Richmond 2010 NCAA Tournament Preview

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Richmond Spiders - Atlantic 10 Conference (26-8, 13-3)

Seed: #7 - South Region

Big Wins: 12/2 Old Dominion (67-60), 2/6 Temple (71-54), 3/13 vs Xavier (89-85)

Bad Losses: 12/16 at South Carolina (58-76), 1/9 at St. Louis (58-63), 1/20 Charlotte (59-71)

Last NCAA Appearance: 2004, First Round loss to Wisconsin

Coach: Chris Mooney (First NCAA appearance)

Richmond Spiders NCAA Tournament history

Probable Richmond Starters:

• David Gonzalvez, Senior, Guard, 14.5 ppg, 2.3 apg, 1.9 spg

• Kevin Anderson, Junior, Guard, 17.8 ppg, 2.6 apg, 1.8 spg

• Ryan Butler, Senior, Forward, 8.2 ppg, 2.6 rpg

• Darrius Garrett, Sophomore, Forward, 2.3 ppg, 3.4 rpg, 1.7 bpg

• Justin Harper, Junior, Forward, 10.6 ppg, 3.9 rpg

Key Richmond Roleplayers:

• Dan Geriot, Junior, Center, 6.9 ppg, 3.3 rpg

• Francis-Cedric Martel, Sophomore, Forward, 2.6 ppg, 1.5 rpg

• Kevin Smith, Junior, Forward, 2.8 ppg, 1.6 rpg

Why The Spiders Can Surprise:
Richmond is not a flashy team, but they are certainly effective. Their solid defense creates plenty of turnovers and their steady offense and experienced guards rarely give up turnovers. The group on the perimeter is led by Kevin Anderson. The 6-0 junior has developed into one of the best scorers in the Atlantic 10 Conference. He averages 17.8 points per game, but it is not all from long range like one would expect from a player who is just 6-0. Anderson does most of his damage by getting to the basket and hitting his free-throws. That means Anderson rarely has an off game since his offense does not rely on his shooting.

David Gonzalvez is the team’s most prolific outside shooter, but he too can effectively attack the basket. Scoring is nice, but Anderson and Gonzalvez are also great defenders and can both handle the ball. Ryan Butler, a 6-7 wing, is the most efficient long range shooter of them all. He only averages 8.2 points per game, but he is a very dangerous shooter against teams that have trouble defending his size at the small forward position.

Why The Spiders Can Disappoint:
However, Butler spends a lot of time hanging around the perimeter and he does not help the team out very much on the glass. Justin Harper has emerged as a dynamic scorer who can stretch out the defense, but he leads the team with a mere 3.9 rebounds per contest. Darrius Garrett gives the team more size, not to mention a big time shot blocking threat, and Francis-Cedric Martel is a decent rebounder when given the opportunity, but Richmond will generally rely on everybody to do their part on the glass. Unfortunately, most players are not big enough or strong enough to do enough and the Spiders have one of the worst rebounding margins in the nation.

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Who To Watch for Richmond:
A player who is expected to help out on the glass is Dan Geriot. Two years ago Geriot was the Spiders top scorer and a solid rebounder. He missed all of the 2008-2009 season with an injury and his return was supposed to make a huge impact on the Spiders. However, Geriot has had trouble getting back into the swing of things and he has been very inconsistent. At times he has lost his starting job and other times he runs into foul trouble very quickly. Richmond needs Geriot to be back to his old self if they want to make a little run in the tournament.

Richmond By the Numbers:

Scoring Offense: 69.0 (176th in nation, 10th in conference)

Scoring Defense: 61.4 (32, 3)

Field-Goal Percentage: 44.6 (114, 4)

Field-Goal Defense: 39.0 (17, 2)

Three-Point Field Goals Per Game: 7.0 (83, 3)

Three-Point Field-Goal Percentage: 35.0 (131, 2)

Free-Throw Percentage: 69.4 (154, 5)

Rebound Margin: -5.1 (306, 13)

Assists Per Game: 12.6 (191, 11)

Turnovers Per Game: 11.4 (25, 3)

Joel’s Bracket Says: Second Round loss to Villanova