Richmond Wins Season Opener
The Richmond Spiders defeated the Morehead State Eagles by a score of 82-64 tonight from Rupp Arena. The Spiders were led by Nathan Cayo with 23 points, who had a perfect night from the field, going 10-10. Cayo was one of four Spiders in double digits, as Gilyard, Francis, & Golden also had 13+ in the opening night victory. Richmond led for more than 37 minutes of this one, and once they found their groove, there was no turning back.
Shot Selection
One thing that stuck out to me tonight was the shot selection from Richmond. There weren’t many shots that seemed to be forced (at least I think due to the stream). Jacob Gilyard had another Jacob Gilyard night contributing in just about every way possible. Early on, he had some nice assists to Cayo as they had very good chemistry in this one. As a team, Richmond shot 55.6% (35-63) tonight. Grant Golden was a solid 8-10 tonight and added 4 rebounds as well, passing Johnny Newman for 9th on the all time Richmond career rebounds list. Tyler Burton did not shoot particularly well tonight, but he contributed on the glass, as he snagged 12 of the Spiders 35 rebounds.
Scoring in the Paint
Richmond outscored Morehead State 52-26 down low tonight. We know that Morehead State is a 300+ KenPom team, but this was good to see considering the Spiders have Kentucky on Sunday. Talking about scoring the paint, Richmond not only needs to get to the free throw line more, but they need to shoot better than 5-12. Again, there were no exhibitions or anything this offseason so this was kind of a cold turkey start to the season. It is something to keep an eye on for sure, but expect this percentage to go way up this season.
Road Ahead
The game that everyone has had circled which is #10 Kentucky on Sunday at 1:00 (ESPN). This is no easy task for Richmond, but it is a game that they definitely have a shot in. As Coach Calipari said in his press conference on Wednesday, Kentucky really benefits from their fans at Rupp Arena. With a limited capacity, this gives Richmond an advantage for sure. As always, be sure to follow @AustinDaisey11 & @A10Talk on Twitter for all up to date Richmond Spiders and A10 Basketball news. We will see you on Sunday Spider Nation!
*featured image via richmondspiders.com
