Wisconsin (4-1) will look to claim its fifth consecutive victory when it takes on Richmond (4-0) out of the Atlantic 10 tonight in the Legends Classic at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, N.Y.
Tonight’s matchup will be just the second time that these two programs have faced each other, with the first meeting coming in the First Round of the 2004 NCAA Tournament when the Badgers, a No. 6 seed, took down the No. 11 Spiders, 76-64.
Wisconsin is coming off of an 88-70 win over Green Bay at the Kohl Center last Thursday, while Richmond took down one of Bucky’s foes from earlier in November, McNeese State, 87-57 on Friday.
The Badgers are currently six-point favorites in this one, but the Spiders have had one of the nation’s most potent offenses to this point in the season and have already taken down one high major opponent this month in Vanderbilt.
Here are the three players on the other side who Badger fans should keep a close eye on throughout tonight’s contest.
Nick Sherod – Guard
2019 stats: 20.8 ppg, 4.8 rpg, 2.5 apg, 53.7 FG%, 55.6 3P%
Sherod was off to an excellent start to his sophomore season around this time a year ago, averaging 12.7 points, 5.2 rebounds, 2.8 assists and 1.3 steals per game. Unfortunately, he then suffered a torn ACL in Richmond’s sixth contest of the season and would go on the miss the team’s final 27 games.
Four games into his junior season, it’s safe to say the 6-4 guard has come back from that injury with a vengeance.
Sherod is tied for the team lead in scoring at 20.8 points per game, which is the second-highest mark in the Atlantic 10. He’s also shooting a blistering 55.6 percent from beyond the arc, again the second-highest mark in the conference behind the next player on this list and the No. 13 percentage in the country.
Richmond ranks third nationally in scoring at an average of 92.5 points per game, which is thanks in large part to an outstanding trio of guards that includes Sherod, Blake Francis (averaging 18.5 points) and the next player on this list.
Jacob Gilyard – Guard
2019 stats: 20.8 ppg, 2.3 rpg, 6.3 apg, 4.0 spg, 65.9 FG%, 58.3 3P%
Gilyard is the Spider that’s tied with Sherod for the highest scoring average on the team, but the junior guard is probably Richmond’s best overall player. The 5-9, 160-pounder will be the smallest guy on the court tonight, but he’s a force to be reckoned with on both ends of the court.
During his first two years in college, Gilyard racked up 868 points, 290 assists and 177 steals; since 1992, only Jason Kidd and Allen Iverson accumulated each of those numbers by the end of their sophomore seasons. He was named to the Atlantic 10 All-Defensive Team and Second Team All-Conference a year ago after leading the Atlantic 10 in steals and averaging 16.2 points and 5.2 assists per game.
It’s been more of the same for Gilyard in 2019. His three-point percentage is tops in the conference and No.7 nationally, and his overall field goal percentage is second-best in the Atlantic 10 and No. 20 overall. Gilyard is also averaging more steals than all but 13 Division I players.
If Richmond knocks off the Badgers tonight, Gilyard will be a major reason why.
Grant Golden – Forward
2019 stats: 10.5 ppg, 8.3 rpg, 3.0 apg, 0.8 bpg, 47.3 FG%
Golden’s production has taken a bit of a dip this season as a result of the emergence of that high-scoring backcourt trio, but the 6-10 junior is still a guy who could give the Badgers some problems tonight in the post.
He was a Third-Team All-Conference performer each of his first two seasons at Richmond, the first player in program history to earn that distinction. Golden was the team’s leading scorer in 2018-19 at 17.2 points per game and finished the season with 1,083 career points to his name already, a total no other Spider had reached by the end of a sophomore season.
He also chipped in 7.1 rebounds per game and had more assists than all but one other player 6-10 or taller. That other player? Wisconsin’s Ethan Happ.
Again, while his numbers are obviously down through Richmond’s first four games, Golden remains a dangerous player who must be accounted for, and you can be sure Wisconsin will have his name circled on the scouting report.