2019–20 Richmond Spiders men's basketball team

The 2019–20 Richmond Spiders men's basketball team represented the University of Richmond during the 2019–20 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. They were led by 15th-year head coach Chris Mooney and played their home games at the Robins Center as members of the Atlantic 10 Conference. The Spiders finished the season 24–7, 14–4 in A-10 play to finish in second place. Their season ended when the A-10 tournament and all other postseason tournaments were canceled due to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic.

2019–20 Richmond Spiders men's basketball
Conference	Atlantic 10 Conference
Record	24–7 (14–4 A-10)
Head coach	Chris Mooney (15th season)
Assistant coaches	Rob Jones Marcus Jenkins Steve Thomas
Home arena	Robins Center
Seasons ← 2018–19 2020–21 →

2019–20 Atlantic 10 men's basketball standings

v t e	Conf							Overall
Team	W		L		PCT			W		L		PCT
No. 3 Dayton	18	–	0		1.000			29	–	2		.935
Richmond	14	–	4		.778			24	–	7		.774
Rhode Island	13	–	5		.722			21	–	9		.700
Saint Louis	12	–	6		.667			23	–	8		.742
St. Bonaventure	11	–	7		.611			19	–	12		.613
Duquesne	11	–	7		.611			21	–	9		.700
Davidson	10	–	8		.556			16	–	14		.533
Massachusetts	8	–	10		.444			14	–	17		.452
VCU	8	–	10		.444			18	–	13		.581
La Salle	6	–	12		.333			15	–	15		.500
George Washington	6	–	12		.333			12	–	20		.375
George Mason	5	–	13		.278			17	–	15		.531
Saint Joseph's	2	–	16		.111			6	–	26		.188
Fordham	2	–	16		.111			9	–	22		.290
Note: The 2020 A-10 tournament was canceled after the first round due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Rankings from AP poll

Previous season

The Spiders finished the 2018–19 season 13–20, 6–12 in A-10 play to finish in a tie with Saint Joseph's for tenth place. As the No. 11 seed in the A-10 tournament, they defeated Fordham in the first round before losing to Saint Louis in the second round.^[1]

Offseason

Departures

Name	Number	Pos.	Height	Weight	Year	Hometown	Reason for departure
Noah Yates	24	F	6'5"	210	Senior	Point Pleasant Beach, NJ	Exhausted eligibility as graduate student[2]
Keith Oddo	30	G	6'1"	185	Senior	Roanoke, VA	Walk-on graduate transfer to Louisville[3]
Julius Johnson	32	G	6'3"	200	Senior	Cocoa, FL	Graduated

Assistant coach Kim Lewis also left the team after six seasons in the position, joining the staff of Mercer University in the same role.^[4] Richmond's director of basketball operations Steve Thomas was promoted to fill the vacancy left by Lewis.^[5]

Incoming transfers

Name	Number	Pos.	Height	Weight	Year	Hometown	Previous School
Connor Crabtree	13	G	6'6"	190	Sophomore	Hillsborough, NC	Transferred from Tulane. Will sit out the 2019–20 season due to transfer rules and will have three years of remaining eligibility.[6]

2019 recruiting class

US college sports recruiting information for high school athletes

Name	Hometown	High school / college	Height	Weight	Commit date
Tyler Burton SF	Uxbridge, MA	Marianapolis Prep	6 ft 7 in (2.01 m)	195 lb (88 kg)	Sep 16, 2018
	Recruiting star ratings: Scout: N/A   Rivals: N/A   247Sports: N/A    ESPN grade: 0
Overall recruiting rankings:
Note: In many cases, Scout, Rivals, 247Sports, and ESPN may conflict in their listings of height and weight. In these cases, the average was taken. ESPN grades are on a 100-point scale. Sources: "Rivals.com 2019 Richmond Commitments". Rivals.com. Retrieved June 26, 2019. "2018 Team Ranking". Rivals.com. Retrieved June 26, 2019.

Roster

2019–20 Richmond Spiders men's basketball team
Players	Coaches
Pos. # Name Height Weight Year Previous school Hometown G 0 Jacob Gilyard 5 ft 9 in (1.75 m) 160 lb (73 kg) Jr The Barstow School Kansas City, Missouri G 1 Blake Francis 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) 175 lb (79 kg) RS Jr Westfield High School Wagner Herndon, Virginia F 2 Souleymane Koureissi 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 215 lb (98 kg) So Iona Prep Harlem, New York F 3 Tyler Burton 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 195 lb (88 kg) Fr Marianapolis Prep Uxbridge, Massachusetts F 4 Nathan Cayo 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 225 lb (102 kg) Jr Collège Jean-de-Brébeuf Montreal, Quebec G 5 Nick Sherod 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 230 lb (104 kg) RS Jr St. Christopher's School Richmond, Virginia F 10 Sullivan Kulju (W) 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 220 lb (100 kg) Jr Eisenhower Middle/High School New Berlin, Wisconsin G 11 Jake Wojcik 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 190 lb (86 kg) So Bellarmine College Prep San Jose, California G 12 Gabe Arizin (W) 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 190 lb (86 kg) Fr St. Joseph's Prep West Chester, Pennsylvania G 13 Connor Crabtree  6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 190 lb (86 kg) So Hargrave Military Academy Tulane Hillsborough, North Carolina F 15 Matt Grace 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 230 lb (104 kg) So TRC Academy Hamilton, Ontario F 21 Tomas Verbinskis 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 210 lb (95 kg) RS So Sagemont School Klaipeda, Lithuania G 22 Andre Gustavson 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 195 lb (88 kg) So Helsinki Basketball Academy Helsinki, Finland G 31 Jordan Gaitley (W) 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 190 lb (86 kg) Jr Fordham Preparatory School Haverford, Pennsylvania F 33 Grant Golden 6 ft 10 in (2.08 m) 255 lb (116 kg) RS Jr St. James School Winchester, Virginia	Head coach Chris Mooney (Princeton) Assistant coach(es) Rob Jones (Toccoa Falls) Marcus Jenkins (Air Force) Steve Thomas (Rowan) Legend (C) Team captain (S) Suspended (I) Ineligible (W) Walk-on Injured Current redshirt Roster Last update: October 31, 2019

Schedule and results

Date time, TV	Rank#	Opponent#	Result	Record	High points	High rebounds	High assists	Site (attendance) city, state
Exhibition
Nov 3, 2019* 6:00 p.m.		Randolph–Macon	W 70–57		17 – Golden	7 – Golden	6 – Golden	Robins Center  Richmond, VA
Non-conference regular season
Nov 8, 2019* 7:00 p.m., ESPN+		Saint Francis (PA)	W 100–98 OT	1–0	27 – Sherod	8 – Tied	8 – Gilyard	Robins Center (6,602) Richmond, VA
Nov 14, 2019* 7:00 p.m., NBCS WA/ESPN+		Vanderbilt	W 93–92 OT	2–0	26 – Gilyard	8 – Cayo	4 – Gilyard	Robins Center (5,602) Richmond, VA
Nov 17, 2019* 4:00 p.m., MASN/ESPN+		Cal State Northridge Legends Classic campus round	W 90–62	3–0	25 – Sherod	12 – Golden	7 – Gilyard	Robins Center (4,604) Richmond, VA
Nov 22, 2019* 7:00 p.m., MASN/ESPN+		McNeese State Legends Classic campus round	W 87–57	4–0	20 – Francis	6 – Tied	6 – Gilyard	Robins Center (4,765) Richmond, VA
Nov 25, 2019* 7:00 p.m., ESPN2		vs. Wisconsin Legends Classic semifinals	W 62–52	5–0	19 – Francis	12 – Golden	6 – Francis	Barclays Center (6,812) Brooklyn, NY
Nov 26, 2019* 7:30 p.m., ESPN2		vs. No. 18 Auburn Legends Classic final	L 65–79	5–1	14 – Golden	6 – Tied	4 – Gilyard	Barclays Center (6,420) Brooklyn, NY
Nov 30, 2019* 2:30 p.m., NBCSN		Boston College	W 64–44	6–1	22 – Gilyard	8 – Gilyard	6 – Gilyard	Robins Center (5,531) Richmond, VA
Dec 3, 2019* 7:00 p.m., ESPN+		at Hampton	W 80–63	7–1	29 – Francis	9 – Sherod	10 – Gilyard	Hampton Convocation Center (3,323) Hampton, VA
Dec 8, 2019* 2:00 p.m., MASN/ESPN+		South Alabama	W 75–57	8–1	17 – Sherod	9 – Sherod	7 – Gilyard	Robins Center (5,506) Richmond, VA
Dec 14, 2019* 5:00 p.m., NBCSN		Charleston	W 78–71	9–1	20 – Francis	7 – Tied	8 – Gilyard	Robins Center (5,804) Richmond, VA
Dec 18, 2019* 7:00 p.m., ESPN+		at Old Dominion	W 62–59	10–1	19 – Golden	7 – Golden	4 – Tied	Ted Constant Convocation Center (6,219) Norfolk, VA
Dec 22, 2019* 3:30 p.m.		vs. Radford Holiday Hoops Fest	L 58–73	10–2	18 – Francis	7 – Golden	6 – Gilyard	Entertainment and Sports Arena (1,381) Washington, DC
Dec 29, 2019* 6:30 p.m., SECN		at Alabama	L 78–90	10–3	21 – Gilyard	11 – Golden	4 – Gilyard	Coleman Coliseum (9,960) Tuscaloosa, AL
A-10 regular season
Jan 2, 2020 7:00 p.m., NBCS WA/ESPN+		Saint Joseph's	W 84–52	11–3 (1–0)	23 – Francis	7 – Golden	4 – Golden	Robins Center (5,026) Richmond, VA
Jan 5, 2020 noon, ESPN+		at Rhode Island	W 69–61	12–3 (2–0)	19 – Cayo	11 – Cayo	5 – Golden	Ryan Center (5,325) Kingston, RI
Jan 11, 2020 6:00 p.m., MASN/ESPN+		Saint Louis	L 58–74	12–4 (2–1)	17 – Sherod	6 – Cayo	3 – Golden	Robins Center (7,004) Richmond, VA
Jan 14, 2020 7:00 p.m., ESPNU		at Davidson	W 70–64	13–4 (3–1)	18 – Sherod	6 – Tied	7 – Gilyard	John M. Belk Arena (3,503) Davidson, NC
Jan 18, 2020 2:30 p.m., NBCSN		at George Mason	W 97–87	14–1 (4–1)	25 – Golden	6 – Burton	8 – Gilyard	EagleBank Arena (4,603) Fairfax, VA
Jan 22, 2020 7:00 p.m., MASN/ESPN+		La Salle	W 75–57	15–4 (5–1)	15 – Golden	9 – Burton	5 – Gilyard	Robins Center (5,073) Richmond, VA
Jan 25, 2020 6:00 p.m., NBCS WA/ESPN+		No. 7 Dayton	L 79–87	15–5 (5–2)	29 – Gilyard	9 – Sherod	7 – Golden	Robins Center (7,201) Richmond, VA
Jan 28, 2020 7:00 p.m., CBSSN		at VCU Capital City Classic	L 68–87	15–6 (5–3)	24 – Golden	8 – Golden	5 – Gilyard	Siegel Center (7,637) Richmond, VA
Feb 1, 2020 6:00 p.m., NBCS WA+/ESPN+		George Washington	W 76–54	16–6 (6–3)	20 – Golden	6 – Wojcik	9 – Gilyard	Robins Center (7,201) Richmond, VA
Feb 8, 2020 2:00 p.m., ESPN+		at Fordham	W 59–53	17–6 (7–3)	22 – Gilyard	9 – Burton	3 – Tied	Rose Hill Gymnasium (2,117) Bronx, NY
Feb 12, 2020 7:00 p.m., ESPN+		at La Salle	W 74–47	18–6 (8–3)	16 – Golden	7 – Burton	5 – Gilyard	Tom Gola Arena (1,271) Philadelphia, PA
Feb 15, 2020 4:00 p.m., CBSSN		VCU Capital City Classic	W 77–59	19–6 (9–3)	23 – Sherod	10 – Golden	6 – Tied	Robins Center (7,201) Richmond, VA
Feb 19, 2020 7:00 p.m., NBCS WA+/ESPN+		George Mason	W 65–50	20–6 (10–3)	21 – Golden	7 – Tied	3 – Tied	Robins Center (5,651) Richmond, VA
Feb 22, 2020 6:30 p.m., NBCSN		at St. Bonaventure	L 71–75	20–7 (10–4)	23 – Francis	9 – Burton	6 – Gilyard	Reilly Center (5,480) St. Bonaventure, NY
Feb 26, 2020 7:00 p.m., ESPN+		at George Washington	W 73–70	21–7 (11–4)	19 – Francis	9 – Cayo	8 – Golden	Charles E. Smith Center (2,735) Washington, D.C.
Feb 29, 2020 6:00 p.m., NBCS WA/ESPN+		Massachusetts	W 95–71	22–7 (12–4)	20 – Francis	9 – Golden	10 – Gilyard	Robins Center (7,201) Richmond, VA
Mar 3, 2020 7:00 p.m., NBCS WA+/ESPN+		Davidson	W 80–63	23–7 (13–4)	19 – Sherod	8 – Cayo	8 – Gilyard	Robins Center (6,501) Richmond, VA
Mar 6, 2020 7:00 p.m., ESPN+		at Duquesne	W 73–62	24–7 (14–4)	21 – Francis	11 – Tied	10 – Gilyard	PPG Paints Arena (3,211) Pittsburgh, PA
A-10 tournament
Mar 13, 2020 6:00 p.m., NBCSN	(2)	vs. TBD Quarterfinals	A10 Tournament Canceled[7]					Barclays Center  Brooklyn, NY
*Non-conference game. #Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. All times are in Eastern Time.

Sources:^{[8][9][10][11][12][13][14]}

References

1. Gorman, Denis (March 14, 2019). "Saint Louis uses second half comeback to outlast Richmond". Associated Press. Retrieved June 27, 2019.
2. O'Connor, John (March 28, 2019). "NCAA denies Noah Yates' appeal for second season as member of Spiders' basketball program". Richmond Times-Dispatch. Retrieved June 27, 2019.
3. Lerner, Danielle (June 26, 2019). "Louisville men's basketball adds walk-on guard from University of Richmond". Louisville Courier Journal. Retrieved June 27, 2019.
4. O'Connor, John (April 15, 2019). "Kim Lewis' departure creates opening on Spiders men's basketball staff". Richmond Times-Dispatch. Retrieved June 27, 2019.
5. O'Connor, John (April 23, 2019). "Chris Mooney extends trend, promoting staff member Steve Thomas to Spiders assistant coach". Richmond Times-Dispatch. Retrieved June 27, 2019.
6. O'Connor, John (May 12, 2019). "Spiders hoops bringing in 6-6 transfer Connor Crabtree from Tulane". Richmond Times-Dispatch. Retrieved June 27, 2019.
7. "Atlantic 10 Men's Basketball Championship Cancelled". atlantic10.com. The Atlantic 10 Conference. March 12, 2020. Retrieved March 13, 2020.
8. "Men's Basketball Announces 2019-20 Schedule". richmondspiders.com. University of Richmond Athletics. September 4, 2019. Retrieved September 4, 2019.
9. "Richmond Spiders 2019–20 Conference Men's Basketball Schedule" (PDF). atlantic10.com. Atlantic 10 Conference. September 4, 2019. Retrieved September 4, 2019.
10. "Schedule – Legends Classic". gazellegroup.com. Gazelle Group. Retrieved September 5, 2019.
11. "Men's Basketball Announces Tip Times For 2019-20 Home Games". richmondspiders.com. University of Richmond Athletics. September 17, 2019. Retrieved September 17, 2019.
12. "Atlantic 10 Announces Schedule Matchups for 2019-20 Men's Basketball Conference Season" (Press release). Newport News, Virginia: Atlantic 10 Conference. June 20, 2019. Retrieved June 27, 2019.
13. "Wisconsin, Auburn, Richmond, and New Mexico to Play in 2019 Legends Classic Presented by Old Trapper" (Press release). Princeton, New Jersey and Brooklyn, New York: Gazelle Group. March 12, 2019. Retrieved June 27, 2019.
14. Hardt, John (May 7, 2019). "From the AD's Desk - John Hardt". richmondspiders.com. University of Richmond Athletics. Retrieved June 27, 2019.