Tip off: 10:30 PM EST
Spread: UCLA -9
Total: 129
M/L: UCLA -450, RIC +370
RICHMOND
The Spiders showed last season they must be taken seriously, when they finished with a 29-8 record and were 13-3 in A-10 play. They klost to Kansas by 20 in the Sweet 16 in March.
This year really hasn’t gone as well. So far, the Spiders are just 7-5 and have lost to the likes of Davidson, VCU, Iona, Bucknell, and a more acceptable loss to Illinois. They’ve dropped 3 of their last 4, and are dogs tonight against a tough Bruins squad.
A big problem for the Spiders has been rebounding. They are coralling only 30.6 rebounds a game, which is among the very worst in D-1. The Spiders have Derrick Williams averaging 5.9 rebounds a game, and Darius Garrett at 6.4, but no one else is over 3.8, and three of their starters are under 3 a game.
Their scoring is paced by Kendall Anthony’s 14.2 points per game. Anthony, a 5’8″ waterbug point guard, only played 16 minutes in the win over Old Dominion, but has scored in double figures in all but that game and the win over Rutgers on November 23rd. Despite being 5’8″, he isn’t much of a passer, averaging only 1.8 assists per game.
In addition to Anthony, the Spiders also get 13.0 points per game from Cedrick Lindsay, 12.8 ppg from Darien Brothers, and 10.3 from Williams. Despite being 4″ taller than Anthony, Lindsay is the point guard and averages 4.3 assists per game. He has been plagued by inconsistency, but has strung together some nice games. Throwing out his poor back to back performances against Sacred Heart (6 pts) and Hampton (4 pts), and his scoring average would be nearly 15 a game.
UCLA
So far it has been a rough year for the Bruins. After finishing 23-11 last season and going 13-5 in the Pac 10, they are off to a 6-5 start this year. But it hasn’t been all that bad. Throw out their two losses to ranked opponents, and they are a respectable 6-3.
That’s not to mention the Bruins have won their last four games, over Pennsylvania, Eastern Washington, UC-Davis, and UC-Irvine.
Lazeric Jones has been doing most of the damage for the Bruins this year. The 6’0″ senior guard from Chicago has put up 13 ppg, on 43.4% FG. Over the four game win streak, he is shooting 68.8%, though, and he has scored 15.7 points per game over the streak, as well. His two games against Eastern Washington and Pennsylvania were exceptional, as he played 36 minutes in both contests and went 7 of 10 from the floor in both, not to mention he dished out 4 assists in both games.
The only other Bruin in double figures is the 6’10” Travis Ware. Ware only played 20 minutes in the loss to UC Irvine, after missing the UC Davis and Easternm Washington games. He has been consistent, but had bad games against Kansas and Pepperdine, scoring a combined 12 pts between the contests. Last game is easy to dismiss since it was his first game in nearly two weeks.
If you like the odds set forth in the beginning of this article, they came from Bookmaker where they offer a 5% return on lost bets. Also, check out our paid pick plans for the 2011-2012 year, as we murder the books once again.
