2017–18 Richmond Spiders men's basketball team

The 2017–18 Richmond Spiders men's basketball team represented the University of Richmond during the 2017–18 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. They were led by 13th-year head coach Chris Mooney and played their home games at the Robins Center Richmond as members of the Atlantic 10 Conference. They finished the season 12–20, 9–9 in A-10 play to finish in a four-way tie for fifth place. As the No. 7 seed in the A-10 tournament, they defeated Duquesne in the second round^[1] before losing to St. Bonaventure in the quarterfinals.^[2]

2017–18 Richmond Spiders men's basketball
Conference	Atlantic 10 Conference
Record	12–20 (9–9 A-10)
Head coach	Chris Mooney (13th season)
Assistant coaches	Rob Jones (10th season) Kim Lewis (5th season) Marcus Jenkins (3rd season)
Home arena	Robins Center
Seasons ← 2016–17 2018–19 →

2017–18 Atlantic 10 men's basketball standings

v t e	Conf							Overall
Team	W		L		PCT			W		L		PCT
Rhode Island	15	–	3		.833			26	–	8		.765
St. Bonaventure	14	–	4		.778			26	–	8		.765
Davidson †	13	–	5		.722			21	–	12		.636
Saint Joseph's	10	–	8		.556			16	–	16		.500
VCU	9	–	9		.500			18	–	15		.545
Saint Louis	9	–	9		.500			17	–	16		.515
George Mason	9	–	9		.500			16	–	17		.485
Richmond	9	–	9		.500			12	–	20		.375
Dayton	8	–	10		.444			14	–	17		.452
Duquesne	7	–	11		.389			16	–	16		.500
George Washington	7	–	11		.389			15	–	18		.455
La Salle	7	–	11		.389			13	–	19		.406
Massachusetts	5	–	13		.278			13	–	20		.394
Fordham	4	–	14		.222			9	–	22		.290
† 2018 A10 Tournament winner Rankings from AP poll

Previous season

The Spiders finished the 2016–17 season 19–11, 13–5 in A-10 play to finish in a tie for third place in the conference. They defeated George Washington in the quarterfinals of the A-10 tournament^[3] before losing to VCU in the semifinals.^[4] They received an invitation to the National Invitation Tournament, where they defeated Alabama^[5] and Oakland^[6][7] before falling to TCU in the quarterfinals.^[8][9]

Offseason

Departures

Name	Number	Pos.	Height	Weight	Year	Hometown	Notes
ShawnDre' Jones	3	G	6'0"	165	Senior	Houston, Texas	Graduated
T. J. Cline	10	F/C	6'9"	230	RS Senior	Plano, Texas	Graduated
Chase Fletcher	12	F	6'7"	220	Senior	Dallas, Texas	Walk-on; graduated
Marshall Wood	24	F	6'8"	215	RS Senior	Rustburg, Virginia	Graduated
Jesse Pistokache	30	G	6'3"	205	Sophomore	Mission, Texas	Transferred to Salem International
Kwesi Abakah	34	F	6'8"	240	Grad Student	Suwanee, Georgia	Graduated

2017 recruiting class

US college sports recruiting information for high school athletes

Name	Hometown	High school / college	Height	Weight	Commit date
Tomas Verbinskis #67 SF	Weston, Florida	The Sagemont School	6 ft 7 in (2.01 m)	210 lb (95 kg)	Oct 21, 2016
	Recruiting star ratings: Scout:    Rivals: N/A   247Sports: N/A    ESPN grade: 72
Bryce Schneider SG	Myrtle Beach, South Carolina	Myrtle Beach High School	6 ft 5 in (1.96 m)	175 lb (79 kg)	Oct 16, 2015
	Recruiting star ratings: Scout: N/A   Rivals: N/A   247Sports: N/A    ESPN grade: NR
Jacob Gilyard PG	Kansas City, Missouri	The Barstow School	5 ft 9 in (1.75 m)	160 lb (73 kg)	Sep 12, 2016
	Recruiting star ratings: Scout: N/A   Rivals:    247Sports: N/A    ESPN grade: NR
Nathan Cayo SG	Montreal, Quebec	College Jean-De-Brebeuf	6 ft 6 in (1.98 m)	205 lb (93 kg)	Oct 13, 2016
	Recruiting star ratings: Scout: N/A   Rivals: N/A   247Sports: N/A    ESPN grade: NR
Phoenix Ford SF	Saint Petersburg, Florida	Saint Petersburg High School	6 ft 8 in (2.03 m)	210 lb (95 kg)	Nov 7, 2016
	Recruiting star ratings: Scout: N/A   Rivals: N/A   247Sports: N/A    ESPN grade: NR
Overall recruiting rankings: Scout: NR   Rivals: NR  ESPN: NR
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 2017 Richmond Commitments". Rivals.com. Retrieved July 14, 2017. "Scout.com 2017 Richmond Commitments". Scout.com. Retrieved July 14, 2017. "ESPN 2017 Richmond Commitments". ESPN.com. Retrieved July 14, 2017. "Scout.com Team Recruiting Rankings". Scout.com. Retrieved July 14, 2017. "2017 Team Ranking". Rivals.com. Retrieved July 14, 2017.

Future recruits

2018 recruiting class

US college sports recruiting information for high school athletes

Name	Hometown	High school / college	Height	Weight	Commit date
Souleymane Koureissi SF	New Rochelle, NY	Iona Preparatory School	6 ft 8 in (2.03 m)	180 lb (82 kg)	Oct 31, 2017
	Recruiting star ratings: Scout:    Rivals:    247Sports:     ESPN grade: 77
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 2018 Richmond Commitments". Rivals.com. Retrieved November 3, 2017. "2018 Team Ranking". Rivals.com. Retrieved November 3, 2017.

Preseason

In a poll of the league’s head coaches and select media members at the conference's media day, the Spiders were picked to finish in eighth place in the A-10.^[10] De’Monte Buckingham was named to the conference's preseason second team.^[10]

Roster

2017–18 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) Fr The Barstow School Kansas City, Missouri G 1 Joe Kirby (W) 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) 205 lb (93 kg) Sr Sagemont School Fort Lauderdale, Florida G 2 Khwan Fore 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) 175 lb (79 kg) RS Jr Lee High School Huntsville, Alabama G 3 Bryce Schneider   6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 175 lb (79 kg) Fr Christian Academy of Myrtle Beach Myrtle Beach, South Carolina G 4 Nathan Cayo 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 205 lb (93 kg) Fr Collège Jean-de-Brébeuf Montreal, Canada G 5 Nick Sherod 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 230 lb (104 kg) So St. Christopher's School Richmond, Virginia G 11 De'Monte Buckingham 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 230 lb (104 kg) So Henrico High School Richmond, Virginia F 12 Phoenix Ford   6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 210 lb (95 kg) Fr St. Petersburg High School St. Petersburg, Florida G/F 21 Tomas Verbinskis 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 210 lb (95 kg) Fr Sagemont School Klaipeda, Lithuania F 22 Sullivan Kulju (W) 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 200 lb (91 kg) Fr Eisenhower Middle/High School New Berlin, Wisconsin F 25 Jordan Madrid-Andrews 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 240 lb (109 kg) GS Chicago State Denver, Colorado G 30 Keith Oddo (W) 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) 185 lb (84 kg) Jr North Cross School Roanoke, Virginia G 31 Jordan Gaitley (W) 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 190 lb (86 kg) Fr Fordham Preparatory School Haverford, Pennsylvania G 32 Julius Johnson 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 185 lb (84 kg) Jr Florida Air Academy Cocoa, Florida F/C 33 Grant Golden 6 ft 10 in (2.08 m) 260 lb (118 kg) RS Fr St. James School Winchester, Virginia F 44 Paul Friendshuh 6 ft 10 in (2.08 m) 240 lb (109 kg) RS Jr New Prague High School New Prague, Minnesota	Head coach Chris Mooney (Princeton) Assistant coach(es) Rob Jones (Toccoa Falls) Kim Lewis (Tulane) Marcus Jenkins (Air Force) Legend (C) Team captain (S) Suspended (I) Ineligible (W) Walk-on   Injured   Current redshirt Roster Last update: February 20, 2018

Schedule and results

Date time, TV	Rank^#	Opponent^#	Result	Record	High points	High rebounds	High assists	Site (attendance) city, state
Non-conference regular season
Nov 10, 2017* 7:00 pm, NBCSWA+		Delaware	L 63–76^[11]	0–1	18 – Buckingham	6 – Tied	4 – Gilyard	Robins Center (7,201) Richmond, Virginia
Nov 13, 2017* noon, NBCSWA		Jacksonville State	L 61–94^[12]	0–2	13 – 3 Tied	6 – Golden	4 – Golden	Robins Center (6,805) Richmond, Virginia
Nov 20, 2017* 5:00 pm		vs. UAB Cayman Islands Classic Quarterfinals	W 63–50^[13]	1–2	26 – Golden	7 – Golden	5 – Stansbury	John Gray High School (650) George Town, Cayman Islands
Nov 21, 2017* 7:30 pm		vs. No. 12 Cincinnati Cayman Islands Classic Semifinals	L 48–75^[14]	1–3	12 – Gilyard	7 – Buckingham	3 – Buckingham	John Gray High School (1,400) George Town, Cayman Islands
Nov 22, 2017* 5:00 pm		vs. Louisiana Cayman Islands Classic	L 76–82^[15]	1–4	24 – Golden	9 – Buckingham	8 – Buckingham	John Gray High School (850) George Town, Cayman Islands
Nov 25, 2017* 6:00 pm, Stadium		Georgetown	L 76–82^[16]	1–5	28 – Buckingham	10 – Golden	3 – Tied	Robins Center (7,201) Richmond, Virginia
Nov 29, 2017* 7:00 pm, NBCSWA+		Vermont	L 65–71^[17]	1–6	14 – Sherod	7 – Fore	4 – Tied	Robins Center (4,615) Richmond, Virginia
Dec 2, 2017* 4:00 pm		at Wake Forest	L 53–82^[18]	1–7	16 – Golden	9 – Buckingham	4 – Golden	LJVM Coliseum (6,591) Winston-Salem, North Carolina
Dec 6, 2017* 7:00 pm, ESPN3		at Old Dominion	L 60–79^[19]	1–8	12 – Tied	6 – Buckingham	6 – Gilyard	Ted Constant Convocation Center (5,390) Norfolk, Virginia
Dec 10, 2017* 2:00 pm, NBCSWA+		James Madison	W 74–71^[20]	2–8	23 – Gilyard	7 – Buckingham	5 – Golden	Robins Center (6,524) Richmond, Virginia
Dec 19, 2017* 7:00 pm, MASN		Bucknell	L 78–86^[21]	2–9	22 – Buckingham	8 – Tied	5 – Buckingham	Robins Center (5,501) Richmond, Virginia
Dec 23, 2017* 1:00 pm, ACCN Extra		at Boston College	L 73–78 ^OT[22]	2–10	17 – Golden	10 – Golden	6 – Tied	Conte Forum (5,538) Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts
A-10 regular season
Dec 30, 2017 4:30 pm, NBCSN		Davidson	W 69–58^[23]	3–10 (1–0)	22 – Sherod	10 – Golden	2 – Tied	Robins Center (6,560) Richmond, Virginia
Jan 3, 2018 7:00 pm		at Fordham	L 65–69 ^OT[24]	3–11 (1–1)	12 – Johnson	16 – Buckingham	4 – Gilyard	Rose Hill Gymnasium (1,106) Bronx, New York
Jan 6, 2018 8:00 pm		at Saint Louis	L 62–69^[25]	3–12 (1–2)	24 – Golden	8 – Tied	6 – Buckingham	Chaifetz Arena (7,291) St. Louis, Missouri
Jan 9, 2018 7:00 pm, Stadium		Dayton	L 81–87^[26]	3–13 (1–3)	17 – Johnson	7 – Buckingham	5 – Tied	Robins Center (5,137) Richmond, Virginia
Jan 13, 2018 4:30 pm, NBCSN		George Washington	W 78–68^[27]	4–13 (2–3)	24 – Golden	8 – Buckingham	5 – Gilyard	Robins Center (6,727) Richmond, Virginia
Jan 17, 2018 7:00 pm, Stadium		at VCU Capital City Classic	W 67–52^[28]	5–13 (3–3)	17 – Golden	9 – Buckingham	8 – Gilyard	Siegel Center (7,637) Richmond, Virginia
Jan 20, 2018 2:30 pm, NBCSN		La Salle	W 81–74^[29]	6–13 (4–3)	18 – Tied	9 – Buckingham	4 – Tied	Robins Center (6,686) Richmond, Virginia
Jan 24, 2018 7:00 pm		at Duquesne	W 77–73 ^OT[30]	7–13 (5–3)	28 – Sherod	9 – Golden	6 – Buckingham	Palumbo Center (1,786) Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Jan 28, 2018 2:00 pm, NBCSN		at Davidson	W 66–63^[31]	8–13 (6–3)	24 – Golden	14 – Sherod	4 – Tied	John M. Belk Arena (4,412) Davidson, North Carolina
Feb 3, 2018 4:30 pm, NBCSN		George Mason	L 75–79^[32]	8–14 (6–4)	32 – Sherod	11 – Sherod	5 – Gilyard	Robins Center (7,201) Richmond, Virginia
Feb 7, 2018 9:00 pm, CBSSN		VCU Capital City Classic	W 77–76^[33]	9–14 (7–4)	18 – Tied	9 – Golden	6 – Gilyard	Robins Center (7,201) Richmond, Virginia
Feb 10, 2018 4:00 pm		at St. Bonaventure	L 88–97^[34]	9–15 (7–5)	26 – Sherod	9 – Sherod	6 – Gilyard	Reilly Center (5,480) Olean, New York
Feb 13, 2018 8:30 pm, CBSSN		at No. 16 Rhode Island	L 67–85^[35]	9–16 (7–6)	21 – Sherod	7 – Golden	4 – Buckingham	Ryan Center (7,019) Kingston, Rhode Island
Feb 17, 2018 6:00 pm, NBCSWA+		Saint Louis	L 66–72^[36]	9–17 (7–7)	19 – Sherod	7 – Buckingham	5 – Gilyard	Robins Center (7,201) Richmond, Virginia
Feb 21, 2018 7:00 pm, Stadium		at George Washington	L 77–103^[37]	9–18 (7–8)	21 – Buckingham	6 – Golden	5 – Buckingham	Charles E. Smith Center (2,542) Washington, D.C.
Feb 24, 2018 6:00 pm, NBCSWA		Saint Joseph's	L 70–72^[38]	9–19 (7–9)	20 – Sherod	10 – Buckingham	5 – Tied	Robins Center (7,201) Richmond, Virginia
Feb 28, 2018 7:00 pm, MASN2		UMass	W 90–65^[39]	10–19 (8–9)	26 – Golden	11 – Golden	6 – Tied	Robins Center (5,618) Richmond, Virginia
Mar 3, 2018 7:00 pm, MASN		at George Mason	W 93–79^[40]	11–19 (9–9)	25 – Sherod	8 – Golden	5 – Tied	EagleBank Arena (5,895) Fairfax, Virginia
A-10 tournament
Mar 8, 2018 6:00 pm, NBCSN	(7)	vs. (10) Duquesne Second round	W 81–68^[41]	12–19	20 – Gilyard	9 – Golden	7 – Buckingham	Capital One Arena (6,514) Washington, D.C.
Mar 9, 2018 6:00 pm, NBCSN	(7)	vs. (2) St. Bonaventure Quarterfinals	L 77–83	12–20	25 – Fore	9 – Golden	5 – Buckingham	Capital One Arena (7,664) Washington, D.C.
*Non-conference game. ^#Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. All times are in Eastern Time.

Source:^[42]

References

1. "Duquesne vs. Richmond - Game Recap - March 8, 2018 - ESPN". ESPN.com. Retrieved March 15, 2018.
2. "Richmond vs. St. Bonaventure - Game Recap - March 9, 2018 - ESPN". ESPN.com. Retrieved March 15, 2018.
3. "Atlantic 10 tournament: Third-seeded Richmond edges George Washington, 68-67". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Retrieved July 26, 2017.
4. Matarozzi, Angelina. "VCU avenges regular-season losses to Richmond with A-10 tourney win". SI.com. Retrieved July 26, 2017.
5. "Richmond vs. Alabama - Game Recap - March 14, 2017 - ESPN". ESPN.com. Retrieved July 26, 2017.
6. "Oakland's season ends with 87-83 loss at Richmond in NIT". Detroit Free Press. Retrieved July 26, 2017.
7. "Oakland takes Richmond to the wire, falls in NIT". Detroit News. Retrieved July 26, 2017.
8. "TCU defeats Richmond 86-68, advances to NIT semifinals | SportsDay". SportsDay. March 21, 2017. Retrieved July 26, 2017.
9. "Richmond vs. TCU - Game Recap - March 21, 2017 - ESPN". ESPN.com. Retrieved July 26, 2017.
10. "Rhode Island Picked to Win A-10 Men's Basketball". Atlantic 10 Conference. Atlantic10.com. October 17, 2017. Retrieved October 17, 2017.
11. "Delaware @ Richmond box score". Retrieved December 20, 2017.
12. "Jacksonville State @ Richmond box score". Retrieved December 20, 2017.
13. "Richmond vs. UAB box score". Retrieved December 20, 2017.
14. "Richmond vs. Cincinnati box score". Retrieved December 20, 2017.
15. "Richmond vs. Louisiana box score". Retrieved December 20, 2017.
16. "Georgetown @ Richmond box score". Retrieved December 20, 2017.
17. "Vermont @ Richmond box score". Retrieved December 20, 2017.
18. "Richmond @ Wake Forest box score". Retrieved December 20, 2017.
19. "Richmond @ Old Dominion box score". Retrieved December 20, 2017.
20. "James Madison @ Richmond box score". Retrieved December 20, 2017.
21. "Bucknell @ Richmond box score". Retrieved December 20, 2017.
22. "Richmond @ Boston College box score". Retrieved December 27, 2017.
23. "Davidson @ Richmond box score". Retrieved January 3, 2018.
24. "Richmond @ Fordham box score". Retrieved January 3, 2018.
25. "Richmond @ Saint Louis box score". Retrieved January 15, 2018.
26. "Dayton @ Richmond box score". Retrieved January 15, 2018.
27. "George Washington @ Richmond box score". Retrieved January 15, 2018.
28. "Richmond @ VCU box score". Retrieved January 18, 2018.
29. "La Salle @ Richmond box score". Retrieved January 20, 2018.
30. "Richmond @ Duquesne box score". Retrieved January 25, 2018.
31. "Richmond @ Davidson box score". Retrieved January 28, 2018.
32. "George Mason @ Richmond box score". Retrieved February 6, 2018.
33. "VCU @ Richmond box score". Retrieved February 10, 2018.
34. "Richmond @ St. Bonaventure box score". Retrieved February 10, 2018.
35. "Richmond @ Rhode Island box score". Retrieved February 15, 2018.
36. "Saint Louis @ Richmond box score". Retrieved February 17, 2018.
37. "Richmond @ George Washington box score". Retrieved February 26, 2018.
38. "Saint Joseph's @ Richmond box score". Retrieved February 26, 2018.
39. "UMass @ Richmond box score". Retrieved March 3, 2018.
40. "Richmond @ George Mason box score". Retrieved March 3, 2018.
41. "Duquesne vs. Richmond box score". Retrieved March 8, 2018.
42. "University of Richmond Spiders Men's Basketball 2017–18 Schedule"