Picked to finish 6th in the A10, the Spiders had room for optimism. Personally, I thought it was quite generous given who the Spiders lost.There’s no question that Richmond has some talent, but years of failed recruiting have seemed to finally catch up to the Spiders. The Spiders failed in every aspect of their non-conference despite having a pretty easy schedule. Richmond’s resume boasts no quality wins, and some very, very bad losses. The Spiders did themselves no favors, and it looks like their only shot at an NCAA bid is in Pittsburgh.
Good Wins
The Spiders didn’t beat anyone noteworthy. JMU was a decent win because it was the first time Richmond beat them in two years.That’s pretty much all I got.
Bad Losses
Richmond had one of the worst showings in the A10. It’s also worth noting that the Spiders struggled beating teams like Hampton and UMBC at home. Losses to Bucknell (124th) and Old Dominion (108th) certainly don’t help the Spiders. The ugliest loss came at the hands of the Summit League’s Oral Roberts. It wasn’t just a loss, it was a 15 point drumming. It is an inexcusable loss for any team in the A10. As losses continue to mount up, the hotter Chris Mooney’s seat gets.
Non-Conference Grade: F+
Based on the Spider’s awful non-conference showing, it was too easy to deliver the coveted F+. I only gave them the + because they got me a lot of free fries. At this point, they’d be lucky to finish above 10th.The Spiders did absolutely nothing to help themselves during non-conference. They missed two great opportunities at home against Texas Tech and Wake Forest. These missed chances gave the Spiders no room for error in other games against weaker competition. Nothing points to the Spiders improving. With pressure building up at Richmond, a poor conference showing will seal Chris Mooney’s fate at Richmond.
