Men's Basketball 12/21/2019 2:52:00 PM

RADFORD AND RICHMOND MEET IN NATION’S CAPITAL ON SUNDAY

WASHINGTON, D.C. – The Radford men's basketball team will meet Richmond for the first time in five years on Sunday inside Entertainment and Sports Arena at the nation's capital as part of the D.C. Holiday Hoops Fest. Tip-off is set for 3:30 p.m.

The last time the Highlanders and Spiders met was on Nov. 14, 2014 in Richmond to open the 2014-15 season. It will be the seventh game between the two Commonwealth foes in the last 20 years. Radford has only won one of those contests, and two of the 19 total meetings.

The Highlanders will try to bounce back from a three-game skid that included losses against UNCG, Duquesne and Mississippi State. Those three teams have a 26-5 combined record altogether and includes one of the four unbeaten teams in NCAA Basketball.

Radford has been battle-tested throughout the 2019-20 season. Ken Pomeroy ranks the Highlanders' non-conference schedule the 22^nd toughest in the nation and their overall schedule 24^th toughest in the land. The 10 Division I opponents on the non-conference schedule have a combined 81-27 record and features two of the four unbeatens (Liberty and Duquesne).

Having a tough non-conference has been an afterthought to the Big South's leading scorer, Carlik Jones. The Cincinnati, Ohio native is averaging 19.6 points per game and ranks second in the league with 4.6 assists per contest. Jones has scored 10 or more points in nine of the 10 games played this year and has led the Highlanders in scoring for eight of them.

The team's second leading scorer is Travis Fields, Jr., averaging 10.5 points per game. He ranks inside the Big South's top-25 scoring leaders. The senior is leading the team with 30.1 minutes per outing and tallied 18 of his 32 assists during the last four games. He and Jones account for 45 percent of the team's scoring and have 78 of the team's 125 assists.

Leroy Butts IV has been playing great basketball lately averaging 10.2 points and 5.0 rebounds over the last four contests. The Washington, D.C., native is shooting 57.6 percent from the floor during the four-game stretch and has chipped in four assists, three blocks and two steals over that time.

The Highlanders have only committed 108 turnovers all season, which ranks ninth in the NCAA. As a team, Radford is averaging 10.8 turnovers per game ranking inside the nation's top 10. Radford has committed less than 10 turnovers in four of the 10 games this season and have not committed more than 15 all year long.

At 10-1, Richmond has its best record through 10 games since 1985-86. Its only loss came to one of the four unbeatens, Auburn, in the Legends Classic Championship game on Nov. 26. The Spiders had a 35-34 lead at halftime but eventually fell to the then ranked No. 18 Tigers, 79-65. Some of the notable wins for Richmond include Wisconsin, Boston College, Vanderbilt and Charleston (S.C.).

Richmond ranks eighth in D-I in free throwing shooting, making 79.4 percent of its free throw attempts this season. Among Spiders with at least five attempts, Nathan Cayo leads the way at 90.5 percent (19-for-21). Grant Golden is averaging 18 points and seven rebounds over his last two games while shooting 71 percent from the field (15-for-21). Golden averaged 11.4 points per game and shot 52 percent from the field in his first seven games this season. He's also the team's leading rebounder.

Richmond received three points in this week's AP Top 25 Poll, its third straight week Receiving Votes in the AP Top 25. Richmond also received one vote in this week's USA TODAY Coaches Poll.

The game will be broadcast live on FloHoops, a subscription-based online provider featuring NCAA games, EuroLeague, EuroCup, Nike EYBL and more.

Sunday's game can also be heard live online through Stretch Internet or radio outlets, WRAD 101.7 FM and WVRU 89.9 FM.

FOLLOW RADFORD MEN'S BASKETBALL
To follow the Radford men's basketball team, visit RadfordAthletics.com, follow @RadfordMBB on Twitter, 'radfordmbb' Instagram or Radford Men's Basketball on Facebook.

Print Friendly Version

Players Mentioned

#13 Leroy Butts IV: F; 6' 7"; Junior

#11 Travis Fields, Jr.: G; 5' 10"; Senior

#1 Carlik Jones: G; 6' 1"; Redshirt Junior

Players Mentioned

#13 Leroy Butts IV
: 6' 7"; Junior
: F

#11 Travis Fields, Jr.
: 5' 10"; Senior
: G

#1 Carlik Jones
: 6' 1"; Redshirt Junior
: G

Players Mentioned

#13 Leroy Butts IV

#11 Travis Fields, Jr.

#1 Carlik Jones

Players Mentioned

#13 Leroy Butts IV

#11 Travis Fields, Jr.

#1 Carlik Jones