2020–21 Richmond Spiders men's basketball team

The 2020–21 Richmond Spiders men's basketball team will represent the University of Richmond during the 2020–21 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. They will be led by 16th-year head coach Chris Mooney and play their home games at the Robins Center as members of the Atlantic 10 Conference.

2020–21 Richmond Spiders men's basketball
Conference	Atlantic 10 Conference
2020–21 record	10–4 (4–2 A-10)
Head coach	Chris Mooney (16th season)
Assistant coaches	Rob Jones Marcus Jenkins Steve Thomas
Home arena	Robins Center

2020–21 Atlantic 10 men's basketball standings
	Conf							Overall
Team	W		L		PCT			W		L		PCT
St. Bonaventure	7	–	2		.778			9	–	2		.818
VCU	6	–	2		.750			13	–	4		.765
Davidson	6	–	2		.750			10	–	5		.667
UMass	6	–	2		.750			7	–	4		.636
Richmond	4	–	2		.667			10	–	4		.714
Dayton	7	–	4		.636			11	–	5		.688
Duquesne	6	–	5		.545			7	–	6		.538
Rhode Island	6	–	7		.462			9	–	11		.450
La Salle	5	–	7		.417			8	–	11		.421
George Mason	4	–	6		.400			8	–	8		.500
George Washington	2	–	3		.400			3	–	9		.250
Saint Louis	1	–	2		.333			8	–	3		.727
Fordham	2	–	9		.182			2	–	9		.182
Saint Joseph's	0	–	9		.000			1	–	14		.067
† 2021 A10 Tournament winner As of February 6, 2021; Rankings from AP Poll

Previous season

The Spiders finished the 2019–20 season 24–7, 14–4 in A-10 play to finish in second place. Their season ended when the A-10 Tournament and all other postseason tournaments were canceled due to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic.

Offseason

Departures

Name	Number	Pos.	Height	Weight	Year	Hometown	Reason for departure
Jake Wojcik	11	G	6'4"	190	Sophomore	San Jose, CA	Transfer to Fairfield
Tomas Verbinskis	21	F	6'7"	210	Redshirt Sophomore	Klaipeda, Lithuania	Transfer to Lafayette in December 2019

In addition, guard Nick Sherod suffered a career-ending knee injury during preseason practice in October 2020.[1]

Incoming transfer

Guard Connor Crabtree transferred to Richmond from Tulane prior to the 2019–20 season and sat out due to NCAA transfer rules. He will become eligible to play for the Spiders in the 2020–21 season.[2]

2020 recruiting class

US college sports recruiting information for high school athletes

Name	Hometown	High school / college	Height	Weight	Commit date
Isaiah Wilson G	Pittsburgh, PA	First Love Academy	6 ft 0 in (1.83 m)	160 lb (73 kg)	Sep 9, 2019
	Recruiting star ratings: Scout: N/A   Rivals:   247Sports: N/A    ESPN grade: 0
Andre Weir F	Hollywood, FL	Chaminade-Madonna	6 ft 10 in (2.08 m)	265 lb (120 kg)
	Recruiting star ratings: Scout: N/A   Rivals: N/A   247Sports: N/A    ESPN grade: 0
Dji Bailey G	Wilson, NC	Greenfield School	6 ft 5 in (1.96 m)	175 lb (79 kg)	May 11, 2020
	Recruiting star ratings: Scout: N/A   Rivals:   247Sports: N/A    ESPN grade: 0
Quentin Southall G	Alexandria, VA	Georgetown Prep (MD)	6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)	180 lb (82 kg)
	Recruiting star ratings: Scout: N/A   Rivals: N/A   247Sports: N/A    ESPN grade: 0
Overall recruiting rankings:
Note: In many cases, Scout, Rivals, 247Sports, and ESPN may conflict in their listings of height and weight. In these cases, the average was taken. ESPN grades are on a 100-point scale. Sources: "Rivals.com 2020 Richmond Commitments". Rivals.com. Retrieved November 11, 2020. "Scout.com 2020 Richmond Commitments". Scout.com. Retrieved November 11, 2020. "ESPN 2020 Richmond Commitments". ESPN.com. Retrieved November 11, 2020. "Scout.com Team Recruiting Rankings". Scout.com. Retrieved November 11, 2020. "2020 Team Ranking". Rivals.com. Retrieved November 11, 2020.

Weir left the program in December 2020 before he played in any games for the Spiders.[3]

Preseason

In a preseason poll of league head coaches and select media members, Richmond was chosen as the favorite to win the Atlantic 10 Conference in 2020–21, taking 19 out of 28 first-place votes. Jacob Gilyard was selected to both the preseason all-conference first team and the preseason all-defensive team, while Blake Francis and Grant Golden were both selected to the preseason all-conference second team.[4]

Roster

2020–21 Richmond Spiders men's basketball team
Players	Coaches
Pos. # Name Height Weight Year Previous school Hometown G 0 Jacob Gilyard 5 ft 9 in (1.75 m) 160 lb (73 kg) Sr The Barstow School Kansas City, Missouri G 1 Blake Francis 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) 175 lb (79 kg) GS Westfield High School Wagner Herndon, Virginia F 2 Souleymane Koureissi 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 215 lb (98 kg) Jr Iona Prep Harlem, New York F 3 Tyler Burton 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 215 lb (98 kg) So Marianapolis Prep Uxbridge, Massachusetts F 4 Nathan Cayo 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 225 lb (102 kg) Sr Collège Jean-de-Brébeuf Montreal, Quebec G 5 Nick Sherod  6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 230 lb (104 kg) GS St. Christopher's School Richmond, Virginia F 10 Sullivan Kulju (W) 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 220 lb (100 kg) Sr Eisenhower Middle/High School New Berlin, Wisconsin G 12 Gabe Arizin (W) 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 190 lb (86 kg) So St. Joseph's Prep West Chester, Pennsylvania G 13 Connor Crabtree 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 190 lb (86 kg) RS So Hargrave Military Academy Tulane Hillsborough, North Carolina F 15 Matt Grace 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 230 lb (104 kg) Jr TRC Academy Hamilton, Ontario G 21 Isaiah Wilson 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) 160 lb (73 kg) Fr First Love Academy Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania G 22 Andre Gustavson 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 195 lb (88 kg) Jr Helsinki Basketball Academy Helsinki, Finland G 24 Dji Bailey 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 175 lb (79 kg) Fr Greenfield School Wilson, North Carolina G 25 Quentin Southall (W) 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 180 lb (82 kg) Fr Georgetown Prep Alexandria, Virginia G 31 Jordan Gaitley (W) 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 190 lb (86 kg) GS Fordham Preparatory School Haverford, Pennsylvania F 33 Grant Golden 6 ft 10 in (2.08 m) 255 lb (116 kg) GS St. James School Winchester, Virginia	Head coach Chris Mooney (Princeton) Assistant coach(es) Rob Jones (Toccoa Falls) Marcus Jenkins (Air Force) Steve Thomas (Rowan) Legend (C) Team captain (S) Suspended (I) Ineligible (W) Walk-on Injured Current redshirt Roster Last update: January 1, 2021

Schedule and results

Date time, TV	Rank^#	Opponent^#	Result	Record	High points	High rebounds	High assists	Site (attendance) city, state
Regular season
Nov 25, 2020* 9:00 p.m.		vs. Detroit Mercy Bluegrass Showcase	Canceled due to COVID-19[5]					Rupp Arena  Lexington, KY
Nov 27, 2020* 6:00 p.m.		vs. Morehead State Bluegrass Showcase	W 82–64	1–0	23 – Cayo	12 – Burton	5 – Tied	Rupp Arena (261) Lexington, KY
Nov 29, 2020* 1:00 p.m., ESPN		at No. 10 Kentucky Bluegrass Showcase	W 76–64	2–0	18 – Tied	7 – Golden	6 – Gilyard	Rupp Arena (3,075) Lexington, KY
Dec 2, 2020* 7:00 p.m., FloSports	No. 19	at Charleston	Canceled due to COVID-19[6]					TD Arena  Charleston, SC
Dec 5, 2020* 6:00 p.m., NBCS WA/ESPN+	No. 19	Furman	Canceled due to COVID-19[7]					Robins Center  Richmond, VA
Dec 7, 2020* 2:00 p.m., ESPN+	No. 19	Wofford	W 77–72	3–0	18 – Gilyard	7 – Burton	6 – Gilyard	Robins Center (0) Richmond, VA
Dec 9, 2020* 6:00 p.m., NBCS WA/ESPN+	No. 19	Northern Iowa	W 78–68	4–0	21 – Burton	13 – Burton	11 – Gilyard	Robins Center (0) Richmond, VA
Dec 13, 2020* 1:00 p.m., ESPN	No. 19	at No. 11 West Virginia	L 71–87	4–1	14 – Tied	10 – Burton	6 – Gilyard	WVU Coliseum (371) Morgantown, WV
Dec 16, 2020* 1:00 p.m., SEC Network		at Vanderbilt	W 78–67	5–1	21 – Francis	8 – Golden	5 – Gilyard	Memorial Gymnasium (0) Nashville, TN
Dec 18, 2020* 6:00 p.m., NBCS WA/ESPN+		vs. Loyola–Chicago	W 75–73	6–1	27 – Francis	9 – Burton	3 – Gilyard	Indiana Convention Center (0) Indianapolis, IN
Dec 19, 2020 2:00 p.m., NBCS WA/ESPN+		Duquesne	To be rescheduled[8]					Robins Center  Richmond, VA
Dec 22, 2020* 2:00 p.m., NBCS WA/ESPN+		Hofstra	L 71–76	6–2	15 – Tied	7 – Burton	6 – Gilyard	Robins Center  Richmond, VA
Dec 30, 2020 7:00 p.m., CBSSN		at Davidson	W 80–74	7–2 (1–0)	22 – Golden	11 – Burton	5 – Tied	John M. Belk Arena  Davidson, NC
Jan 2, 2021 5:00 p.m., CBSSN		St. Bonaventure	L 66–69	7–3 (1–1)	21 – Francis	10 – Cayo	6 – Golden	Robins Center  Richmond, VA
Jan 6, 2021 6:00 p.m., CBSSN		Rhode Island	W 80–73	8–3 (2–1)	22 – Gilyard	9 – Golden	5 – Golden	Robins Center  Richmond, VA
Jan 9, 2021 noon, CBSSN		at George Mason	W 77–57	9–3 (3–1)	18 – Golden	10 – Golden	5 – Gilyard	EagleBank Arena (250) Fairfax, VA
Jan 20, 2021 6:00 p.m., CBSSN		at St. Bonaventure	Postponed[9]					Reilly Center  St. Bonaventure, NY
Jan 23, 2021 2:30 p.m., NBCSN		La Salle	L 78–84	9–4 (3–2)	22 – Golden	12 – Burton	4 – Tied	Robins Center  Richmond, VA
Jan 26, 2021 6:00 p.m., ESPN+		Saint Joseph's	W 79–56	10–4 (4–2)	25 – Burton	7 – Golden	7 – Gilyard	Hagan Arena  Philadelphia, PA
Jan 29, 2021 6:30 p.m., ESPN2		No. 22 Saint Louis	Postponed[10]					Robins Center  Richmond, VA
Feb 2, 2021 6:00 p.m., NBCS WA/ESPN+		George Mason	Postponed[11]					Robins Center  Richmond, VA
Feb 5, 2021 7:00 p.m., ESPN2		at Dayton	Postponed[12]					UD Arena  Dayton, OH
Feb 9, 2021 6:00 p.m., NBCS WA/ESPN+		George Washington	Postponed[12]					Robins Center  Richmond, VA
Feb 12, 2021 7:00 p.m., ESPN2		at VCU Capital City Classic	Postponed[12]					Siegel Center  Richmond, VA
Feb 17, 2021 7:00 p.m., CBSSN		VCU Capital City Classic						Robins Center  Richmond, VA
Feb 20, 2021 2:00 p.m., ESPN+		at La Salle						Tom Gola Arena  Philadelphia, PA
Feb 23, 2021 1:00 p.m., NBCS WA/ESPN+		Fordham						Robins Center  Richmond, VA
Feb 26, 2021 7:00 p.m., ESPN2		at Saint Louis						Chaifetz Arena  St. Louis, MO
Mar 3, 2021 6:00 p.m., ESPN+		at Massachusetts						Mullins Center  Amherst, MA
*Non-conference game. ^#Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. All times are in Eastern Time.

Sources:[13][14][15]

Rankings

Ranking movements
Legend: ██ Increase in ranking. ██ Decrease in ranking.
NR = Not ranked. RV = Received votes. т = Tied with team above or below. ( ) = First place votes.

	Week
Poll	Pre	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	19	Final
AP	RV	19	19	RV	RV	RV	NR	NR	NR	NR	NR	NR									Not released
Coaches	RV	RV*	19	25	23	RV	NR	RV	RV	NR	NR	NR

*Coaches did not release a Week 1 poll

References

1. O'Connor, John (2020-10-21). "Nick Sherod on Spiders experience: 'everything I could have hoped for and more'". Richmond Times-Dispatch. Retrieved 2020-11-11.
2. O'Connor, John (2019-05-12). "Spiders hoops bringing in 6-6 transfer Connor Crabtree from Tulane". Richmond Times-Dispatch. Retrieved 2020-11-11.
3. O'Connor, John (2020-12-21). "Andre Weir, 6-10 freshman, chooses to leave Spiders program". Richmond Times-Dispatch. Retrieved 2021-01-01.
4. "Richmond Chosen to Win A-10 Men's Basketball; League Honors 23 Student-Athletes". atlantic10.com. Atlantic 10 Conference. 2020-11-10. Retrieved 2020-11-11.
5. "Spiders Season Opener vs Detroit Mercy Canceled". richmondspiders.com. November 23, 2020. Retrieved November 23, 2020.
6. "Spiders Cancel Wednesday's Game at Charleston Due to COVID Testing Results". richmondspiders.com. December 1, 2020. Retrieved December 1, 2020.
7. "Richmond's Game Saturday vs Furman Will Not Be Played". richmondspiders.com. December 3, 2020. Retrieved December 3, 2020.
8. "Richmond Adds Game vs Loyola-Chicago Friday in Indianapolis". richmondspiders.com. December 12, 2020. Retrieved December 12, 2020.
9. "Spiders Wednesday Game at St. Bonaventure Postponed". richmondspiders.com. January 16, 2021. Retrieved January 16, 2021.
10. "Men's Basketball Game vs Saint Louis Postponed". richmondspiders.com. January 29, 2021. Retrieved January 29, 2021.
11. "Men's Basketball Pauses Team Activities Due to COVID-19 Testing Results". richmondspiders.com. February 2, 2021. Retrieved January 31, 2021.
12. "Men's Basketball Postpones Games Through February 12". richmondspiders.com. February 3, 2021. Retrieved February 3, 2021.
13. "Men's Basketball Unveils Ambitious 2020-21 Schedule". richmondspiders.com. University of Richmond Athletics. 2020-11-11. Retrieved 2020-11-11.
14. "Richmond Spiders 2020–21 Conference Men's Basketball Schedule" (PDF). atlantic10.com. Atlantic 10 Conference. 2020-11-11. Retrieved 2020-11-11.
15. "University of Richmond Athletics – Men's Basketball Schedule". richmondspiders.com. University of Richmond Athletics. Retrieved 2021-02-03.