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Bracketology 2020: Examining mid-major basketball at-large profiles

By Joe Weidenburner

NEW YORK, NY - MARCH 8: The NCAA Basketball Tournament Selection Committee meets on Wednesday afternoon, March 8, 2017 in New York City. The committee is gathered in New York to begin the five-day process of selecting and seeding the field of 68 teams for the NCAA MenÕs Basketball Tournament. The final bracket will be released on Sunday evening following the completion of conference tournaments. (Photo by Drew Angerer/Getty Images)
NEW YORK, NY - MARCH 8: The NCAA Basketball Tournament Selection Committee meets on Wednesday afternoon, March 8, 2017 in New York City. The committee is gathered in New York to begin the five-day process of selecting and seeding the field of 68 teams for the NCAA MenÕs Basketball Tournament. The final bracket will be released on Sunday evening following the completion of conference tournaments. (Photo by Drew Angerer/Getty Images) /
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NEW YORK, NEW YORK – NOVEMBER 26: Blake Francis #1 of the Richmond Spiders (Photo by Emilee Chinn/Getty Images)
NEW YORK, NEW YORK – NOVEMBER 26: Blake Francis #1 of the Richmond Spiders (Photo by Emilee Chinn/Getty Images) /

Richmond Spiders

24-7 | NET: 38 | KPI/SOR Avg: 38 | BPI/POM/SAG Avg: 47

Richmond is another true Bubble team that has fluctuated between a 9-seed and out of the field for some time now. Our Bracketology has the Spiders as an 11-seed and among the last four byes, while Bracket Matrix has Richmond as an 11-seed and among the last four in.

Richmond is 6-6 in Quad 1 and Quad 2 opportunities, and the goal is really to ensure that record is above .500. It faces the winner of Davidson-LaSalle in the A-10 quarterfinals on Friday, and the Spiders should hope it’s Davidson as that will provide another Quad 2 opportunity. Beyond that, possible matchups with Rhode Island and Dayton would bolster this resume if Richmond can take advantage.

The glaring part of Richmond’s resume is the neutral court Quad 3 loss to Radford who ranks 184 in the NET. Without that loss, this is a much safer resume, but alas we only count actual results. One of the Quad 1 wins counts as a Quad 1A win on a netural court against Wisconsin, a win that has improved in quality as Wisconsin has performed well throughout this season, and this could be the tide that lifts Richmond’s boat into the NCAA Tournament field. That said, a loss in the A-10 quarters would make it squeaky bum time for the Spiders on Selection Sunday.

Ultimately, there is enough here to make at least the play-in round in Dayton, though Richmond would improve its fate significantly by getting to the A-10 championship game.

Bracketology Prediction: 11-seed, Play-In Round

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