Spiders Head To Bonnies For Double-Bye Battle
@noahgoldberg10 – Check out the most recent episode of the Spider Scoop Pod, featuring Grant Golden and Petey Buckets!
February 23, 2019, Richmond grabbed a road win at La Salle to improve to 11-16. Exactly one year later, the Spiders have reached 20 wins and are projected to make the NCAA Tournament as a 12 seed, according to ESPN’s Joe Lunardi. Saturday, they’ll head to Olean, New York, and with a win against the Bonnies, could add a Q2 win to a resume wavering on the right side of the bubble.
There is a lot more reflecting to be done of this team aside from just the improved record. In 2018-2019, the Spiders were one of the five worst rebounding teams in the entire country and gave up 72.4 points in conference play to opponents. 365 days removed and Chris Mooney has put together the second-most efficient defense in the Atlantic-10.
So how has a team that’s held five consecutive opponents under 60 points maintain success down the stretch of conference play and into the postseason? Not by running through three guards who all flirted with 40 3P% in non-conference play, and not by relying on double-doubles from one of the most dominant low-post scorers in the conference. Like it or not, Richmond is going to win on Saturday, and going forward, with its defense.
Redshirt junior Grant Golden has posted a 90.6 DRTG in conference play, a number that exceeded 100 last year. Golden’s defensive transformation has been pivotal in allowing Richmond to keep up with a conference featuring elite post-defenders such as St. Bonaventure’s Osun Ossuniyi.
“I’ve played a lot less minutes this year…Just how much we relied on me and Gilly at times, we had to do so much on the offensive end that we were just gassed during games…We can put more energy and more effort into the defensive end because we’re just not as tired this year,” Golden said on the Spider Scoop Podcast.
The big man is Richmond’s second leading scorer despite playing just 25 minutes per game. In three games against Rhode Island and VCU, two teams with an exceptionally physical forward as St. Bonaventure has, Golden averaged 16.3 points and 9 rebounds. The Spiders went 2-1 in those games, so clearly Golden has had success going at stronger bigs.
The Bonnies score over 55% of their points inside the three point line, which is the fourth-most in the A-10. As good as Kyle Lofton and Jaren English have shot the ball from deep, Richmond has locked down the perimeter since looking like swiss cheese against VCU in January. Premier sharpshooters Jamison Battle (GW) and Bones Hyland (VCU) both struggled to find the bottom of the net during the Spiders’ five-game win streak, and if Blake Francis and Jacob Gilyard stay active, the Bonnies will run into the same problem.
If St. Bonaventure’s guards do give the Spiders trouble, keep an eye on sophomore Andre Gustavson. Mooney subbed the 6’ 4” guard in for Nick Sherod less than a minute into the second half against George Mason on Wednesday. The result: Gustavson grabbed an offensive rebound and a steal, both of which he scored off of. That sparked a stretch of four straight made field goals for a Richmond offense that had been sputtering at the end of the first half.
Fourth in the conference, the Bonnies are one game back of Richmond. Saturday is the only contest between these two teams this season, which means it could be the difference between playing Rhode Island and Dayton in the semifinals of the A-10 Tournament. Tip off from Olean, New York is Saturday at 6:30 p.m., with coverage right here on 99.5 FM and 950 AM ESPN Richmond.
