It is a relatively short distance between Richmond and Virginia Commonwealth Universities. Simple assumption as both schools of higher learning are located in Richmond. Tonight Chris Mooney’s Richmond club travels (commutes?) to VCU in a key matchup Short on distance, this one as it stands, will have implications in the matter of Atlantic Ten standings. For now, we take a closer and brief statistical profile of the Spiders. Courtesy of Kenpom.com.
Possessions: 68
Offensive efficiency: 110
Defensive efficiency: 99
Not your walk it up the floor Princeton offense tempo. A 70 possession tempo is decidedly uptempo. At 68, Richmond shows evidence of an opportunity break team- one that will not force the pace but will run if the opportunity presents itself.
At 110, the offense is running as a well-oiled machine- efficient and effective. The defensive efficiency of 99 is above average yet borderline. Looking at the bigger picture, it’s significantly better than the 110 defensive metric posted in last season’s 13-20 debacle.
The Four Factors:
| eFG | FT Rate | OREB pct | TO rate | |
| Richmond | 54 | 26 | 21 | 16 |
| Opponents | 48 | 32 | 29 | 20 |
Over one third (34%) of Richmond’s points are manufactured beyond the arc. A 38% three point field goal percentage (with Nick Sherod 43 % and Jacob Gilyard 40%) attest to their perimeter prowess. Defensively they are not turning teams over but are getting stops are getting necessary stops. The objective is keeping your turnover rate (turnovers/possessions) under 20%. On defense you want to force your opponents into a rate, 20% or higher. Like the 26% rate Mike Rhoades’ defense inflicts on the opposition.
Ft rate divides field goal attempts by free throw attempts. Richmond’s outside attack translate into less trips to the charity stripe. Their -8 difference on the offensive boards is largely contributing to the opposition’s high Ft rate. Allowing second chances allows an opponent to get a much better look and an opportunity to draw a foul. Definitely something to consider as one lines up against a VCU team, featuring Marcus Santos-Silva inside, rebounding 28% of their misses.
