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Atlantic 10 Basketball: 2020-21 power rankings heading into conference play

By Benjamin Zacher

WASHINGTON, DC - JANUARY 15: The Atlantic 10 logo on the court before the game between the George Washington Colonials and the Richmond Spiders at the Charles E. Smith Athletic Center on January 15, 2015 in Washington, DC. (Photo by G Fiume/Getty Images)
WASHINGTON, DC - JANUARY 15: The Atlantic 10 logo on the court before the game between the George Washington Colonials and the Richmond Spiders at the Charles E. Smith Athletic Center on January 15, 2015 in Washington, DC. (Photo by G Fiume/Getty Images) /
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Richmond Spiders Blake Francis Steve Roberts-USA TODAY Sports
Richmond Spiders Blake Francis Steve Roberts-USA TODAY Sports /

4. Richmond Spiders

  • 2020-21 record: 7-3 overall, 1-1 A-10
  • Previous ranking: 1st

This season has not played out the way preseason expectations had predicted for the Spiders, and – despite a solid resume of wins – Chris Mooney’s squad has struggled to look like a convincing and consistent A-10 powerhouse.  Richmond still looks like a team capable of making the NCAA Tournament – but they are approaching the dangerous territory of not having the resume needed for an at-large bid.

The Spiders were ranked first last month after their huge win in Rupp over Kentucky, which has obviously not aged well – and since then, Richmond has struggled to put away teams.  They have toppled Wofford, Northern Iowa, Vanderbilt, Loyola-Chicago, and Davidson – the latter two the most significant wins – but they were also destroyed by West Virginia, fell to Hofstra, and were most recently knocked off at home by St. Bonaventure.

Richmond still features one of the best starting fives in the A-10 – where all five are averaging double-digits.  Blake Francis (16.5) leads the way for the Spiders, while Grant Golden (14.2), Tyler Burton (12.3), Nathan Cayo (11.9), and Jacob Gilyard (11.6) have supplied invaluable production for a team that has not gotten much scoring from its bench – a common theme among A-10 teams.  The leading scorer off the bench, Connor Crabtree, averages 4.8 points – and has not played since the Hofstra game on December 22nd.

The Spiders maintain one of the most efficient offenses in Div. I (32nd-best) behind a stellar effective FG% (55.7%, 32nd), 2P% (58.6%, 15th), and turnover percentage (16.1%, 40th) – but, due to Richmond’s lack of inside physicality, struggle on offensive boards, getting a second chance on just 19.9% (315th) of their attempts.  Defensively, they rank in the top 100 in 3P% (31.2%), and – despite their stellar offensive mark inside – struggle to defend inside, ranking 296th at 55.5%.

The road does not get any easier for the Spiders, who desperately need a collection of marquee conference wins.  They will have three opportunities in their next four games, taking on URI, VCU, and St. Bonaventure.

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