When: Thursday, December 31 6 pm
Where: Greensboro Coliseum (7,617/23,500)
TV: Fox Sports Net
NC State Athletics
PackPride (forum)
StateFans Nation (blog)
Backing the Pack (blog)
Spartan Notes:
- Last time out, Wake Forest turned back a late Spartan rally to win, 75-60. Ben Stywall lead 4 UNCG players in double figures with 13 points and 14 rebounds.
- The Wolfpack will be the 5th team from the ACC that UNCG will face this season. So far, the Spartans have played well at times against Duke, Virginia Tech, Clemson and Wake Forest.
- The Spartans are still looking for their first win in their new home,the Greensboro Coliseum. The Spartans are 0-5 at home and have lost those games by an average of 15.2 points.
- Brandon Evans leads UNCG in scoring (12.2). Stywall is averaging 11.8 points and a team best 9.2 rebounds. Kyle Randall leads the team in assists (2.4).
- For the year, UNCG is shooting 38.5% from the field, 31.1% from behind the arc and 69.9% from the free throw line
Wolfpack Notes:
- Tuesday night, NC State jumped out to a 32-9 lead and cruised to a 68-52 win over Winthrop. Dennis Horner lead the Wolfpack with 12 points.
- NC State comes into the Greensboro Coliseum with a road record of 1-2. So far, State has won at Marquette and lost at Arizona & Wake Forest.
- The Wolfpack has already defeated two SoCon teams this season. Georgia Southern (75-57) and Elon (79-76) both fell to NC State at the RBC Center in Raleigh.
- Ten NC State players are averaging playing over 10 minutes a game. All of NC State's primary ball handlers (Javier Gonzalez, Farnold Degand, CJ Williams & Julius Mays) have a positive assist-to-turnover ratio.
- Tracy Smith leads the Wolfpack in scoring (16.8) and rebounding (9.2). Gonzalez leads in assists (5.8).
- For the season, NC State is shooting 45.7% from the field, 34.2% from behind the arc and 63.6% from the free throw line.
My Thoughts:
This game has the potential to be very interesting. NC State is not a particularly great rebounding team that has struggled at times with turnovers. While they do have some size, they are not the super tall team like Duke or Wake Forest. Also, the Wolfpack has struggled at the free throw line.
However, NC State does shoot the ball well from the field, especially behind the arc. They have very capable three point shooters at 4 of the 5 positions on the floor. The Wolfpack have been involved in quite a few close games this season. Three of their games have been one possession games. The Pack is 2-1 in those games. Also, they have played close games against several mid-major schools. If this is a close game with UNCG, NC State will not panic.
Let's hope that UNCG brings the same fire and passion to the court that they brought on Monday. The Spartans can be very competitive with NC State playing with that kind of energy. I expect there to be quite a few people in the Greensboro Coliseum. The atmosphere will be electric. Let's hope the home team can feed off that and get the victory.
Go Spartans !!!
Wednesday, December 30, 2009
Tuesday, December 29, 2009
Wake Blocks UNCG Upset Attempt
UNCG 60 - Wake Forest 75
News & Record
W-S Journal
UNCG Athletics
Wake Forest Athletics
Wake Forest ended the game on a 16-4 run to turn back the Spartan upset bid. Wake was lead by Al-farouq Aminu's 23 points and 17 rebounds. The Demon Deacons finished the game with 16 blocked shots.
Positives
- Turnovers --- UNCG has been hampered this season by turnovers. Against Wake Forest, the guards took much better care of the ball. Kyle Randall, Montel Smith and all of the other Spartans that primarily handled the ball did a fine job of navigating through Wake's tall players and trapping press.
- Big men battle --- I thought that the undersized UNCG big men did a very solid job battling (what seemed like) an endless stream of Wake big men. After Brian Cole's 3 pointer, it was fun to watch Deacs have to follow him out to the perimeter. Cole, Elhanan Bone and Ben Stywall did a tremendous job of fighting for position and tapping balls around that they couldn't coral until other Spartans could pull the ball in.
- Ben Stywall --- After a couple of "off" games for Ben, he stepped up big time to help with rebounding (UNCG 44-Wake 42) and second chance points (UNCG 23-Wake 9). Ben finished the game with 13 points and 14 rebounds.
Negatives
Block party --- Wake finished the game with 16 blocks. Some of that is a product of being the tallest team in college basketball. However, some of it was UNCG players penetrating too far and not having an idea of what they were going to do when they got to the basket. Hopefully, the guys had a chance to look at the film and come up with a better idea of what they want to do the next time they are in these situations.
All-in-all it was a fun atmosphere and the Spartans brought fire to the floor Monday night. Hopefully they can recreate this energy on Thursday night to give Spartan fans something more to celebrate.
News & Record
W-S Journal
UNCG Athletics
Wake Forest Athletics
Wake Forest ended the game on a 16-4 run to turn back the Spartan upset bid. Wake was lead by Al-farouq Aminu's 23 points and 17 rebounds. The Demon Deacons finished the game with 16 blocked shots.
Positives
- Turnovers --- UNCG has been hampered this season by turnovers. Against Wake Forest, the guards took much better care of the ball. Kyle Randall, Montel Smith and all of the other Spartans that primarily handled the ball did a fine job of navigating through Wake's tall players and trapping press.
- Big men battle --- I thought that the undersized UNCG big men did a very solid job battling (what seemed like) an endless stream of Wake big men. After Brian Cole's 3 pointer, it was fun to watch Deacs have to follow him out to the perimeter. Cole, Elhanan Bone and Ben Stywall did a tremendous job of fighting for position and tapping balls around that they couldn't coral until other Spartans could pull the ball in.
- Ben Stywall --- After a couple of "off" games for Ben, he stepped up big time to help with rebounding (UNCG 44-Wake 42) and second chance points (UNCG 23-Wake 9). Ben finished the game with 13 points and 14 rebounds.
Negatives
Block party --- Wake finished the game with 16 blocks. Some of that is a product of being the tallest team in college basketball. However, some of it was UNCG players penetrating too far and not having an idea of what they were going to do when they got to the basket. Hopefully, the guys had a chance to look at the film and come up with a better idea of what they want to do the next time they are in these situations.
All-in-all it was a fun atmosphere and the Spartans brought fire to the floor Monday night. Hopefully they can recreate this energy on Thursday night to give Spartan fans something more to celebrate.
Monday, December 28, 2009
Know You Enemy - Wake Edition
Even through all of the holiday madness, Wake Forest blogger Martin Rickman made time to answer a few of my questions about the Demon Deacons. Martin's site, Blogger So Dear, is a great site and I highly advise you all to check it out. You can find my answers here.
In the 2 games I've seen live, Al-farouq Aminu has been interesting to watch. He was impressive against NC Sate doing all the things you would expect a 6'-9" athlete to do, including a very impressive dunk. However, against William & Mary, he seemed content to just shoot (and miss) a lot of three point attempts. Give me your assessment of Aminu so far this season.
Aminu has not been himself so far. That said, it is hard to ignore or discount the fact that he is averaging a double-double and has the capability to dominate games in stretches (as we saw during the NC State game).
His problems have been two-fold. His decision-making has been a bit suspect--he'll take a shot he doesn't need to when he has the lane, he will not exploit the fact that he can back down just about anybody, etc... In addition, he has been way too generous with the ball. Rather than throwing an outlet pass and running the floor on the break, he'll try to take it coast to coast. He's been sloppy in general and has been turning it over a ton.
Our fans have a tendency to exaggerate our problems and Aminu is a good example. He may have a flashy dunk here and there, but most of his plays are garbage buckets and putbacks. That's just his game. When he cuts down on the turnovers and stays within himself, he just might be the best player in the ACC.
Monday's game will be the second Wake has played in the Greensboro Coliseum this year. The first, an 89-58 win over ECU, seemed to work out pretty well for the Deacs. Do you like the idea of giving up a couple of home "money" games in order for your team to get experience playing in the Coliseum?
I love it. As I'll explain more below, Dino has done a great job of taking on these road games. The Coliseum is close and gives us an opportunity to play road games in a friendly environment. Plus, it gets us prepared for the ACC Tournament, helping with site lines and familiarizing the team with the venue in general. And this might be a bit of a stretch, but it may bring a little more exposure to the school. Hey, Wake is always looking for ways to steal some fans from the schools down the road.
Coach Dino Gaudio has taken his share of criticism. What do you like and dislike about Gaudio as a coach
Maybe I'm just optimistic, maybe I'm a bit defensive, maybe it is because I covered a majority of the games last year, but I am really not as critical of Dino as a lot of other people. He has shown that he has a plan for the team and is putting in those measures little by little.
He has transformed the defense from one that was almost nonexistent to one that is one of the best in the nation at defending the three and packing the middle, leading to a ton of blocks. We also do a great job of rebounding (especially on the offensive glass).
Another positive has been his recruiting, although it is too early to accurately judge this. He looks to be bringing in a different type of player--and this year's class of CJ Harris and Ari Stewart are good examples. Next year's class is the money class, and if they flop, Dino goes, if they succeed, well, maybe that will take the heat off of him.
On the flip side, there are some things Dino definitely needs to work on. The half-court offense is atrocious. I mean, it's bad. The vaunted big men have not progressed and there is almost no production out of them. Free throw shooting is horrendous and we turn the ball over way too much. The team is sloppy as a whole. These are things that should be easy to fix and they haven't gotten any better at it.
Wake Forest lost a ton of firepower when James Johnson and Jeff Teague left for the NBA. How was Wake tried to offset the loss of these two great players?
When the season started, I really thought Farouq would be the one taking a ton of the scoring bulk. The biggest change has been the emergence of CJ Harris. He has shown a lot of Teague in him with his ability to shoot the basketball and drive the lane. Plus, Ari Stewart has done a good job of coming off the bench and scoring. Gary Clark has shown a lot of promise in stretches.
Overall, it just is a matter of balance. When Wake gets production out of 8-9 players, they are in good shape. We don't have the "playmakers" per se like James and Jeff, but Ish Smith has definitely become more of a focal point. This is his (and in a similar regard LD Williams's) team. When he goes, the Demon Deacons go.
Do you ever get tired of hearing that Zombie Nation song?
For our team, no. When other teams use it, yes. I'd be lying if I said I do get a little tired of our fight song at times, especially when we play it after something bad happens or we're getting smoked.
Having been born and raised in Winston-Salem, I've got to witness first hand the relationship between the city and school. It seems like over the last 6-7 years that Wake Forest and Winston-Salem have really started to embrace each other. Do you agree? What do you think brought about the change?
I think so. The biggest reason for this has been Ron Wellman. I don't know if we will really realize just how much he has impacted Wake Forest athletics until he leaves (and my money is that he'll end up as the next ACC commissioner). The guy has really tried to bring the city and the school together and this is something we definitely needed to have happen.
The Dash has a lot more people than most people think and it should love this school rather than outsourcing their fandom to places like Duke, UNC and State. Wellman (and President Hatch) need to keep this up and make Winston-Salem and Wake Forest a community. It will be interesting to see what other plans are in the works.
Prediction Time. How do you see the game going? Does Wake have any holiday hangover or do they destroy the Spartans? Give me a score.
Wake starts slow, but ultimately establishes their gameplan with defense and a lot of transition buckets. The hangover might last until midway through the half, but they will be able to control the tempo. They shoot about 52% and hold UNC-G to 38%. Wake wins by some range of about 18-25.
In the 2 games I've seen live, Al-farouq Aminu has been interesting to watch. He was impressive against NC Sate doing all the things you would expect a 6'-9" athlete to do, including a very impressive dunk. However, against William & Mary, he seemed content to just shoot (and miss) a lot of three point attempts. Give me your assessment of Aminu so far this season.
Aminu has not been himself so far. That said, it is hard to ignore or discount the fact that he is averaging a double-double and has the capability to dominate games in stretches (as we saw during the NC State game).
His problems have been two-fold. His decision-making has been a bit suspect--he'll take a shot he doesn't need to when he has the lane, he will not exploit the fact that he can back down just about anybody, etc... In addition, he has been way too generous with the ball. Rather than throwing an outlet pass and running the floor on the break, he'll try to take it coast to coast. He's been sloppy in general and has been turning it over a ton.
Our fans have a tendency to exaggerate our problems and Aminu is a good example. He may have a flashy dunk here and there, but most of his plays are garbage buckets and putbacks. That's just his game. When he cuts down on the turnovers and stays within himself, he just might be the best player in the ACC.
Monday's game will be the second Wake has played in the Greensboro Coliseum this year. The first, an 89-58 win over ECU, seemed to work out pretty well for the Deacs. Do you like the idea of giving up a couple of home "money" games in order for your team to get experience playing in the Coliseum?
I love it. As I'll explain more below, Dino has done a great job of taking on these road games. The Coliseum is close and gives us an opportunity to play road games in a friendly environment. Plus, it gets us prepared for the ACC Tournament, helping with site lines and familiarizing the team with the venue in general. And this might be a bit of a stretch, but it may bring a little more exposure to the school. Hey, Wake is always looking for ways to steal some fans from the schools down the road.
Coach Dino Gaudio has taken his share of criticism. What do you like and dislike about Gaudio as a coach
Maybe I'm just optimistic, maybe I'm a bit defensive, maybe it is because I covered a majority of the games last year, but I am really not as critical of Dino as a lot of other people. He has shown that he has a plan for the team and is putting in those measures little by little.
He has transformed the defense from one that was almost nonexistent to one that is one of the best in the nation at defending the three and packing the middle, leading to a ton of blocks. We also do a great job of rebounding (especially on the offensive glass).
Another positive has been his recruiting, although it is too early to accurately judge this. He looks to be bringing in a different type of player--and this year's class of CJ Harris and Ari Stewart are good examples. Next year's class is the money class, and if they flop, Dino goes, if they succeed, well, maybe that will take the heat off of him.
On the flip side, there are some things Dino definitely needs to work on. The half-court offense is atrocious. I mean, it's bad. The vaunted big men have not progressed and there is almost no production out of them. Free throw shooting is horrendous and we turn the ball over way too much. The team is sloppy as a whole. These are things that should be easy to fix and they haven't gotten any better at it.
Wake Forest lost a ton of firepower when James Johnson and Jeff Teague left for the NBA. How was Wake tried to offset the loss of these two great players?
When the season started, I really thought Farouq would be the one taking a ton of the scoring bulk. The biggest change has been the emergence of CJ Harris. He has shown a lot of Teague in him with his ability to shoot the basketball and drive the lane. Plus, Ari Stewart has done a good job of coming off the bench and scoring. Gary Clark has shown a lot of promise in stretches.
Overall, it just is a matter of balance. When Wake gets production out of 8-9 players, they are in good shape. We don't have the "playmakers" per se like James and Jeff, but Ish Smith has definitely become more of a focal point. This is his (and in a similar regard LD Williams's) team. When he goes, the Demon Deacons go.
Do you ever get tired of hearing that Zombie Nation song?
For our team, no. When other teams use it, yes. I'd be lying if I said I do get a little tired of our fight song at times, especially when we play it after something bad happens or we're getting smoked.
Having been born and raised in Winston-Salem, I've got to witness first hand the relationship between the city and school. It seems like over the last 6-7 years that Wake Forest and Winston-Salem have really started to embrace each other. Do you agree? What do you think brought about the change?
I think so. The biggest reason for this has been Ron Wellman. I don't know if we will really realize just how much he has impacted Wake Forest athletics until he leaves (and my money is that he'll end up as the next ACC commissioner). The guy has really tried to bring the city and the school together and this is something we definitely needed to have happen.
The Dash has a lot more people than most people think and it should love this school rather than outsourcing their fandom to places like Duke, UNC and State. Wellman (and President Hatch) need to keep this up and make Winston-Salem and Wake Forest a community. It will be interesting to see what other plans are in the works.
Prediction Time. How do you see the game going? Does Wake have any holiday hangover or do they destroy the Spartans? Give me a score.
Wake starts slow, but ultimately establishes their gameplan with defense and a lot of transition buckets. The hangover might last until midway through the half, but they will be able to control the tempo. They shoot about 52% and hold UNC-G to 38%. Wake wins by some range of about 18-25.
Wake Forest (8-2) @ UNCG (2-8)
When: Monday, December 28 7 pm
Where: Greensboro Coliseum (7,617/23,500)
TV: None
Wake Forest Athletics
WFU Forum
Blogger So Dear
Spartan Notes:
-Last time out, UNCG went ahead early but quickly fell behind a very good Richmond team. The Spartans lost 89-63. Brandon Evan scored 22 points.
- Evans has scored in double figures in 7 of the last 8 games.
- This is the first time Wake Forest has played at UNCG.
- This game marks the first of three straight ACC opponents for UNCG. The Spartans host NC State (Dec 31) and Maryland (Jan 3) before jumping into SoCon play next week.
-Evans leads UNCG in scoring (12.4). Ben Stywall leads the team in rebounding (8.7) and Kyle Randall leads in assists (2.4).
- For the season, UNCG is shooting 39.4% from the field, 31.5% from behind the arc and 69.3%from the free throw line.
Demon Deacon Notes:
- The Deacons have been off since a 67-59 win over NC State on December 20. Al-farouq Aminu lead Wake Forest with 18 points and 13 rebounds.
-Media members picked Wake Forest 6th in the preseason ACC basketball poll.
- The Demon Deacons have already defeated one Southern Conference team. Elon fell to Wake 90-50 on December 13 at LJVM Coliseum.
- Wake Forest has already played one game on the Spartans home floor. The Deacs defeated ECU, a common UNCG opponent, 89-58 at the Greensboro Coliseum.
- Aminu leads Wake Forest in scoring (16.1) and rebounding(10.7). Ish Smith leads the team in assists (5.3).
- For the year, Wake is shooting 46.9% from the field, 34.6% from behind the arc and 64.5% from the free throw line.
My Thoughts:
Without trying to be pessimistic, this is a very tough matchup for the Spartans. Wake has lots of size. It hurts even more that those players are super talented too. Wake shoots well, rebounds well and plays very tough defense.
However, the Deacons turn the ball over quite a bit and often get bogged down on the offensive end. As with all of the Spartans tough non-conference opponents, UNCG will have to play exceptionally well to have a chance. The Spartans will need to bring a lot of energy to the court, shoot well and limit mistakes.
Go Spartans !!!
Where: Greensboro Coliseum (7,617/23,500)
TV: None
Wake Forest Athletics
WFU Forum
Blogger So Dear
Spartan Notes:
-Last time out, UNCG went ahead early but quickly fell behind a very good Richmond team. The Spartans lost 89-63. Brandon Evan scored 22 points.
- Evans has scored in double figures in 7 of the last 8 games.
- This is the first time Wake Forest has played at UNCG.
- This game marks the first of three straight ACC opponents for UNCG. The Spartans host NC State (Dec 31) and Maryland (Jan 3) before jumping into SoCon play next week.
-Evans leads UNCG in scoring (12.4). Ben Stywall leads the team in rebounding (8.7) and Kyle Randall leads in assists (2.4).
- For the season, UNCG is shooting 39.4% from the field, 31.5% from behind the arc and 69.3%from the free throw line.
Demon Deacon Notes:
- The Deacons have been off since a 67-59 win over NC State on December 20. Al-farouq Aminu lead Wake Forest with 18 points and 13 rebounds.
-Media members picked Wake Forest 6th in the preseason ACC basketball poll.
- The Demon Deacons have already defeated one Southern Conference team. Elon fell to Wake 90-50 on December 13 at LJVM Coliseum.
- Wake Forest has already played one game on the Spartans home floor. The Deacs defeated ECU, a common UNCG opponent, 89-58 at the Greensboro Coliseum.
- Aminu leads Wake Forest in scoring (16.1) and rebounding(10.7). Ish Smith leads the team in assists (5.3).
- For the year, Wake is shooting 46.9% from the field, 34.6% from behind the arc and 64.5% from the free throw line.
My Thoughts:
Without trying to be pessimistic, this is a very tough matchup for the Spartans. Wake has lots of size. It hurts even more that those players are super talented too. Wake shoots well, rebounds well and plays very tough defense.
However, the Deacons turn the ball over quite a bit and often get bogged down on the offensive end. As with all of the Spartans tough non-conference opponents, UNCG will have to play exceptionally well to have a chance. The Spartans will need to bring a lot of energy to the court, shoot well and limit mistakes.
Go Spartans !!!
Thursday, December 24, 2009
Turnovers Bury the Spartans
UNCG 63 - Richmond 89
News & Record
Richmond Times Dispatch
UNCG Athletics
Richmond Athletics
Holiday plans dictate that this post be very brief. I apologize that I can't do the normal game review. I'll be back doing full ones next week.
20 UNCG turnovers, coupled with Richmond shooting 55% squashed any threat of a Spartan upset. Brandon Evans scored 22 points, but he wasn't joined by anyone else in double figures. The Spartans don't play again until next Monday when they host Wake Forest. The Deacs will be the first of 3 straight ACC opponents to visit the Greensboro Coliseum.
News & Record
Richmond Times Dispatch
UNCG Athletics
Richmond Athletics
Holiday plans dictate that this post be very brief. I apologize that I can't do the normal game review. I'll be back doing full ones next week.
20 UNCG turnovers, coupled with Richmond shooting 55% squashed any threat of a Spartan upset. Brandon Evans scored 22 points, but he wasn't joined by anyone else in double figures. The Spartans don't play again until next Monday when they host Wake Forest. The Deacs will be the first of 3 straight ACC opponents to visit the Greensboro Coliseum.
Tuesday, December 22, 2009
Notes
A few quick notes for today ...
- Today's game against Richmond is listed as being carried by Channelsurfing.net. If you're at work, it may be a banned website. So, tread lightly. I don't want to be responsible for anyone getting fired right before the holidays.
However, if you're at home or work at a laid back place (like me), feel free to check it out. As always with Channelsurfing, it may work some times and not others.
- I got an email today from WUAG sports director, Kris Ostrowka. He pointed out that WUAG* would be carrying all UNCG men's basketball games over the winter break. That's great news for everyone in the Greensboro area and beyond. The 103.1 FM signal is stronger than WPET's and I've always found their live stream to be clearer than that of WPET* (the athletics website too). Check out their website for a full schedule.
Also, Kris is the host of the Sports Cycle on Monday night from 7-9 pm on WUAG. Now that I know about the show, I plan on checking it out. I figured I'd let everyone else know about it too.
* It doesn't matter which station you choose to listen in on UNCG basketball. As I pointed out the other night in the WZTK post though, it's a great idea to show the basketball sponsors your patronage. Letting companies know that it's worth it to support UNCG athletics will help the program financially in the future.
- Today's game against Richmond is listed as being carried by Channelsurfing.net. If you're at work, it may be a banned website. So, tread lightly. I don't want to be responsible for anyone getting fired right before the holidays.
However, if you're at home or work at a laid back place (like me), feel free to check it out. As always with Channelsurfing, it may work some times and not others.
- I got an email today from WUAG sports director, Kris Ostrowka. He pointed out that WUAG* would be carrying all UNCG men's basketball games over the winter break. That's great news for everyone in the Greensboro area and beyond. The 103.1 FM signal is stronger than WPET's and I've always found their live stream to be clearer than that of WPET* (the athletics website too). Check out their website for a full schedule.
Also, Kris is the host of the Sports Cycle on Monday night from 7-9 pm on WUAG. Now that I know about the show, I plan on checking it out. I figured I'd let everyone else know about it too.
* It doesn't matter which station you choose to listen in on UNCG basketball. As I pointed out the other night in the WZTK post though, it's a great idea to show the basketball sponsors your patronage. Letting companies know that it's worth it to support UNCG athletics will help the program financially in the future.
Monday, December 21, 2009
UNCG (2-7) @ Richmond (8-3)
When: Tuesday, December 22 12 noon
Where: Robins Center (9,071)
TV: None
Richmond Athletics
Richmond Forum
Spartan Notes:
- Last time out, UNCG fell behind Akron 18-4 and never recovered. The Spartans lost 83-59. Brandon Evans led UNCG with 13 points and 7 rebounds.
- Friday's loss broke a UNCG 2 game road winning streak. The Spartans had previously won at USC-Upstate and Samford.
- After playing at Richmond, the Spartan will have a 5 game home stand starting on 12/28. UNCG will host Wake Forest, NC State, Maryland, Wofford and Furman before going on the road again.
- Ben Stywall (12.0) leads a trio of Spartan players averaging double digits in scoring. Evans (11.3) and Kyle Randall (10.2) are the other players. Stywall also leads UNCG in rebounding (8.7). Randall leads in assists (2.3).
- For the season, UNCG is shooting 39.1% from the field, 32.6% from behind the arc and 69.6% from the free throw line.
Spider Notes:
- On Saturday, Richmond rallied from an 8 point halftime deficit to defeat #13 Florida 56-53. The Spiders held Florida to just 26% shooting in the second half. David Gonzalvez lead the scoring with 16 points.
- Richmond comes into the game sporting a 5-0 home record. Included in that record is a home win over the SoCon's UT-Chattanooga, 75-49.
- The Spiders were selected to finish third in the Atlantic 10 (A10) conference during the preseason. Three players (Gonzalvez, Kevin Anderson & Dan Geriot) were selected as all-conference players.
- Anderson leads Richmond in points (16.5) and assists (3.2). Geriot leads the team in rebounds (5.9).
- For the year, Richmond is shooting 44.0% from the field, 32.8% from behind the arc and 73.7% from the free throw line.
My Thoughts:
I looked over a lot of information to put together this preview. Other than Duke, Richmond is probably the best team the UNCG will play this season. They have a lot of guys that do a lot of things well. They shoot the ball really well and are very solid on defense.
Playing this game at 12 noon is the only thing that may help the Spartans. Maybe this early game time will have the Spiders trying to sleepwalk past UNCG. Also, UNCG's record may contribute to a lack of effort by Richmond. If the team can bring some big energy to the court, maybe they can steal a big road win.
Go Spartans !!!
Where: Robins Center (9,071)
TV: None
Richmond Athletics
Richmond Forum
Spartan Notes:
- Last time out, UNCG fell behind Akron 18-4 and never recovered. The Spartans lost 83-59. Brandon Evans led UNCG with 13 points and 7 rebounds.
- Friday's loss broke a UNCG 2 game road winning streak. The Spartans had previously won at USC-Upstate and Samford.
- After playing at Richmond, the Spartan will have a 5 game home stand starting on 12/28. UNCG will host Wake Forest, NC State, Maryland, Wofford and Furman before going on the road again.
- Ben Stywall (12.0) leads a trio of Spartan players averaging double digits in scoring. Evans (11.3) and Kyle Randall (10.2) are the other players. Stywall also leads UNCG in rebounding (8.7). Randall leads in assists (2.3).
- For the season, UNCG is shooting 39.1% from the field, 32.6% from behind the arc and 69.6% from the free throw line.
Spider Notes:
- On Saturday, Richmond rallied from an 8 point halftime deficit to defeat #13 Florida 56-53. The Spiders held Florida to just 26% shooting in the second half. David Gonzalvez lead the scoring with 16 points.
- Richmond comes into the game sporting a 5-0 home record. Included in that record is a home win over the SoCon's UT-Chattanooga, 75-49.
- The Spiders were selected to finish third in the Atlantic 10 (A10) conference during the preseason. Three players (Gonzalvez, Kevin Anderson & Dan Geriot) were selected as all-conference players.
- Anderson leads Richmond in points (16.5) and assists (3.2). Geriot leads the team in rebounds (5.9).
- For the year, Richmond is shooting 44.0% from the field, 32.8% from behind the arc and 73.7% from the free throw line.
My Thoughts:
I looked over a lot of information to put together this preview. Other than Duke, Richmond is probably the best team the UNCG will play this season. They have a lot of guys that do a lot of things well. They shoot the ball really well and are very solid on defense.
Playing this game at 12 noon is the only thing that may help the Spartans. Maybe this early game time will have the Spiders trying to sleepwalk past UNCG. Also, UNCG's record may contribute to a lack of effort by Richmond. If the team can bring some big energy to the court, maybe they can steal a big road win.
Go Spartans !!!
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