Richmond enters the NCAA Tournament on a seven-game winning streak, including an upset of the then-No. 18 Temple Owls in the Atlantic 10 conference tournament. The Spiders are peaking at the perfect time of the year — only one of their last seven opponents has come within 10 points of handing them a loss.
“They’re a very high major team,” said Coach Kevin Stallings. “They’ve got high major players and high major success.”
Among Richmond’s talented players is senior forward Justin Harper. Regarded by many as a potential first-round pick in this year’s NBA draft, Harper leads Richmond in both scoring and rebounding with 17.9 points and seven rebounds per game. Standing 6-foot-10, Harper can effectively play in the post but is most dangerous around the perimeter, where he shoots 47 percent from behind the 3-point arc.
Containing Harper will be critical to Vanderbilt’s success against Richmond. Forward Lance Goulbourne struggled against Kentucky’s versatile forward Terrence Jones earlier this year in both matchups against the Wildcats — if Goulbourne can’t figure out how to stop Harper, it could be a long day for the Commodores.
As a team, the Spiders’ biggest strength is their defense. Giving up just 61 points per game, Richmond’s defense is ranked 21st in the country. Richmond primarily runs a matchup-zone, a defensive strategy that combines elements of man-to-man and zone defenses that will allow them to key in on Vanderbilt sharpshooter John Jenkins. Using that matchup-zone defense, Richmond has held opponents to shooting just 30 percent from 3-point range, 12th best in the country.
Because of the Spiders’ ability to defend perimeter shooting, Vanderbilt will count on Festus Ezeli and Jeff Taylor to put up big numbers in the paint. Taylor averaged 21.7 points per game in the SEC tournament and will look to continue his postseason success on Thursday.
On the forefront of many Commodore fans’ minds will be Vanderbilt’s recent history in the NCAA Tournament. In each of their last two appearances, peaking mid-major teams, not unlike Richmond, have knocked off the Commodores in the first round. This history was the first thing Vanderbilt players were asked about after drawing Richmond in the first round.
“We’re just excited to play. We’re ready to come out and play,” said Festus Ezeli. “We just have to come out and prove ourselves.”
Thursday’s game tips off in Denver, Colo. at 3:10 p.m. CT. The winning team will advance to play the winner of Louisville and Morehead State on Saturday.
