Atlantic 10 Basketball: VCU on top, Bonnies drop in latest power rankings

RICHMOND, VA - DECEMBER 07: Nah"u2019Shon Hyland #5 of the VCU Rams drives past Jaylin Hunter #12 of the Old Dominion Monarchs in the first half during a game at Stuart C. Siegel Center on December 7, 2019 in Richmond, Virginia. (Photo by Ryan M. Kelly/Getty Images) /

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Atlantic 10 Basketball Richmond Spiders Tyler Burton Geoff Burke-USA TODAY Sports /

5. Richmond Spiders

2020-21 record: 10-4 overall, 4-2 A-10
Previous ranking: 4th

Richmond is stuck in a similar position as George Washington – albeit, just slightly better. After the Spiders’ awful 84-78 home loss to La Salle on January 23rd, Chris Mooney’s squad played three days later, routing Saint Joseph’s by 23 – and then was forced to go on pause immediately afterward.

The Spiders, at least, looked great against the Hawks, scoring 1.14 points per possession while shooting 57.9% inside and 39.1% outside – all the while recording 23 assists on 31 made field goals. Four different players reached double-digits, with Tyler Burton continuing his stellar sophomore campaign with a career-high 25 points. Blake Francis (18), Nathan Cayo (11), and Matt Grace (10) round out those in double-figures.

There are still some areas of concern for the Spiders – particularly in Jacob Gilyard, who has struggled to score consistently this season and continues to see his shooting numbers dip drastically from last year’s averages. Likewise, after recording three-straight double-digit games against St. Bonaventure, URI, and George Mason, Gilyard has scored just seven combined points in the last two outings against La Salle and Saint Joseph’s.

For a team firmly on the bubble, Richmond desperately needs Gilyard to produce in order to reach the NCAA Tournament – or, at the very least, to feel confident about an at-large bid. They do not have many more opportunities coming up for resume-building wins, with three of their next six games coming against sub-100 KenPom teams.

Two of the other three are VCU and Saint Louis, which are crucial to Richmond if they hope to keep their postseason aspirations alive. Luckily, for the Spiders, they will have a bit of a warm-up game in their return, hosting Div. III St. Mary’s on Sunday, February 14th, in their first game back.

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