SoCon Monster Game of the Week: Davidson at Richmond

Richmond and Davidson are two teams that are each hoping to make runs in the NCAA Tournament come March, and think that they have teams that could be capable of that. The Spiders started 9-2, with losses to Minnesota and Ohio, two very talented teams. Then, in their two most recent games, the Spiders lost to Kansas and George Mason, two more good teams.

So Richmond has lost to the best teams on their schedule, but they did beat Wofford and Wake Forest, so that does count for something.

Davidson has been similar. They have lost to New Mexico, Gonzaga, Drexel, and Charlotte, who are probably the best teams on their schedule. However, they did beat Vanderbilt and West Virginia. Of course, the Wildcats worst loss was at Wisconsin-Milwaukee. That team is ranked 304 in Pomeroy's rankings, and has only two other wins (one over Mary- which causes one to wonder if William was not available- and one over a terrible Northern Illinois team). So Davidson has lost to the best teams on their schedule, and lost one game they absolutely should not.

The Spiders are lead by Darien Brothers and Derrick Williams. Brothers is averaging 14.9 points per game on 49.2% shooting from the floor, including a stunning 52.9% from three point range. That's on 36 of 68 shooting from long range, not some small number. Brothers is a great shooter. The Wildcats will have to be very aware of where Brothers is at all times.

Williams is 6-6 and 270 pounds. He is shooting nearly 57% from the floor, and is averaging 14.7 points per game. He also leads the team in rebounding with seven boards per game. He will be an absolute beast for the Wildcats to handle. He is a big guy that is very effective inside. The Wildcats will have to find a way to match up to him.

Cedrick Lindsay leads the team in assists with four per game. He is also averaging 10.4 points per game, and shoots 35.5% from three point range. That will be another tough defensive task for the Wildcats.

The Spiders are not a great rebounding team by any means. But they do a great job of drawing fouls and shoot a very high percentage from the floor. They take a lot of threes. According to Pomeroy, they have the 32nd most effective offense in the country. That's going to make for a tough challenge for the Wildcats.

By now, if you are a reader of this blog, you know plenty about Davidson. But it was shocking the way the Wildcats were dominated on the glass against Drexel. They were outrebounded 40-14 against the Dragons. This is critical to the Wildcats. They need to show the proper technique and effort to do a better job on the glass. If they do not, they will continue to struggle against out of conference opponents, and will not be as good as expected in the SoCon.


De'Mon Brooks is the early favorite for SoCon Player of the Year. He is shooting 48.8% from the floor and averaging 15.3 points per game, to go along 6.3 boards and 1.5 steals per game. Jake Cohen is averaging 12.1 points per game and 5.1 rebounds. Chriz Czerapowicz is averaging 9.2 points per game and shoots 51.1% from three point range. JP Kuhlman is averaging 7.7 points and 3.9 assists per game. Nik Cochran is averaging 9.0 points and 3.2 assists per contest.

This is an interesting contest for Davidson. They have the offensive firepower to compete against Richmond. The problem is that they may not be able to slow down the Spiders. Richmond is very good on offense, and Davidson is not a particularly good defensive squad. Then again, that description could easily be reversed.

LEAD PIPE LOCK PREDICTIONS THAT ARE SURE TO GO WRONG

--These offenses will both put up big points.
--Richmond will not outrebound Davidson 40-14, but they will outrebound them.
--Williams will be a tremendously tough match-up for any Wildcat. He has such a large body, it is hard to figure out how Davidson could stop him.
--Czerapowicz and Brothers could get into quite the three point shooting contest. In fact, if this game goes to overtime, I would be OK with it being determined by a three point shootout between the two.
--Richmond 79, Davidson 74. I just don't see any way that the Wildcats can slow down the Spiders. They have not shown any ability to play good enough defense or rebound well enough to win a game like this at this point in the season.