The college basketball offseason is here, and we decided to have some fun over the next few months, ranking ALL 364 teams in D1. Number 179 is Richmond basketball.
Before you say we’re crazy – or that all of this is up for debate, let’s go over the very intricate process of how we came to this conclusion. We took a very statistical approach – with the help of Chat GPT – taking into consideration everything from March Madness wins and finishes, to AP Poll appearances, to conference players of the year. And then, a good friend of ours, Scott Blanchard, took our approach to the MAX.
Click here to visit the FIRST article, which explains how the formula works!
Here’s the breakdown of Richmond basketball!
NCAA Tournament Success
- Championships: 0
- Finals appearances: 0
- Final Fours: 0
- Elite Eights: 0
- Sweet 16s: 2
- NCAA wins: 9
- Bids: 10
Consistency Over Time
- Wins per season: 13.1
- Bids per season: 0.09
- AP Polls: 11
Player Quality & Talent
- All-Americans: 0
- NBA players drafted & played: 3
- Conference Players of the Year: 8
Conference & Other Success
- Conference regular season titles: 7
- Conference tournament titles: 7
- NIT titles: 0
- Other tournament titles: 0
Overall scoop on Richmond basketball
Richmond basketball has long been a consistent program in the Atlantic 10 and high mid-major leagues, but nothing will top the history they made in the 1991 NCAA Tournament. As a 15-seed, the Spiders knocked off 2-seed Syracuse, becoming the first 15-seed to ever do that in March Madness history.
While it was a win no one saw coming, people who followed the game at least knew about what Richmond was all about. Head coach Dick Tarrant was one of the best coaches in program history, with a 239-126 record in town. He led them to five regular season conference titles in a dozen seasons and five NCAA Tournament appearances. Just a few seasons prior to the 1991 upset, in 1988, the Spiders made a Sweet 16 run as a 13-seed. Weirdly enough, in both tournaments, their run ended against Temple. In 1984, they also won two tourney games, but the first was a play-in, falling to Indiana in the round of 32. However, the second win was over Auburn and Charles Barkley.
While Tarrant did an outstanding job, the all-time coaching wins leader in program history is the current guy in charge, Chris Mooney. In 21 seasons, he’s 373-307, with a trio of tourney bids and one regular season title. He may not have as many March Madness runs, but Richmond is in a much better league, making Mooney’s job just as impressive. He’s also gone on runs himself, with a run to the Sweet 16 as a 12-seed in 2011 and to the round of 32 again as a 12-seed in 2022.
There were a few coaches in between Tarrant and Mooney, but John Beilein was the most notable, going 100-53 in five seasons with a round of 32 appearance in 1998 as a 14-seed. Jerry Wainwright also took them dancing in 2004, but didn’t fare as well overall.
In the 1950s, Richmond also had some solid clubs. Competing in the SoCon, they found themselves ranked in the top 20 nationally during the 1954-55 and 1957-58 seasons.
But the coolest fact about Richmond basketball? They are the only program to even win March Madness games as a 12, 13, 14, and 15 seed. The Spiders will just always catch you up in their web!
As for notable players, Johnny Newmann, who starred on the 1983-84 club, played in well over 1,000 games in the NBA. And a few seasons ago, guard Jacob Gilyard set the NCAA men’s basketball record with 466 career steals.
In terms of tourney success, cool facts, and long-lasting head coaches, Richmond is living a mid-major program’s dream.