News and Notes
- W&M and Richmond will meet for the 198th time in the series history, the Tribe's longest standing rivalry. Wednesday night contest will mark the seventh time in the last eight years of teams have met.
- The Tribe not only leads the CAA in 3-point field goal percentage defense, but, as of Nov. 25, ranks No. 1 nationally in the category according to the NCAA. Opponents are shooting just 18.9 percent from 3-point range against the College. W&M also ranks 32nd nationally in defensive field goal percentage (36.5).
- According to KenPom.com, as of Nov. 26, the Tribe ranks 10th nationally in free throw rate. In the College's three wins this season, W&M averaged 22 made free throws on 31.3 attempts per contest compared to just 10 free threes on 18 attempts in its two losses.
- The College leads the CAA in field goal percentage at 47.1 percent and scoring at 67.8 point per game, while ranking second in the league in assists per game (13.2).
Scouting Richmond
Richmond enters the game with the Tribe at 4-2 on the year,
following a 73-48 setback at Ohio on Nov. 24. The Spiders are a perfect 4-0 at
the Robins Center this season, including victories over common opponents
Liberty and Hampton. Chris Mooney is in his eighth season as the head coach of
the Spider program and owns 132 victories, including averaging 21 over the last
five years.
The Spiders average 70.3 points per game, while limiting
opponents to just 60.2 points per contest. UR forces opponents into 17
turnovers per game, while generating 9.8 steals per game, which ranks 35th
nationally. After Richmond shot 49.7 percent from the field and 41.1 percent
from 3 through its first three games, the Spiders have shot just 35.8 percent
from the field and 25.9 percent from 3 in the last three games.
The guard tandem of sophomore Kendall Anthony and senior
Darien Brothers both average better than 15 points per game. Anthony, who
scored a season-high 24 points in the win over Wofford, leads the team at 15.2
points per game, while shooting 48 percent from 3-point range and 81 percent
from the free throw line. Brothers leads the Spiders at 48.1 percent from
3-point range, hitting better than two triples per game and averaging 15 points
per contest. Senior forward Derrick Williams rounds out the double-digit
scorers for Richmond at 12.3 points per game to go along with a team-best 6.5
rebounds per game. He also is shooting a team-high 56.4 percent from the field.
Long-Standing Rivalry
The meeting between Richmond and W&M will be the 198th
in the series history and the seventh meeting in the last eight years. The
Spiders lead the all-time series at 100-97, including a 92-61 victory in
Williamsburg last season. Richmond holds a 63-34 advantage over the Tribe in Richmond
as W&M will look for its first victory at Richmond since the 2000-01
season. It's a series that dates back to the 1912-13 season and marks the most
games the Tribe has played in a series and the most victories its owns in a
rivalry.
Nation's Best 3-Point Defense
Through the opening five games, the Tribe ranks among the
best teams nationally in limiting its opponents from 3-point range. W&M not
only leads the CAA, but tops the country, as of Nov. 25, in 3-point field goal
percentage defense according to the NCAA. Tribe foes are shooting just 18.9
percent (18-of-95) from 3-point range this season. In fact, the College is
limiting its opponents to just 3.6 3-pointers made per game through the opening
five games of the season. The W&M school record for 3-point percentage
defense is 31.4 percent set in 1998.
Defensive Success
Along with leading the nation in 3-point defense, the Tribe
has done a good job of limiting its opponent's offense across the board.
W&M foes are averaging just 61.2 points per game, while shooting just 36.5
percent from the field. Those numbers rank 82nd and 32nd in the country,
respectively. In each of its three victories this season, W&M held its foe below
40 percent shooting. Over head coach
Tony Shaver's 10 seasons, the Tribe is 56-22
(.718) when its opponents shoot less than 40 percent from the field. The
College is also 2-0 when holding its foes below 60 points this season, and
W&M is 50-20 (.714) over Shaver's tenure when accomplishing the feat.
Shoeless Showdown on Saturday
C&F Bank, Chick-fil-A and William and Mary athletics
announced a partnership for the Shoeless Showdown between the Tribe and Old
Dominion on Saturday, Dec. 1. C&F Bank and Chick-fil-A have teamed up to
raise awareness for children and adults in the area in need of shoes. Fans that
bring a new pair of children's or adult's shoes to the game, will receive a
free ticket to the game. In addition,
each person donating a new pair of shoes will also get a voucher for a free
Chick-fil-A sandwich, a $10 voucher toward a new C&F checking account and a
ticket to either the upcoming Tribe home games against Howard University on
Wednesday, Dec. 6, or Salisbury University on Friday, Dec. 21. To show support,
the coaching staffs for both the Tribe and Monarchs will coach barefoot. All
shoes will be donated to the Williamsburg Salvation Army. Donations are also accepted at any C&F
Bank in the Williamsburg area.
Three-Headed Scoring Monster
The Tribe's top three returning scorers, sophomore
Marcus Thornton and juniors
Brandon Britt and
Tim Rusthoven, have upped their
production in the early going of the 2012-13 campaign. The trio is averaging a
combined 47.4 of the W&M's 67.8 points per game (69.9 percent). On the
year, all three rank among the top 12 in the CAA with Thornton leading the way
in third at 17.6 points per game, while Britt ranks sixth with an average of
15.4. Rusthoven rounds out the group at 14.4 points per game, which ranks 11th
in the CAA. In each of the Tribe's first
three games, one of the trio led W&M in scoring with better than 20 points.
Thornton topped the Green and Gold against Hampton with 24 points, before Britt
led the team with 21 points at Liberty. In the 83-61 win at High Point,
Rusthoven scored a team-high 23 points, while Thornton added 21 points.
