The No. 12 seed Richmond Spiders of the Atlantic 10 are headed to the Sweet 16. Why are they headed to the Sweet 16, besides playing two so-so clubs? Their assist to turnover ratio through 80 minutes of the NCAA Tournament is ... well, it's pretty much indescribably good.
In Richmond's first round 69-66 upset of No. 5 seed Vanderbilt, the Spiders had 14 assists on 26 made field goals. Even better was the grand total of SEVEN turnovers in the entire game. Impressive, yes? Well, the Spiders one upped themselves in Saturday's 65-48 second round win over No. 13 seed Morehead State, with 18 assists on, yes, 26 more made field goals. As for the turnovers? They had five. FIVE!
So, for those keeping score at home, the grand totals for the pass-happy (and turnover-phobic) Richmond Spiders through two NCAA tournament games: 32 assists on 52 made field goals, and only 12 turnovers. That's a very solid 2.7 assist to turnover ratio.
↵Whether it faces Kansas or Illinois next week, uber efficient Richmond is going to be an tough out.
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