# 2023–24 Richmond Spiders men's basketball team

The 2023–24 Richmond Spiders men's basketball team represented the University of Richmond during the 2023–24 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. They were led by 19th-year head coach Chris Mooney and played their home games at the Robins Center in Richmond, Virginia as members of the Atlantic 10 Conference.
Richmond secured the Atlantic 10 Conference regular-season championship with a 73–66 win over Saint Joseph's on March 6, 2024.
Mooney returned to the team as head coach after missing the final six games of the 2022–23 season due to heart surgery to address an aneurysm in his ascending aorta. Assistant coach and former Richmond player Peter Thomas served as interim head coach in Mooney's absence, and Mooney returned to his position after the conclusion of the season.

## Previous season

The Spiders finished the 2022–23 season 15–18, 7–11 in Atlantic 10 play, to finish in 11th place. The Spiders defeated UMass in the first round of the A-10 tournament before losing to George Mason to end their season.

## Offseason
### Departures

| Name | Number | Pos. | Height | Weight | Year | Hometown | Reason for departure |
| Jason Nelson | 1 | G | 5' 10" | 175 | Redshirt freshman | Richmond, VA | Transferred to VCU |
| Marcus Randolph | 2 | G | 6' 5" | 195 | Sophomore | Willingboro, NJ | Transferred to Saint Peter's |
| Tyler Burton | 3 | F | 6' 7" | 215 | Senior | Uxbridge, MA | Graduated and transferred to Villanova |
| Connor Crabtree | 5 | G | 6' 6" | 200 | Graduate student | Hillsborough, NC | Graduated |
| Malcolm Dread | 12 | G | 6' 4" | 210 | Redshirt freshman | Detroit, MI | Transferred to Mount St. Mary's |
| Matt Grace | 15 | F | 6' 9" | 230 | Graduate student | Hamilton, ON | Graduated |
| Andre Gustavson | 22 | G | 6' 5" | 205 | Graduate student | Helsinki, Finland | Graduated |
| Gabe Arizin | 34 | G | 6'4" | 190 | Senior | West Chester, PA | Walk-on; graduated |

### 2023 recruiting class

US college sports recruiting information for high school athletes :
| Name | Hometown | High school / college | Height | Weight | Commit date |
| Trevor Smith G | Newport News, VA | Woodside High School | 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) | 165 lb (75 kg) | Apr 26, 2022 |
| Recruiting star ratings: Rivals: 247Sports: ESPN grade: 3 ||||||
| Collin Tanner G | Creedmoor, NC | Combine Academy | 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) | 195 lb (88 kg) | Aug 28, 2022 |
| Recruiting star ratings: Rivals: N/A 247Sports: ESPN grade: NR ||||||
| Mikkel Tyne G | Toronto, ON | Bishop Walsh School (MD) | 5 ft 10 in (1.78 m) | 180 lb (82 kg) | Jun 9, 2023 |
| Recruiting star ratings: Rivals: N/A 247Sports: N/A ESPN grade: NR ||||||
| Ryan Soulis F | Athens, Greece | Asheville School (NC) | 6 ft 10 in (2.08 m) | 215 lb (98 kg) | Jul 23, 2023 |
| Recruiting star ratings: Rivals: N/A 247Sports: N/A ESPN grade: NR ||||||
| 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 2023 Richmond Commitments". Rivals.com. Retrieved September 9, 2023. "ESPN 2023 Richmond Commitments". ESPN.com. Retrieved September 9, 2023. "2023 Team Ranking". Rivals.com. Retrieved September 9, 2023. ||||||

### Incoming transfers

In addition to the four scholarship freshmen and walk-on freshman Jack Graham, Richmond also brought in three new players via transfer: DeLonnie Hunt from Wagner, Jordan King from East Tennessee State, and Tyler Harris from Western Carolina.

### Coaching staff changes

In June 2023, assistant coach Peter Thomas was elevated to the role of associate head coach. Thomas had served as interim head coach for the final few weeks of the 2022–23 season with head coach Chris Mooney on leave due to heart surgery.
Under a new NCAA rule permitting two additional staff members to be designated as assistant coaches without being able to participate in off-campus recruiting, Mark McGonigal and Jack Fahed were elevated from their previous staff roles in September 2023.

## Preseason

In a preseason poll of league head coaches and select media members, Richmond was chosen to finish 11th out of 15 teams in the Atlantic 10 Conference in 2023–24. Neal Quinn was selected to the Preseason All-Conference Third Team.

## Schedule and results

Richmond announced a 13-game non-conference schedule on August 25, 2023, followed by its 18-game Atlantic 10 schedule on September 6, 2023. The non-conference schedule began on November 6 with a home game against VMI and concluded with a December 30 home game against Lafayette. Richmond's Atlantic 10 schedule began on January 6, 2024, and saw the Spiders facing VCU, Davidson, George Mason, and George Washington twice each and all other conference teams once each.
| Date time, TV | Rank$^#$ | Opponent$^#$ | Result | Record | High points | High rebounds | High assists | Site (attendance) city, state |
| Non-conference regular season |||||||||
| November 6, 2023* 7:00 p.m., MASN2/ESPN+ | | VMI | W 93–75 | 1–0 | 34 – King | 10 – Quinn | 7 – Quinn | Robins Center (5,176) Richmond, VA |
| November 11, 2023* 8:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | Siena Sunshine Slam campus game | W 90–48 | 2–0 | 17 – Bigelow | 5 – Walz | 4 – tied | Robins Center (4,543) Richmond, VA |
| November 15, 2023* 7:00 p.m., ACCNX/ESPN+ | | at Boston College | L 61–68 | 2–1 | 21 – Quinn | 6 – tied | 5 – Quinn | Conte Forum (3,886) Boston, MA |
| November 20, 2023* 8:00 p.m., CBSSN | | vs. No. 18 Colorado Sunshine Slam Beach Bracket semifinals | L 59–64 | 2–2 | 23 – King | 6 – King | 2 – Tyne | Ocean Center (2,153) Daytona Beach, FL |
| November 21, 2023* 6:30 p.m., FloHoops | | vs. UNLV Sunshine Slam Beach Bracket consolation game | W 82–65 | 3–2 | 21 – King | 7 – tied | 7 – Bailey | Ocean Center Daytona Beach, FL |
| November 25, 2023* 7:00 p.m., MASN/ESPN+ | | Queens | W 90–61 | 4–2 | 24 – King | 9 – Bigelow | 4 – Tyne | Robins Center (4,953) Richmond, VA |
| November 29, 2023* 7:30 p.m., ESPN+ | | at Wichita State | L 68–80 | 4–3 | 18 – Quinn | 8 – Bailey | 5 – Bailey | Charles Koch Arena (6,195) Wichita, KS |
| December 2, 2023* 6:00 p.m., Monumental/ESPN+ | | William & Mary | W 88–69 | 5–3 | 29 – King | 8 – tied | 5 – Quinn | Robins Center (5,542) Richmond, VA |
| December 6, 2023* 8:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | at Northern Iowa | L 73–78 | 5–4 | 20 – King | 8 – Quinn | 3 – Bailey | McLeod Center (3,153) Cedar Falls, IA |
| December 9, 2023* 4:00 p.m., SECN | | vs. Florida Orange Bowl Classic | L 76–87 | 5–5 | 17 – tied | 7 – Bigelow | 6 – tied | Amerant Bank Arena (8,162) Sunrise, FL |
| December 16, 2023* 7:00 p.m., MASN/ESPN+ | | Charlotte | W 64–56 | 6–5 | 14 – King | 9 – Bigelow | 3 – tied | Robins Center (5,222) Richmond, VA |
| December 21, 2023* 7:00 p.m., MASN/ESPN+ | | Buffalo | W 72–66 | 7–5 | 23 – Quinn | 12 – Bigelow | 4 – tied | Robins Center (4,897) Richmond, VA |
| December 30, 2023* 4:00 p.m., Monumental/ESPN+ | | Lafayette | W 59–38 | 8–5 | 14 – Bigelow | 10 – Bigelow | 5 – King | Robins Center (5,484) Richmond, VA |
| A-10 regular season |||||||||
| January 6, 2024 4:00 p.m., Monumental/ESPN+ | | St. Bonaventure | W 65–54 | 9–5 (1–0) | 18 – King | 13 – Bigelow | 4 – Quinn | Robins Center (6,619) Richmond, VA |
| January 9, 2024 8:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | at Loyola Chicago | W 58–56 | 10–5 (2–0) | 16 – King | 7 – Quinn | 4 – Quinn | Joseph J. Gentile Arena (1,834) Chicago, IL |
| January 13, 2024 6:00 p.m., MASN/ESPN+ | | George Mason | W 77–70 | 11–5 (3–0) | 31 – King | 8 – Bigelow | 2 – Quinn | Robins Center (6,275) Richmond, VA |
| January 16, 2024 7:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | at Duquesne | W 63–61 | 12–5 (4–0) | 16 – Quinn | 8 – tied | 4 – tied | UPMC Cooper Fieldhouse (2,463) Pittsburgh, PA |
| January 20, 2024 4:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | at Davidson | W 69–64 $^{OT}$ | 13–5 (5–0) | 24 – King | 13 – Bigelow | 4 – Hunt | John M. Belk Arena (4,235) Davidson, NC |
| January 24, 2024 7:00 p.m., NBC Sports App | | George Washington | W 82–74 | 14–5 (6–0) | 32 – King | 9 – Quinn | 4 – Quinn | Robins Center (5,082) Richmond, VA |
| January 27, 2024 6:00 p.m., CBSSN | | No. 16 Dayton | W 69–64 | 15–5 (7–0) | 17 – King | 15 – Bigelow | 4 – Quinn | Robins Center (7,201) Richmond, VA |
| January 31, 2024 7:00 p.m., SNY/ESPN+ | | at Fordham | W 83–69 | 16–5 (8–0) | 29 – King | 9 – Bigelow | 6 – Quinn | Rose Hill Gymnasium (1,860) New York, NY |
| February 3, 2024 4:00 p.m., ESPNU/ESPN+ | | at VCU Capital City Classic | L 52–63 | 16–6 (8–1) | 12 – tied | 9 – Quinn | 6 – Quinn | Siegel Center (7,637) Richmond, VA |
| February 10, 2024 2:00 p.m., Monumental/ESPN+ | | La Salle | W 82–65 | 17–6 (9–1) | 22 – Bailey | 7 – Bailey | 5 – King | Robins Center (7,201) Richmond, VA |
| February 14, 2024 7:00 p.m., MASN/ESPN+ | | UMass | L 59–69 | 17–7 (9–2) | 11 – King | 7 – Bailey | 2 – tied | Robins Center (4,797) Richmond, VA |
| February 17, 2024 12:30 p.m., USA | | at George Washington | W 90–74 | 18–7 (10–2) | 24 – King | 9 – Bigelow | 7 – Quinn | Charles E. Smith Center (2,233) Washington, D.C. |
| February 21, 2024 7:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | at Rhode Island | W 85–77 | 19–7 (11–2) | 25 – King | 6 – Bailey | 7 – tied | Ryan Center (4,252) Kingston, RI |
| February 24, 2024 6:00 p.m., MASN/ESPN+ | | Davidson | W 66–63 | 20–7 (12–2) | 15 – King | 7 – Bailey | 5 – Bailey | Robins Center (7,201) Richmond, VA |
| February 28, 2024 8:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | at Saint Louis | W 80–64 | 21–7 (13–2) | 27 – King | 9 – Bailey | 7 – Quinn | Chaifetz Arena (5,359) St. Louis, MO |
| March 2, 2024 6:00 p.m., CBSSN | | VCU Capital City Classic | W 79–76 | 22–7 (14–2) | 27 – King | 9 – Quinn | 3 – tied | Robins Center (7,201) Richmond, VA |
| March 6, 2024 7:00 p.m., MASN/ESPN+ | | Saint Joseph's | W 73–66 | 23–7 (15–2) | 21 – Quinn | 6 – Bigelow | 4 – Quinn | Robins Center (5,942) Richmond, VA |
| March 9, 2024 2:30 p.m., USA | | at George Mason | L 46–64 | 23–8 (15–3) | 11 – tied | 4 – tied | 2 – tied | EagleBank Arena (5,576) Fairfax, VA |
| A-10 tournament |||||||||
| March 14, 2024 11:30 a.m., USA | (1) | vs. (9) Saint Joseph's Quarterfinals | L 61–66 | 23–9 | 21 – Quinn | 11 – Bigelow | 4 – tied | Barclays Center (6,817) Brooklyn, NY |
| NIT |||||||||
| March 19, 2024 9:00 p.m., ESPN2 | | at (3) Virginia Tech First round – Wake Forest Bracket | L 58–74 | 23–10 | 15 – tied | 7 – Bigelow | 4 – King | Cassell Coliseum (3,183) Blacksburg, VA |
| *Non-conference game. $^#$Rankings from AP poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. All times are in Eastern. |||||||||
Source:

## Rankings

Ranking movements Legend: ██ Increase in ranking ██ Decrease in ranking — = Not ranked RV = Received votes :
| | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week |
| Poll | Pre | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | Final |
| AP | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | RV | — | — | — | — | RV | — | — | — |
| Coaches | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | RV | — | — | — | — | — | — |