I had a lot of fun with these last season but haven't been able to do any yet so far this year. Wow how things have changed! Instead of simply looking for our first tournament berth for the first time since I became a Spider we now have much loftier expectations which include being the #19 team in the country! Beating Kentucky? A pipe dream 3 years ago but one that we accomplished easily. Facing West Virginia and Huggins will be a hell of a lot of fun too, and I promise (hope) I won't complain about the officiating.
West Virginia (5-1)
This is a team that has started out the year strong. So far the only team that has stopped them is THE #1 ranked Gonzaga Bulldogs. They have wins over South Dakota State (#78), VCU (#63), Western Kentucky (#82), Georgetown (#97), and North Texas (#108). While none of these are great wins, that is 5 wins against top 108 teams, and 4 wins against top 100 teams. They have simply beat the guys on their schedule, with the exception of a stellar Gonzaga team that may be the best one Mark Few has had. We also are West Virginia's last game before they open conference play, as they are set to start against Iowa State on the 18th and then face Kansas just 4 days later. Maybe we can catch them looking forward to that, although I doubt it given the 19 before Richmond. This is a very good West Virginia basketball team, and we will not be afforded the same advantages we had against Kentucky.
Key Players?
8th year senior Jevonte Carter is their best player defensively. Just kidding, just wanted to throw his name in there. I would argue that their best player is Junior Forward Derek Culver. He has taken quite the leap this year, averaging 14.5PPG on 67.7% shooting with 10.7 rebounds, 2 assists, and 1.5 blocks. He is averaging 3.7 offensive boards per game which is something that we will have to watch out for. Culver is 6'10" and will be a threat all game on the inside. He only averages two assists per game, but if he can find the open guy for 3 a few times we may see him responsible for 4 assists and 12 points. Culver is pretty consistent, as he scored only 7 points in the opener (but had 14 rebounds and 4 blocks), and had between 10-23 points in every other game. He also had a game against Western Kentucky where he had only one rebound. He has had 15 boards in two games now, VCU and Gonzaga. Stopping him seems like it is going to be the key to victory. His 23 point game also came against VCU. He can get in foul trouble though, as he had 4 straight games with 3+ fouls committed. If Grant and Nathan are able to get some fouls on him early it could be a game changer.
The guy who really runs this offense is Miles McBride. McBride is a sophomore and stands 6'2". This season he is averaging 13.7PPG on 39.4% shooting and 4.5 assists per game. He had 23 points in the opener against San Diego State, but most recently had only 6 points against North Texas. His assist totals have been pretty consistent, ranging from 3 to 7 (against Georgetown). He can get a few steals as well, as he had 4 against Georgetown. I don't think this will be an issue for our seniors though. He has been decent from 3, shooting 36.8%. The most he has made in a game is 2, and if you take out his 1-6 performance in the opener his percentage shoots up to 46%. He's a low volume 3 point shooter, but he will knock them down when open. We want to avoid closing in on Culver and having him kick it out here to McBride.
Taz Sherman and Sean McNeil are the two other guys averaging double figures. Sherman is averaging 12PPG in only 23 minutes, and McNeil 11PPG. Sherman is only grabbing 1.3 rebounds per game and is averaging 1 assist to go with 2 turnovers. I would not be surprised to see Gilyard give this guy fits. Sherman is a senior though, so you never know when he is going to step up. He comes off the bench, so it seems like he is really in there to score and provide instant offense. He is shooting 46.3% from the field and 47.6% from 3, so stopping him from shooting the long ball needs to be a priority. Sherman is 6'4" and McNeil is 6'3", so our guys are going to have all they can handle. McNeil went from bench player to starter this year, and doubled his PPG from 5.5 to 11, but has only shot 31.3% from the field and 28.6% from 3. He is shooting 5.8 3's per game, and if he is going to shoot at that low a clip we should let him take them.
The next forwards to score are really not treating much, as they score 7.7, 7.3, and 4.3 points per game. Oscar Tshiebwe averages 8 rebounds per game, and Gabe Osabuohien averages 6. Neither are anything special from the field, as both are shooting under 40%.
Keys To Victory?
Rebounding. It feels like the easy way out, but rebounding is going to be the biggest thing here. West Virginia averages 42.3 boards per game while we only grab 34.3, a difference of 8! They also shoot 39.9% from the field while we shoot 49%. If we shoot 9% better than them we will win, but we need to make sure we follow up their misses with rebounds. I think this is a game where Burton, Cayo, and Golden will need to play dirty in the trenches. None of the Pau Gasol and Anthony Davis "big man" where they don't play in the trenches. We need Udonis Haslem type of effort out here to win this. We are close in turnovers (11 for us to 11.5 for them), but we average 3 more steals (8.5 to 5.5). If we can force some turnovers that would be huge, and we need to focus on limiting unforced turnovers. This is a tough team, and is one that we will need to play tough. Grant will need to stand in there for his minutes and take his blows. He's going to be fouled and the refs are going to let it go. He's not going to like it but he needs to understand the physically that is going to happen here. If he can channel something here to get him through this I think we can easily win. For me he is the key in this game. We need you Grant, and I think you are going to deliver.
West Virginia (5-1)
This is a team that has started out the year strong. So far the only team that has stopped them is THE #1 ranked Gonzaga Bulldogs. They have wins over South Dakota State (#78), VCU (#63), Western Kentucky (#82), Georgetown (#97), and North Texas (#108). While none of these are great wins, that is 5 wins against top 108 teams, and 4 wins against top 100 teams. They have simply beat the guys on their schedule, with the exception of a stellar Gonzaga team that may be the best one Mark Few has had. We also are West Virginia's last game before they open conference play, as they are set to start against Iowa State on the 18th and then face Kansas just 4 days later. Maybe we can catch them looking forward to that, although I doubt it given the 19 before Richmond. This is a very good West Virginia basketball team, and we will not be afforded the same advantages we had against Kentucky.
Key Players?
8th year senior Jevonte Carter is their best player defensively. Just kidding, just wanted to throw his name in there. I would argue that their best player is Junior Forward Derek Culver. He has taken quite the leap this year, averaging 14.5PPG on 67.7% shooting with 10.7 rebounds, 2 assists, and 1.5 blocks. He is averaging 3.7 offensive boards per game which is something that we will have to watch out for. Culver is 6'10" and will be a threat all game on the inside. He only averages two assists per game, but if he can find the open guy for 3 a few times we may see him responsible for 4 assists and 12 points. Culver is pretty consistent, as he scored only 7 points in the opener (but had 14 rebounds and 4 blocks), and had between 10-23 points in every other game. He also had a game against Western Kentucky where he had only one rebound. He has had 15 boards in two games now, VCU and Gonzaga. Stopping him seems like it is going to be the key to victory. His 23 point game also came against VCU. He can get in foul trouble though, as he had 4 straight games with 3+ fouls committed. If Grant and Nathan are able to get some fouls on him early it could be a game changer.
The guy who really runs this offense is Miles McBride. McBride is a sophomore and stands 6'2". This season he is averaging 13.7PPG on 39.4% shooting and 4.5 assists per game. He had 23 points in the opener against San Diego State, but most recently had only 6 points against North Texas. His assist totals have been pretty consistent, ranging from 3 to 7 (against Georgetown). He can get a few steals as well, as he had 4 against Georgetown. I don't think this will be an issue for our seniors though. He has been decent from 3, shooting 36.8%. The most he has made in a game is 2, and if you take out his 1-6 performance in the opener his percentage shoots up to 46%. He's a low volume 3 point shooter, but he will knock them down when open. We want to avoid closing in on Culver and having him kick it out here to McBride.
Taz Sherman and Sean McNeil are the two other guys averaging double figures. Sherman is averaging 12PPG in only 23 minutes, and McNeil 11PPG. Sherman is only grabbing 1.3 rebounds per game and is averaging 1 assist to go with 2 turnovers. I would not be surprised to see Gilyard give this guy fits. Sherman is a senior though, so you never know when he is going to step up. He comes off the bench, so it seems like he is really in there to score and provide instant offense. He is shooting 46.3% from the field and 47.6% from 3, so stopping him from shooting the long ball needs to be a priority. Sherman is 6'4" and McNeil is 6'3", so our guys are going to have all they can handle. McNeil went from bench player to starter this year, and doubled his PPG from 5.5 to 11, but has only shot 31.3% from the field and 28.6% from 3. He is shooting 5.8 3's per game, and if he is going to shoot at that low a clip we should let him take them.
The next forwards to score are really not treating much, as they score 7.7, 7.3, and 4.3 points per game. Oscar Tshiebwe averages 8 rebounds per game, and Gabe Osabuohien averages 6. Neither are anything special from the field, as both are shooting under 40%.
Keys To Victory?
Rebounding. It feels like the easy way out, but rebounding is going to be the biggest thing here. West Virginia averages 42.3 boards per game while we only grab 34.3, a difference of 8! They also shoot 39.9% from the field while we shoot 49%. If we shoot 9% better than them we will win, but we need to make sure we follow up their misses with rebounds. I think this is a game where Burton, Cayo, and Golden will need to play dirty in the trenches. None of the Pau Gasol and Anthony Davis "big man" where they don't play in the trenches. We need Udonis Haslem type of effort out here to win this. We are close in turnovers (11 for us to 11.5 for them), but we average 3 more steals (8.5 to 5.5). If we can force some turnovers that would be huge, and we need to focus on limiting unforced turnovers. This is a tough team, and is one that we will need to play tough. Grant will need to stand in there for his minutes and take his blows. He's going to be fouled and the refs are going to let it go. He's not going to like it but he needs to understand the physically that is going to happen here. If he can channel something here to get him through this I think we can easily win. For me he is the key in this game. We need you Grant, and I think you are going to deliver.
