The #19 Richmond Spiders were defeated by #11 West Virginia Mountaineers this afternoon by a score of 87-71. Turnovers were a difference maker for the Spiders in this one, as they coughed up the rock 16 times in their defeat. Not only were the turnovers a big issue, but the Mountaineers were lights out for all 40 minutes. They shot 36-52 overall, including 8-14 from deep in their victory today. 19 points can be attributed to Spider turnovers this afternoon, which is a recipe for disaster against a team of this caliber. We learned today that West Virginia is legit, and if they can just shoot halfway as good as they did today, they will be making noise in the tournament. Nathan Cayo and Tyler Burton were the leading scorers for Richmond with 14 points.
Breaking it Down
If this was a game that you just caught the box score, yes, you would think Richmond played terribly. In all honesty, if Richmond could’ve cut down on the turnovers, this one would’ve been much closer than the final dictates. I was personally impressed with Sal Koureissi’s defensive performance tonight. He did a great job of filling the lane and just being tall in his 12 minutes of work, which will bode well for his confidence as we head into late December. Grant Golden got off to a hot start in this one, but his contribution was really limited as the game progressed. He finished with 9 points,but also had 6 turnovers as well. He shot the ball well, going 3-4 from the field and picked up just one personal foul. Tyler Burton had another impressive game, finishing with 14 points and 10 rebounds, giving him back to back double-doubles. This was a game where it was apparent that this team missed Nick Sherod’s presence from beyond the arc. As a team, Richmond shot 6-26 from deep. Blake Francis was cold in this one, shooting 5-17 and finished with 12 points. Connor Crabtree finally made his Spider debut in the final 2 minutes where he knocked down a 3 pair of free throws.
Road Ahead
The Spiders have a busy week ahead of them. They will play Vanderbilt on Wednesday in Nashville before heading to Indianapolis to face Loyola-Chicago on Friday night due to the Duquesne game being postponed for this coming Saturday. As always, be sure to stay up to date on all things Richmond basketball on Twitter at @AustinDaisey11 & @A10Talk. We will see you on Wednesday Spider Nation!
