-digit game and the 17th 20-point game of his career on Wednesday. He's one of just two players to average 18-7-5 in points, rebounds and assists in the country. He's also tallied the most assists for any player 6-9 or taller in the nation.
Graduate transfer Kwesi Abakah will sing the national anthem before Saturday's game. Abakah's father is from Ghana and he sang a solo during his undergraduate graduation at Northeastern last May.
Saturday's game will air on ESPNU and online through the WatchESPN app. Mike Corey and Dalen Cuff 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 Greg Beckwith will call the action over the radio airwaves.
| 2016-17 SPIDER MEN'S BASKETBALL GAMEDAY CENTRAL - WAKE FOREST |
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| Who | Richmond Spiders (4-3) vs. Wake Forest Demon Deacons (5-2) |
| When | Saturday, Dec. 3, 12:00 pm |
| 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 | Robert Fish, Greg Beckwith |
| Live Stats | Click Here |
| Game Notes | Notes |
Scouting Wake Forest
Wake Forest enters Saturday's game after dropping to Northwestern. The Demon Deacons have defeated College of Charleston, Coastal Carolina and Bucknell.
Four players average in double figures, led by John Collins with his 17.9 points per game and 9.6 rebounds per game. Bryant Crawford is the team leader in assists with 6.0 per contest to go with 13.0 ppg.
Wake leads the ACC in three-point FG percentage (41.2), and the Demon Deacons are second in free throw percentage.
Series vs. Wake Forest
Wake Forest holds a 40-13 advantage in the all-time series, however Richmond has won four of the last six contests. Last year, the Spiders took a 91-82 win down in Winston-Salem, while WF won on a buzzer-beater two years ago in the Robins Center.
Success Against The Power 5
Over the weekend, Richmond took No. 23 Maryland to overtime and then turned around and beat Boston College of the ACC by double digits. In Mooney's tenure, the Spiders have racked up 20 wins over power conference teams.
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 the league in scoring (67.0) and second in opponent field goal percentage (38.1). The Spiders are also fifth with 7.1 steals per game.
Cline's Big Week
T.J. Cline had quite a week over the Thanksgiving Holiday. He averaged 19.3 points, 8.7 rebounds and 5.0 assists in a near triple-double against Maryland and a double-double against Boston College. He earned Barclays Center Classic All-Tournament honors and then was named Atlantic 10 Player of the Week. On Tuesday, Cline's first person account in The Players' Tribune was published to national acclaim.
Scoring Streak
T.J. Cline has now reached double figures in 20 straight games and 27 of his last 28 dating back to last season. He has 61 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 seven games. They've also combined for 58 assists.
P-R-A Machine
T.J. Cline is currently averaging 18.7 points, 6.9 rebounds and 4.9 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 15-7-5 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.
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 fifth in the league in assists (14.9) and fourth in assist-turnover ratio (1.2). UR has assisted on 104 of 180 field goals for a ratio of .577, with 10 different players tallying at least one assist so far.
Leaning On The Freshmen
Richmond's highly touted freshmen class have already played significant roles in Richmond's first six games.
De'Monte Buckingham, Nick Sherod and Grant Golden have shown promise in offensive and rebounding production, but have also been fantastic on intangible "hustle" plays like loose balls, charges and keeping possessions alive. Buckingham currently leads the team with nine blocks.
The trio have combined for an average for 49.5 minutes per contest. That marks the most combined minutes for Spider freshmen since the 2012-13 season.
