Atlantic 10 Conference Basketball Tournament |
|
A10 Fans Home |
Atlantic 10 Quarterfinals Recap(3) Richmond 77, (11) Massachusetts 71
Richmond , a team that people are expecting big things from in the NCAA Tournament, seemed to be on its way to a routine rout of a lesser opponent. The Spiders nailed an eye-popping 9-of-13 3-pointers in the first half and had a commanding 38-21 lead at intermission. So much for second-half cruise control, as the Minutemen embarked on a frantic comeback that saw them whittle the deficit down to five points on several occasions. The higher-seeded Spiders made their freebies down the stretch to keep a lead. As folks like to say this time of the year, survive and advance. The Big Picture: Next Thursday or Friday, when Chris Mooney's squad is playing a first round game in the Big Dance and things get tight, a test like the sort UMass provided in the second half on Friday might just help it to persevere and win. Paced by dynamic, high-scoring senior guard Ricky Harris's 15 second half points, the Minutemen shot themselves back into a game that had seemingly been over at the half. Faced with the challenge of holding off a team with all the momentum and nothing to lose, the Spiders were a study in timely shooting and basketball fundamentals. Richmond held off the UMass comeback by continuing to execute its offense, which enabled the Spiders to score 22 of their 39 second-half points in the paint. Guards Kevin Anderson and David Gonzalvez also didn't make mistakes with the rock; Richmond had only 4 second half turnovers. The Good: For a team with the depth of the cast of The Bad Girls Club, Richmond plays with remarkable precision. Anderson and Gonzalvez logged 38 and 37 minutes respectively on Friday, yet they only turned the ball over three times between the two of them. Senior forward Ryan Butler played 35 solid minutes, handing out 4 assists, grabbing 7 boards, and scoring 14 points. Depth doesn't matter when your starters are able to play at such a high level for extended periods of time.
The Bad: The Minuteman dug their 17-point first half hole by repeatedly leaving Richmond's shooters open; especially beyond the arc – not a good strategy against a team that shoots as well as the Spiders do. Richmond made UMass pay, draining 9 first-half triples. If the 27 points Richmond got from threes were the only points the Spiders scored in the first half, they still would've led 27-21 at the half. The Ugly: We like UMass guard Ricky Harris. We really do. He's been lots of fun to watch the past few seasons, and he had a great second half. However, his shot selection on Friday would've made Allen Iverson think twice. Despite it being clear that he couldn't dial-in from long distance, he kept chucking threes. Harris finished 1-of-9 beyond the arc.
What's Next Richmond is almost certainly guaranteed a spot in the field of 65. That being said, an A-10 Tournament semifinal win over Xavier on Saturday would go a long way towards helping the Spiders get a decent seed. Since Xavier won the only meeting between the two teams this season, the issue of payback is there as well. The Minutemen will not be playing in the postseason, but with all major contributors except for Ricky Harris returning, they might be positioned to make some noise in the A-10 next season.
By: Tim Coyne |