Richmond Basketball: 2020-21 season preview for the Spiders
Schedule
Not much is known about Richmond’s schedule. The Atlantic 10 has yet to release a schedule, and the only known non-conference games currently slated for the Spiders are a Dec. 13 showdown at West Virginia and an unscheduled home game against Hofstra.
If Richmond is, even with the Sherod injury, ranked come Dec. 13, that game will be a top 25 match-up. I wrote about the Mountaineers a few days ago, and this is shaping up to be one of – if not the best – group that Bob Huggins has had at West Virginia. They are contenders for a Big 12 championship, and, if they are able to fix their shooting woes, have the potential of competing for a national title.
That duel will be a quality test for the Spiders, particularly to gauge where they are at without Sherod and where they stand against one of the top teams in the country. It will also serve as a suitable precursor to the type of competition they will face in the Atlantic 10, which will continue to boast some of the top mid-major talents in the country.
The game against Hofstra should prove to be a good test, as well. The Pride is coming off a stellar 26-8 season that was capped with a Colonial Athletic Association championship. For context, this is a Hofstra team that got blown out by St. Bonaventure (73-45) but knocked off UCLA at Pauley Pavilion in late November.
Despite Obi Toppin’s departure from Dayton, the Flyers – along with the Saint Louis Billikens – look to be Richmond’s chief competition in the A-10 this season. The Billikens will be led by double-double machines Jordan Goodwin and Hasahn French, while potential Conference Player of the Year talent Jalen Crutcher should have Dayton back in the upper echelon of the A-10.
The A-10 is obviously deep – seven teams finished with winning records in conference play last year, with Dayton, Richmond, Rhode Island, Saint Louis, St. Bonaventure, Duquesne, and Davidson all winning at least ten games. Additionally, VCU and George Mason both had winning overall records.
Richmond’s four A-10 losses last season were to Dayton, Saint Louis, VCU, and St. Bonaventure. It really is not out of the question for them to be better than they were last year and still lose more games in A-10 play this season.
Depth in the A-10 this year can be defined by the placement of teams in the preseason KenPom ratings: eight A-10 teams are slotted between 45-100, with Saint Louis and Dayton leading the way at 45 and 49, respectively, and the Spiders trailing a few spots below at 62 – still in the tournament field. St. Bonaventure, Davidson, Duquesne, VCU, and Rhode Island all round out those in the top 100.