Busting Brackets
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Mid-major Basketball power rankings: Dayton, Gonzaga and ETSU rises up

By Tristan Freeman

SAN DIEGO, CALIFORNIA - FEBRUARY 01: Matt Mitchell #11 of the San Diego State Aztecs steals possession of the ball in the second half against the Utah State Aggies at Viejas Arena on February 01, 2020 in San Diego, California. (Photo by Kent Horner/Getty Images)
SAN DIEGO, CALIFORNIA - FEBRUARY 01: Matt Mitchell #11 of the San Diego State Aztecs steals possession of the ball in the second half against the Utah State Aggies at Viejas Arena on February 01, 2020 in San Diego, California. (Photo by Kent Horner/Getty Images) /
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WASHINGTON, DC – FEBRUARY 29: The Richmond Spiders logo (Photo by Mitchell Layton/Getty Images)
WASHINGTON, DC – FEBRUARY 29: The Richmond Spiders logo (Photo by Mitchell Layton/Getty Images) /

7. Richmond Spiders (24-7, 14-4 Atlantic 10)

While Anthony Grant of Dayton definitely deserves the Coach of the Year Award in the Atlantic 10, Chris Mooney has a case to make it a co-award this season. He took a team that won 13 games a year ago to at least 24 this time around while making it through a tough stretch without Blake Francis, their leading scorer on the season. The Spiders went through the stretch without a single bad loss and the early Wisconsin victory has them in the at-large conversation.

With Francis now back and fully healthy, Richmond has their starting five set of juniors whose offense is capable of hanging with anyone in the country. That includes even the Dayton Flyers. Grant Golden and Jacob Gilyard have also performed as All-Conference players and did fantastic when Francis was out.

Now locked in as a No. 2 seed in the Atlantic 10 Tournament and secured of a double-bye, the Spiders are in a great position at the very least to avoid a bad loss in New York. If they can make it to the finals and lose to Dayton, there’s a good chance that they can secure an at-large spot in the Big Dance.

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