Geoff Burke-USA TODAY Sports
The Richmond Spiders are 3-2 to begin this college basketball season after falling short to the No. 24 North Carolina Tar Heels 82-72. Richmond put up a good fight, but the talent of UNC was too much for the Spiders in the end.
However, Richmond senior Cedrick Lindsay played an outstanding game in which he scored 29 points against a very good UNC team from the ACC. The Spiders’ Alonzo Nelson-Odom was expected to be a very good player, but Lindsay went under the radar before the season began. He’s averaging almost 20 points a game and could lead this team far beyond how their season is expected to go.
Richmond has competed against good teams, even beating the Belmont Bruins so far this season; they aren’t as bad as their preseason rankings suggested. The Spiders were picked to finish sixth in the Atlantic 10 and aren’t expected to go to the 2014 NCAA Tournament. However, the A-10 favorites, the VCU Rams, have looked bad defensively this season and Lindsay could cause trouble when the Spiders play the Rams.
Lindsay will have to have huge games in conference play because the NCAA Tournament-bound non-conference opponents should beat them. If they are to make it to the NCAA Tournament, someone besides Lindsay needs to step up. Lindsay is a fantastic player, but, if he has to carry the team by himself offensively, the 2014 NCAA Tournament will be out of reach for Richmond.
Taylor Sturm is an SEC Basketball Writer for www.RantSports.com. Follow him on Twitter @TSturmRS or add him to your network on Google.
