The 2-0 Richmond Spiders out of the Atlantic-10 will travel to Charleston, SC to take on the College of Charleston, 1-1 on the season, out of the CAA on Monday night. Richmond is coming off a 24-13 season which ended in an Atlantic 10 tournament championship before finally falling in the round of 32 in the NCAA Tournament. The College of Charleston went 17-15 last season and lost in the second round of the CAA Tournament. The opening tap on Monday night is scheduled for 7:00pm EST.
Richmond head coach Chris Mooney knew he had a lot of shoes to fill this season after the graduation of one of the most decorated classes in Richmond history. Despite losing nearly 45 points per game to graduation, Mooney does have last year's leading scorer back in Tyler Burton. Burton averaged 16.1 points per game, grabbed nearly eight rebounds per game and shot the ball 37% from long range. He has started 60 consecutive games for the Spiders and he too will have to get used to a different cast of characters this season.
“He doesn’t need to make a huge jump in any one area,” Mooney told . “The big challenge for him is that he’s clearly the best player now. That hasn’t been his role. There’s a greater sense of responsibility when you’re in this position. This will be more focused on him.”
Sunday reading ??
Everything you need to know about Monday's matchup at Charleston (7p – FloHoops and @ESPNRichmond)https://t.co/lPD2geCuHU pic.twitter.com/HPHp1w18Ju
— Richmond Basketball (@SpiderMBB) November 13, 2022
Richmond has started off the season 2-0 as they seem to be adjusting to their newer players. In the opener, the Spiders' defense was the story as they held VMI to just 25% shooting from the floor in a 69-48 win. Redshirt freshman Jason Nelson led the way with 13 points and 3 assists in his first-ever collegiate game. In their second game, Nelson delivered once again in a 68-55 win over Northern Iowa. Nelson finished with 21 points to go along with three rebounds and two assists. Once again, the defense stepped up as they held Northern Iowa to just 33% shooting on the night.