University of Richmond Athletics
Men’s Basketball Unveils Ambitious 2020-21 Schedule
11/11/2020 | Men's Basketball
UNIVERSITY OF RICHMOND, Va. – Richmond Athletics announced a challenging men's basketball schedule for the 2020-21 season on Wednesday that includes non-conference matchups against some of the nation's top teams and a demanding 18-game Atlantic 10 season. The Spiders, picked as preseason favorites in this week's A-10 preseason poll, will play at least a dozen games on national television including four Friday night matchups on ESPN over the final five weeks of the regular season.
"We feel like we have a great team and we've spent the entire offseason working to construct a schedule that will give us the chance to test ourselves repeatedly against some of the best teams in the nation," said head coach Chris Mooney. "I want to thank our staff and administration for working through so much uncertainty over the last six months to create a schedule that will prepare us for postseason play while ensuring the health and safety of our players."
Per the NCAA Division I Council's guidance on scheduling, the Spiders will play nine non-conference games, the maximum allowed for any team, in addition to 18 conference games during the regular season.
The Spiders open at the Bluegrass Showcase in Lexington, Ky. with games against Detroit Mercy on November 25th and Morehead State on November 27th. Richmond faces 10th-ranked Kentucky at Rupp Arena on November 29th at 1 PM on ESPN, the first of at least 12 nationally-televised games for the Spiders during the regular season.
Richmond visits Charleston of the Colonial Athletic Association December 2nd before the Spiders home opener on December 5th against Southern Conference powerhouse Furman at the Robins Center. Northern Iowa, another one of the nation's best mid-major programs, visits the Robins Center on December 9th.
The Spiders play back-to-back road games vs power-conference opponents in mid-December: at 15th-ranked West Virginia on December 13th and at Vanderbilt on December 16th. Richmond's meeting with the Mountaineers will be the first since 2015 between the former Southern Conference rivals, while UR's matchup with Vanderbilt will be a rematch of last season's game at the Robins Center, won by the Spiders in overtime.
Richmond's A-10 opener will be December 19th at the Robins Center against Duquesne, a scheduling adjustment intended to preserve flexibility during the Atlantic 10 season in the event of disruptions due to COVID-19.
The Spiders final non-conference game will be against defending CAA-champion Hofstra on December 22nd at the Robins Center.
Following an eight-day break for the holidays, the Spiders will return to action at Davidson on December 30th on CBS Sports Network, the first of seven straight nationally-televised games for Richmond.
The Spiders host St. Bonaventure on January 2nd and Rhode Island on January 6th before traveling to George Mason on January 9th, with all games showing on CBS Sports Network.
Richmond's intracity rivalry with VCU will be renewed on January 16th when the Spiders host the Rams on CBS Sports Network and Richmond completes its season series with St. Bonaventure on January 20th in Olean, N.Y., also on CBS Sports Network.
The Spiders end January with a home game against La Salle on January 23rd on NBC Sports Network and a road date at Saint Joseph's on January 26th before hosting Saint Louis for a primetime matchup on January 29th. That game, the first of two between the top two teams in the A-10 preseason poll, will be shown on ESPN networks and is the first of three straight Fridays for Richmond with games on ESPN.
February opens with a home game against George Mason on February 2nd before a February 5th road game at Dayton, also on ESPN.
The Spiders host George Washington on February 9th and then play four of their final five regular-season games on the road, a stretch that starts with the short trip to VCU for a primetime matchup on February 12th on ESPN.
Richmond visits La Salle on February 20th and hosts Fordham on February 23rd before ending its conference schedule with road trips to Saint Louis (February 26th on ESPN) and Massachusetts (March 3rd).
The 2021 Atlantic 10 Men's Basketball Championship will be held at Brooklyn's Barclays Center from March 10th to March 14th.
The Spiders schedule includes five games against opponents that are represented in the AP Top 25 Preseason Poll: at Kentucky (#10), at West Virginia (#15), vs Northern Iowa (Receiving Votes) and a home-and-home series vs Saint Louis (Receiving Votes). Richmond has 13 wins vs top-25 teams under Chris Mooney, the second-most of any A-10 school during his tenure (since 2005-06).
Richmond is coming off a 24-7 season and features three players who were selected to the A-10's Preseason All-Conference teams on Tuesday: guard Jacob Gilyard (1st team), guard Blake Francis (2nd team), and forward Grant Golden (2ndteam). Gilyard and Golden have also been named to the watch lists for the Bob Cousy and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Awards, given to the top point guard and center in the nation, respectively.
Additional television broadcast information, tip-off times, and details on Robins Center attendance policies for the start of the Spiders season will be announced soon. All dates, opponents, and broadcast information are subject to change.
RICHMOND MEN'S BASKETBALL 2020-21 SCHEDULE
November 25 vs Detroit Mercy*
November 27 vs Morehead State*
November 29 at Kentucky*
December 2 at Charleston
December 5 FURMAN
December 9 NORTHERN IOWA
December 13 at West Virginia
December 16 at Vanderbilt
December 19 DUQUESNE
December 22 HOFSTRA
December 30 at Davidson
January 2 ST. BONAVENTURE
January 6 RHODE ISLAND
January 9 at George Mason
January 16 VCU
January 20 at St. Bonaventure
January 23 LA SALLE
January 26 at Saint Joseph's
January 29 SAINT LOUIS
February 2 GEORGE MASON
February 5 at Dayton
February 9 GEORGE WASHINGTON
February 12 at VCU
February 20 at La Salle
February 23 FORDHAM
February 26 at Saint Louis
March 3 at Massachusetts
* Bluegrass Showcase (Rupp Arena - Lexington, KY)
"We feel like we have a great team and we've spent the entire offseason working to construct a schedule that will give us the chance to test ourselves repeatedly against some of the best teams in the nation," said head coach Chris Mooney. "I want to thank our staff and administration for working through so much uncertainty over the last six months to create a schedule that will prepare us for postseason play while ensuring the health and safety of our players."
Per the NCAA Division I Council's guidance on scheduling, the Spiders will play nine non-conference games, the maximum allowed for any team, in addition to 18 conference games during the regular season.
The Spiders open at the Bluegrass Showcase in Lexington, Ky. with games against Detroit Mercy on November 25th and Morehead State on November 27th. Richmond faces 10th-ranked Kentucky at Rupp Arena on November 29th at 1 PM on ESPN, the first of at least 12 nationally-televised games for the Spiders during the regular season.
Richmond visits Charleston of the Colonial Athletic Association December 2nd before the Spiders home opener on December 5th against Southern Conference powerhouse Furman at the Robins Center. Northern Iowa, another one of the nation's best mid-major programs, visits the Robins Center on December 9th.
The Spiders play back-to-back road games vs power-conference opponents in mid-December: at 15th-ranked West Virginia on December 13th and at Vanderbilt on December 16th. Richmond's meeting with the Mountaineers will be the first since 2015 between the former Southern Conference rivals, while UR's matchup with Vanderbilt will be a rematch of last season's game at the Robins Center, won by the Spiders in overtime.
Richmond's A-10 opener will be December 19th at the Robins Center against Duquesne, a scheduling adjustment intended to preserve flexibility during the Atlantic 10 season in the event of disruptions due to COVID-19.
The Spiders final non-conference game will be against defending CAA-champion Hofstra on December 22nd at the Robins Center.
Following an eight-day break for the holidays, the Spiders will return to action at Davidson on December 30th on CBS Sports Network, the first of seven straight nationally-televised games for Richmond.
The Spiders host St. Bonaventure on January 2nd and Rhode Island on January 6th before traveling to George Mason on January 9th, with all games showing on CBS Sports Network.
Richmond's intracity rivalry with VCU will be renewed on January 16th when the Spiders host the Rams on CBS Sports Network and Richmond completes its season series with St. Bonaventure on January 20th in Olean, N.Y., also on CBS Sports Network.
The Spiders end January with a home game against La Salle on January 23rd on NBC Sports Network and a road date at Saint Joseph's on January 26th before hosting Saint Louis for a primetime matchup on January 29th. That game, the first of two between the top two teams in the A-10 preseason poll, will be shown on ESPN networks and is the first of three straight Fridays for Richmond with games on ESPN.
February opens with a home game against George Mason on February 2nd before a February 5th road game at Dayton, also on ESPN.
The Spiders host George Washington on February 9th and then play four of their final five regular-season games on the road, a stretch that starts with the short trip to VCU for a primetime matchup on February 12th on ESPN.
Richmond visits La Salle on February 20th and hosts Fordham on February 23rd before ending its conference schedule with road trips to Saint Louis (February 26th on ESPN) and Massachusetts (March 3rd).
The 2021 Atlantic 10 Men's Basketball Championship will be held at Brooklyn's Barclays Center from March 10th to March 14th.
The Spiders schedule includes five games against opponents that are represented in the AP Top 25 Preseason Poll: at Kentucky (#10), at West Virginia (#15), vs Northern Iowa (Receiving Votes) and a home-and-home series vs Saint Louis (Receiving Votes). Richmond has 13 wins vs top-25 teams under Chris Mooney, the second-most of any A-10 school during his tenure (since 2005-06).
Richmond is coming off a 24-7 season and features three players who were selected to the A-10's Preseason All-Conference teams on Tuesday: guard Jacob Gilyard (1st team), guard Blake Francis (2nd team), and forward Grant Golden (2ndteam). Gilyard and Golden have also been named to the watch lists for the Bob Cousy and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Awards, given to the top point guard and center in the nation, respectively.
Additional television broadcast information, tip-off times, and details on Robins Center attendance policies for the start of the Spiders season will be announced soon. All dates, opponents, and broadcast information are subject to change.
RICHMOND MEN'S BASKETBALL 2020-21 SCHEDULE
November 25 vs Detroit Mercy*
November 27 vs Morehead State*
November 29 at Kentucky*
December 2 at Charleston
December 5 FURMAN
December 9 NORTHERN IOWA
December 13 at West Virginia
December 16 at Vanderbilt
December 19 DUQUESNE
December 22 HOFSTRA
December 30 at Davidson
January 2 ST. BONAVENTURE
January 6 RHODE ISLAND
January 9 at George Mason
January 16 VCU
January 20 at St. Bonaventure
January 23 LA SALLE
January 26 at Saint Joseph's
January 29 SAINT LOUIS
February 2 GEORGE MASON
February 5 at Dayton
February 9 GEORGE WASHINGTON
February 12 at VCU
February 20 at La Salle
February 23 FORDHAM
February 26 at Saint Louis
March 3 at Massachusetts
* Bluegrass Showcase (Rupp Arena - Lexington, KY)
Players Mentioned
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