NIT Recap: Richmond Handles St. Francis 84-74

The Richmond Spiders narrowly missed the NCAA Tournament and were rewarded with a number one seed in the NIT for being one of the squads dubbed the "last four out". The opportunity allowed the Spiders to get homecourt advantage for at least the first three round of the tournament if they keep winning, that advantage started tonight with a match up against St. Francis Brooklyn.

You never know what you're going to get in the NIT, especially with a team that barely missed the NCAA Tournament. You see both ends of the spectrum from a incredibly motivated squad to a super lackadaisical team that looks like they want to head home. Richmond looked like a motivated team tonight winning 84-74 over the Terriers in front of a relatively small crowd of 3,600 fans in the Robins Center.

Deion Taylor and Trey Davis has an off night for the Spiders but the rest of the 8-man rotation finished in double-figures. Terry Allen lead the way with 21 points and 11 rebounds. Allen's frontcourt mate Alonzo Nelson-Ododa returned his strong comeback with 14 points and 5 rebounds off the bench.

Richmond didn't have to rely on Kendall Anthony as much as normal, but some well played ball screens opened the floor up for him, ShawnDre' Jones, and Josh Jones in the second half. The backcourt trio combined for 35 points and 11 assists.

One thing is for sure, the Robins Center will be a little more crowded on Sunday night at 7:30 when the Spiders host Arizona State from the Pac 12. The Sun Devils knocked off Connecticut Wednesday night 68-61 in Storrs. The game will be aired on ESPNU.