Kansas Jayhawks vs. Richmond Spiders: Do the Spiders Stand a Real Chance?

To the naked eye and casual college basketball fan, it may seem as if the Richmond Spiders wouldn't stand a chance against a basketball powerhouse like Kansas.

But don't be so quick to put down the little guy.

The small and relatively unknown Richmond Spiders will be the center of attention as they take on the No. 1 seeded Kansas Jayhawks on Friday.

For those who don't know much about Richmond, let's take a quick recap of what has transpired over the past week.

The Atlantic-10 champions entered the tournament as the 12th seed in the Southwest bracket and were originally one of the "upset" picks declared by the national media. As accurately predicted, Richmond was able to take care of the talented Vanderbilt Commodores, 69-66.  This was Richmond's first NCAA tournament win since 1998.

In that game, the Spiders were led by senior guard Kevin Anderson, who scored 25 points and dished four assists. Despite shooting 50 percent from the field, the Commodores couldn't keep up with Anderson, who laid it on thick.  One thing to point out about Richmond's win over Vanderbilt is its bench production; 23 of Richmond's 69 points came from the bench, which is crucial if it wants to upset Kansas.

While only three players scored in double figures, it was enough to get the second-round jitters out of the way and advance to the next round.  

It still seems weird to call that the "second" round.

In the third round, Richmond surprisingly took on Morehead State instead of Louisville. The center of attention was Morehead State's Kenneth Faried, who absolutely destroyed Louisville two days prior.

Although Faried is a reincarnation of Dennis Rodman and pulled down 13 rebounds, the Spiders were able to keep him at bay, as he scored only 11 points.  Senior forward Justin Harper scored 19 points as Richmond cruised past Morehead State, 65-48.  Anderson added 14 points and senior center Dan Geriot had 13.

Richmond has alternated both the underdog and favorite roles so far, and that role will change again versus Kansas.

Despite slow starts against Boston University and Illinois, the Jayhawks have beaten their first two opponents by a combined 145-112 score.

The Morris twins have played exceptionally well as they combined for 41 points and 24 rebounds against Illinois on Sunday evening to help Kansas advance to the Sweet Sixteen.

So far, no one has been able to shut down the Morris twins, which is what Richmond must do in order to hang with Kansas for 40 minutes.  

While Anderson and Harper will most likely give Kansas trouble from the outside, the game will be won in the paint.

Whoever wins the battle down low will advance to the Elite Eight. It's that simple, yet so difficult.  

As every team who has faced Kansas this season has seen, shutting down the Morris twins is almost impossible when they are playing well.

It's not just because the Morris twins are great basketball players, it's because there are two of them. Their games have become almost identical this season, as both can dominate the paint and stroke from outside.

Sure, you could shut down Marcus or Markieff by himself. But not many teams can shut down both of these athletes and have enough to keep the rest of the Kansas Jayhawks at bay.

But above all these seemingly concrete factors going into Friday's showdown, you must remember something.

Just because Richmond is a "small" school and doesn't have nationally recognized players, you cannot mark this game as a win for Kansas until it is in the books.

Any team that can make it to the Sweet Sixteen has the ability to upset anyone.  Think Pitt overlooked Butler?  Or Louisville overlooked Morehead State?  You bet.

And I guarantee you they didn't know the names of those players before the huge upsets. If Anderson, Harper and Geriot can play well against Kansas and some of the Jayhawks can't find their strokes, you better believe a win is possible.  These seniors don't want to be playing their last game as college athletes.  

Just ask the Kansas Jayhawks of last season, who lost to Northern Iowa.  On any given day, an unknown talent can drop 40 points and send a number one seeded team back home.

So when you think about it, does Richmond really stand a chance against the Kansas Jayhawks?

Las Vegas will say no, but you can guarantee Bill Self and the Kansas Jayhawks will say anything is possible in March Madness.

Anything.

Like this article?  Check out another recent Kansas article from Kip:

NCAA Bracket 2011 Predictions: 5 Reasons Kansas Is Destined for a Championship