University of Richmond Athletics
Men's Basketball GameDay Central - George Washington
03/10/2017 | Men's Basketball
PITTSBURGH - Richmond opens Atlantic 10 Tournament play on Friday night in the quarterfinal round against George Washington. The game is scheduled to begin at 8:30 p.m. and will air on NBC Sports Network.
The Spiders make their fourth-straight appearance in the A-10 quarterfinals and will face GW for the third time this season after winning the previous two meetings.
As the three seed, Richmond won 13 conference games after starting the season 6-6. 13 A-10 wins ties for the program record for conference wins (2011, 1989).
T.J. Cline tallied the first triple-double in school history and then got another on Senior Day. He is one of two players in the NCAA have two triple-doubles this year. Cline is just the third player (Evan Turner, Penny Hardaway) to average 18-8-5 over last 25 years.
In A-10 play, UR led the league in FG pct (48.4), assists (18.1), turnover margin (+2.56) and assist/TO ratio (1/6). UR was second in threes made (152), second in scoring (75.7) and third in three-point defense (31.9).
Richmond ranks 16th in the country in two-point FG pct (55.4). The Spiders are sixth in the nation in assist-to-FG margin (63.8).
The game will air on NBC Sports Network and will also stream online through the NBC Sports Watch Live app. Paul Burmeister and David Kaplan will be on the air.
The game will also be on the radio on ESPN 950 AM, 107.3 BBT and RichmondSpiders.com. Bob Black and Greg Beckwith will call the action over the radio airwaves.
| 2016-17 SPIDER MEN'S BASKETBALL GAMEDAY CENTRAL - GEORGE WASHINGTON |
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| Who | Richmond Spiders (19-11) vs. George Washington Colonials (19-13) |
| When | Friday, March 10, 8:30 p.m. |
| Where | Pittsburgh, Pa. |
| Venue | PPG Paints Arena |
| TV | NBC Sports Network | Watch Live |
| On Air | Paul Burmeister, David Kaplan |
| Radio | |
| On Air | Bob Black, Greg Beckwith |
| Live Stats | Click Here |
| Game Notes | Notes |
Richmond In The A-10 Tournament
Richmond is 13-13 all-time in the A-10 tournament after the Spiders made their first appearance in 2002.
UR is 5-1 all-time as the three seed, including a three-game run to the tournament title in 2011 as a three seed.
The Spiders won the title in 2011 and made a championship game appearance in 2010. UR has advanced to the quarterfinals in four consecutive seasons including 2017.
Richmond has never faced George Washington or Saint Louis in the A-10 tournament, however UR is 1-0 vs. Duquesne.
Awards Sweep
Richmond senior T.J. Cline was named Atlantic 10 Player of the Year and freshman De'Monte Buckingham was tabbed Rookie of the Year. Along with Cline on the First Team and Buckingham on the Rookie team, ShawnDre' Jones was named All-A-10 Third Team.
Richmond became the first team since 1988, and just the third team in A-10 history, to boast both the Player and Rookie of the Year on the same team.
With Cline on the First Team, the Spiders have now had five First Team honorees since 2010, more than any other A-10 program over that stretch.
P-R-A Machine
After coming close on three occasions, T.J. Cline finally broke through for the first-ever triple-double in school history against Duquesne. He scored 34 points with 12 rebounds and 11 assists. It marked just the sixth time that any NCAA DI player has reached 30 points in a triple-double in the last 20 years. Of those six players, Cline was the only one to do it in regulation.
On Senior Day, Cline broke through again, tallying 19 points, 11 rebounds and 12 assists. He is one of just two players with two triple-doubles in the NCAA this year.
T.J. Cline is currently averaging 18.6 points, 8.1 rebounds and 5.7 assists per game, making him just the third player (Penny Hardaway, Evan Turner) to average 18-8-5 in the last 25 years.
Cline has more assists than any player in the country his height or taller and ranks 10th in the nation with an assist rate of 39.2. His 172 assists on the season rank 3rd all-time at Richmond as he now trails Greg Beckwith's school by 28 dimes.
Cline is putting together one of the best seasons in recent memory in rebounding as Charles Stephens (1997-98) was the last Spider to average over eight rebounds a game for an entire season (8.3).
Cline has tallied 11 double-doubles this season, more than any other Spider since 1987-88 when Peter Woolfolk tallied 13.
Batman and Robin
Cline's partner in crime the past three years has been fellow senior ShawnDre' Jones. Jones also scored 30 points in UR's win over Duquesne, the first time a pair of Spiders have each scored 30 in a game in Mooney's tenure. Jones then followed it up with a gutsy 30-point effort at VCU. He is tied for second in the A-10 with three 30-point games this year.
Jones is averaging 17.0 points per game and 4.1 assists per game, ranking top 10 in the league in both categories. His assist-turnover ratio of 2.0 ranks fourth in the league.
Jones and Cline are the third-highest scoring duo in the Atlantic 10. Jones became the first player in Richmond history to top 1,400 points, 300 assists and 200 three-pointers made.
Jones earned his first All-Conference honor this year after winning Atlantic 10 Sixth Man of the Year accolades in 2015. He was named All-A-10 Third Team this year.
Buck Stops Here
The Atlantic 10's Rookie of the Year, De'Monte Buckingham has been outstanding since entering the starting lineup at JMU (12/20).
He tallied the most rebounds (176) of any Spider freshman since Charles Stephens in 1998.
Buckingham averaged 11.9 points per game in conference play, including two 20-point outbursts. He also nabbed 30 steals in A-10 play, ranking fourth in the league and first among freshmen.
Khwan Effect
Although quiet off the court, Khwan Fore can make a big statement on it. His rim-rattling dunks can be momentum shifters when coming from a 6-0 guard. He had three such dunks in the second half at Dayton and two against Davidson. He is Richmond's most athletic player pound-for-pound with a 45-inch vertical.
He exploded for a career-high 24 points against George Washington, scoring on dribble drives and pull-up jumpers at the elbow. He then dished a career-high 12 assists at Fordham, the most by any Spider since 1996.
In A-10 play, Fore has averaged 11.1 points with 4.0 rebounds and 2.8 assists. He ranks eighth in the league with 1.7 steals per game.
High-Flying Spiders
While Richmond runs a "Princeton-style" offense, the Spiders are far from slow and boring. Richmond ranks in the top 75 in the nation in pace of play and UR averaged 75.7 ppg in conference play, good for second in the league. Richmond also shot 48.4 percent from the field in A-10 play, leading the league.
Defending The Line
Richmond has done a fantastic job defending the three-point line this season. It's even more impressive considering the improvement from last year. Last season, Richmond ranked 267th in three-point defense. This year, the Spiders rank 26th in the nation by holding opponents to just 31.2 percent from long range.
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.
The Spiders lead the league in assists (17.0) and assist-turnover ratio (1.4). Richmond has dished more or same assists than the opponent in 25 of the season's 30 games. In Atlantic 10 play, the Spiders have averaged 18.1 assists per game.
UR ranks sixth in the country in assist-to-FG percentage of 63.8. The Spiders led the league in assist-turnover ratio last year and ranked second the year before.
Surviving Runs
In Richmond's first four A-10 road wins, the Spiders have built leads of 18, 21, 18 and 15 points in the second half. In each instance, the home team has made it a one-possession game in the final 10 minutes. However, Richmond has been able to make winning plays in each instance down the stretch.
The Spiders are 18-1 when holding a lead with five minutes remaining and 15-2 when leading at the half. UR has overcome double-digit deficits in three of the teams' wins, and only given up a double-digit lead in a loss once to then-ranked Maryland.
Award Center
Richmond tallied eight Atlantic 10 Weekly awards with Cline (4) and Jones (1) winning Player of the Weeks and Buckingham (3) winning Rookie of the Week awards.
Cline was tabbed by the USBWA as the Oscar Robertson National Player of the Week after his triple-double. It marked the first national player of the week honor for any Spider.
Cline was named Atlantic 10 Player of the Year and an All-Atlantic 10 First Team honoree. Buckingham was Atlantic 10 Rookie of the Week and an All-Atlantic 10 Rookie Team honoree. Jones earned a spot on the All-Atlantic 10 Third Team.
Climbing The Record Books
ShawnDre' Jones and T.J. Cline continue to climb Richmond's all-time record book.
Cline has now scored 1,556 career points at Richmond, with Jones right behind him at 1,530. Adding his points from his freshman year at Niagara, Cline has totaled 1,818 career points.
Jones moved into sixth place all-time with 215 career three-pointers. Jones now also has 351 assists for his career, ranking eighth all-time.
Cline is now eighth all-time in field goals made and ninth in assists. He is third all-time for assists in a single season, just 28 away from the school record.
With Jones and Cline continually moving up, seven of the top 14 scorers all-time have graduated since 2010.
