Richmond face tough task vs Wisconsin

The 4-0 Richmond Spiders will make the trip to Brooklyn, NY where they will take on the Wisconsin Badgers (4-1) from the Barclays Center tonight at 7:00 on ESPN2. The Spiders have not faced the Badgers since their matchup in the 2004 NCAA Tournament, where Wisconsin won 76-64.  Richmond coming off another blowout victory at the hands of McNeese State on Friday night, where they won 87-57 to mark their best start since 1985.  They will have their hands full with Greg Gard’s Badgers.  Wisconsin have also won 4 straight games, turning it around since their opening loss to Saint Mary’s in OT.

How the Badgers lineup

The Badgers are 6th in the nation in FT’s (82.6%), so it will be key for the Spiders to keep them off the charity stripe.  Wisconsin is led by junior guard, Brad Davison.  He leads the team in scoring averaging 15.6 ppg, with  junior forward, Nate Reuvers, not far behind him with 15 ppg.  Reuvers also averages just over 3 blocks per game as well, so Richmond should continue to look for points from long range.  The Badgers do not have a player who has hit more than nine 3-pt shots, so interior defense will be key for the Spiders, as well as the rebound battle.

Keys for a Spider victory

Richmond have been on another planet with their 3-point shooting thus far, as they have knocked down 53 total.  If the Spiders can keep this kind of production going, as well as the spectacular ball movement leading to these good looks, it looks good for Richmond.  Wisconsin has a good interior defense, so perimeter shooting will be crucial.  Grant Golden will need to be big for Richmond as well.  Grant is averaging 10.5 ppg and 8.3 rebounds through 4 games.  He will be faced with a tough task tonight, as he will have to be big on the boards for the Spiders.  Richmond will also need to limit their turnovers if they want to come out with a victory.  Averaging 11.8 turnovers per game, Chris Mooney’s squad will need to do whatever they can to slow down and limit these mistakes.  The Spiders had 17 total turnovers in their win against McNeese State, so this will be a key component to their matchup with Wisconsin.

Prediction

The Spiders will stay hot and will defeat the Badgers of Wisconsin.  They will be led by strong outside shooting, as well as Grant Golden having a career game on the glass.  My score prediction will be Richmond 70-Wisconsin 65.  I’m currently on a hot streak  Be sure to follow along tonight on www.a10talk.com on the forums, as well as on Twitter at @A10Talk & @AustinDaisey11.  See you tonight Spider Nation!