Spiders head to the 757
The Richmond Spiders (6-1) take on the Hampton Pirates (3-4) tonight at the Hampton Convocation Center, in Hampton, VA. The Spiders are coming off a 64-44 victory this past Saturday vs Boston College. Hampton’s last outing led to a 70-57 loss vs CSU-Bakersfield. Richmond leads the all-time series 5-2, with Hampton winning last year’s contest 86-66. Also worth noting, the only time the Spiders have played at Hampton, they lost back in 2002. If Richmond plays another solid 40 minutes as they did vs Boston College, they should tally their 6th all time win vs Hampton.
What to watch for:
The Pirates had been led by senior guard, Jermaine Marrow. Marrow averages 24.9 ppg and is also averaging 35 minutes per contest. During their loss vs Illinois, Marrow fractured his thumb, then played 2 games after the injury. He should be sidelined for about a month. Grant Golden and Nathan Cayo will be game-time decisions tonight. Golden is still nursing that left ankle, and Cayo had an awkward fall vs Boston College, so he could be held out due to precautionary measures. If they are both out, we can expect to see a lot of Tyler Burton and Souleymane Koureissi. Burton is constant energy when on the court, so he could be what the Spiders need tonight. The Spiders are still off to a hot start from 3-point range, where they rank 20th in the nation (as of 12/2), at 40.2%. This could be another confidence building game for Richmond, but it could also be a great game for Nick Sherod to find his stroke once again.
Prediction:
After seeing how Richmond played without Grant Golden and an injured Nathan Cayo, I can see this one being one-sided. This squad has tremendous depth, and they really buy in to the “next man up” concept. When they are hot from beyond the arc, they can hang with anyone in the country. My final score prediction is Richmond 85 – Hampton 70. Nick Sherod will have a breakout game and the Spiders will move to 7-1 on the year. Be sure to follow along on Twitter at @A10Talk and @AustinDaisey11, as well as online at www.a10talk.com. See you tonight Spider Nation!
*featured image via https://richmondspiders.com/news/2018/9/5/spiders-mens-basketball-announces-2018-19-schedule.aspx
