How will the Richmond Spiders fare next season?
Yes, before you ask yourself, I know that it is April. I am bored and so are you as you’re reading this. What’s a better way to spend your quarantine time than to get predictions from fans on Twitter? Exactly. So that’s what I have done. The Spiders have gained the attention of fans around the Richmond area, but they have also put the rest of the Atlantic 10 on notice. After going 24-7 this past season, Richmond will have high expectations for 2020-2021 as they are returning all 5 starters. They will have the most experienced group of guys in all of the A10, and I know that plenty are excited to see what they bring to the table. Flirting with an NCAA Tourney bid this year in what you could say a year “ahead of schedule”, was very promising for Chris Mooney’s squad. So let’s see what the fans think about next season.
We’ll start with Kyle D’Amour (@KD_15_12) who had Richmond winning the same number of games this season with 24. If you are like most Richmond fans, you would be ecstatic at the fact that they could win 48 games over a span of 2 seasons. Right? If the Spiders finish next season with just 24 wins, fans would consider it a disappointment in this stage of the game, which is crazy after looking at the past half decade. This team is far too experienced to not make a decent run in the conference tournament, but they can be expected to win a few in the NCAA Tourney as well.
24
— Kyle D'Amour (@KD_15_12) April 27, 2020
Reilly Moore (@reillymoore) has another optimistic outlook on the upcoming season as well. He’s going with 23 in the regular season, plus more in March. I can also get behind this prediction as well. With a seemingly tougher OOC schedule (@ Kentucky, @ Colorado State, etc). 23 regular season wins is no number to shake your head at, especially with what is expected to be a good postseason run for the Spiders.
23 regular season plus more in March.
— Reilly Moore (@reillymoore) April 27, 2020
Coming up next, we have Cullen Malbone (@3ullen) who says “23-24 depending on scheduling. I think we can be a top 15 team this year”. If you would’ve told me a couple of years ago that this squad could be a top 15 team in the country, I would have been hesitant. When you bring it up now, it seems extremely possible. We don’t know how much losing Jake Wojcik will be yet, but we do know that this team will have a healthy Connor Crabtree, a more experienced Tyler Burton, and the always athletic Andre Gustavson. We are here for the March wins.
at least 23-24 possibly more depending on scheduling, i think we can be a top 15 team next year
— Cullen Malbone (@3ullen) April 28, 2020
RollSpides (@RollSpides) gives an exact number on the win total in 23. Believes that the Spiders will have 1 less win, but will have a better resume than this past season. Lists Richmond in the “First Four Byes” area, which I can also get behind. This team is obviously expected to make a run and be solid just as they were last season, but they will have a tougher schedule. Getting 23 wins next season should be more than enough to get them to the Big Dance.
23 regular season – 1 less win but stronger resume. "First Four Byes" area
— #RollSpides 🕷 (@RollSpides) April 28, 2020
Last, but certainly not least, we have Drunk John Hardt (@DrunkURathletic) with the EXTREMELY high win total of 69 wins. Now it would be something amazing if Richmond could become the first team in NCAA history to hit the 69 win total for a season, but I don’t think it’ll happen this year. You have to admire the passion and optimism, so we will take that as a prediction to win the National Championship!
I'm thinking 69
— Drunk John Hardt 🕷 (@DrunkURathletic) April 28, 2020
There you have it Spider fans. These Richmond fans are highly optimistic on the upcoming season, and you have every right to be. This will be an exciting season and we just hope it can get here sooner rather than later. As always, we are here for all things Richmond basketball. Be safe Spider Nation!