Men's Basketball GameDay Central - Davidson
12/30/2016 | Men's Basketball
DAVIDSON, N.C. - Richmond (6-6) will travel to conference rival Davidson (7-4) for the opening of Atlantic 10 play on New Year's Eve at 2 p.m. The game will be broadcast on the American Sports Network.
Richmond and Davidson play in a series that dates back to 1939 and the Southern Conference. UR holds the distinction of playing in Davidson's first-ever A-10 game in 2014-15.
The Spiders are looking to bounce back from a tough road loss at Oral Roberts before the holiday break.
T.J. Cline continues to lead the Spiders at every part of the court. He's one of two players in the NCAA with his averages in points, rebounds and assists. He tallied his second-straight double-double with 25 points, a career-high 14 rebounds and six assists at ORU.
Nick Sherod and De'Monte Buckingham have been outstanding as freshmen. They've each averaged in double figures the last two games.
Saturday's game will air on ASN with affiliate clearances all around the country. In Richmond, fans can watch on CSN+ and MyTV. A full list of clearances are available here and the game will be streamed online here. The game will be called by Jeff McCarragher and Mack McCarthy.
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. Again this season,the Spider IMG broadcast of most Atlantic 10 games will also be available on Sirius and XM satellite radio. Please see the chart below for game and channel information.
| 2016-17 SPIDER MEN'S BASKETBALL GAMEDAY CENTRAL - DAVIDSON |
|
| Who | Richmond Spiders (6-6) at Davidson Wildcats (7-4) |
| When | Saturday, Dec. 31, 2 p.m. ET |
| Where | Davidson, N.C. |
| Venue | Belk Arena (5,295) |
| TV | ASN | Clearances | Live Online |
| On Air | Jeff McCarragher, Mack McCarthy |
| Radio | ESPN 950 AM | 107.3 BBT FM | RichmondSpiders.com Sirius Channel 134; XM Channel 203; Internet 963 |
| On Air | Bob Black, Greg Beckwith |
| Live Stats | Click Here |
| Game Notes | Notes |
Scouting Davidson
The Wildcats enter conference play on a two-game win streak after knocking off Hartford on Wednesday. Davidson has wins over Missouri and Arizona State and continues to be one of the league's top offenses.
Jack Gibbs is tied for the conference lead with 23.0 points per game, while Peyton Aldridge is third in the league with 21.5 points per game.
Series vs. Davidson
Davidson leads the all-time series, 33-13, dating back to 1939. Since joining the Atlantic 10 in 2014, Davidson is 3-1 against UR. In three games in Belk Arena since 2011, Davidson is 3-0.
Back-to-Back Double-Doubles
T.J. Cline recorded back-to-back double-doubles on the road at JMU and Oral Roberts. He grabbed a career-high 14 rebounds in a magnificent stat line of 25-14-6 at ORU. He now has four double-doubles in his career. Cline currently ranks in the top 10 in points, rebounds and assists in the conference.
Buck's Breakout
While De'Monte Buckingham has already earned a reputation for his defensive prowess with steals, blocks, rebounds and charges taken, his offense was on display against Texas Tech.
Buckingham scored a career-high 16 points, including 13 in the first half, helped by a career-best three three-pointers.
He then earned his first career start at JMU, scoring 12 points, and scored 10 at ORU for three-straight double-figure scoring games.
Cline Locks In From FT Line
After shooting 5-of-9 from the free throw line in the season opener against VMI, T.J. Cline has locked down his free shooting to deliver at an 84 percent clip (43-of-51) in the last 11 games. He currently leads the team in free throw shooting at 80.0 percent.
As a squad, the Spiders have also improved from the line after a 6-14 performance against Wake Forest. Since that game, UR has shot 80.0 percent from the free throw line, including 24-26 vs. UMBC.
Need The Three
Richmond's offense has always been predicated on using the three-pointer as a weapon. The Spiders hit nine threes and shot a season-best 40.9 percent from long range at JMU. Julius Johnson and Nick Sherod were big in that effort as Johnson knocked down a career-high three treys and Sherod scored a career-high 14 points.
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, where Fore averaged 2.0 steals per game (sixth in A-10).
The Spiders defense currently ranks sixthin opponent field goal percentage (41.2) and second in three-point defense (30.2). The Spiders are also fifth with 7.3 steals per game.
Scoring Streak
T.J. Cline has now reached double figures in 25 straight games and 32 of his last 33 dating back to last season. He has 66 career double-figure scoring games, and tallied his fourth career double-double at JMU.
Last year, Terry Allen reached double figures in 31 straight games and Kevin Anderson holds the record at 36 during the Mooney era.
P-R-A Machine
T.J. Cline is currently averaging 18.6 points, 7.8 rebounds and 4.8 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 18-7-4 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 (15.4) and fourth in assist-turnover ratio (1.2).
Against JMU, the Spiders dished 18 assists on 25 made field goals.
Climbing The Record Books
ShawnDre' Jones and T.J. Cline continue to climb Richmond's all-time record book. Jones now ranks 28th all-time with 1,223 career points.
Cline is right behind him at 1,222 points. Adding his points from his freshman year at Niagara, Cline has totaled 1,484 career points.
Jones also moved into seventh place all-time with 182 career three-pointers.
