2025–26 Spider men's basketball schedule

[sman]

it sounds to me like some of you think we might be a really good team and we blew our at-large chances by scheduling softly.
if that's true, then mission accomplished with this schedule. it improved morale through year end. posts have been positive about the players and the direction of the program. that's a nice change.

but if we go 8-10 in conference, then we scheduled appropriately. hope I'm wrong, but I still see a team that probably can't shoot straight against a good team. we couldn't handle W&M's press. I doubt that's the toughest defense we see this season. let's see if we're still feeling positive in January.

 

[*23*]

we couldn't handle W&M's press

that seemed to be specific to one ball handler.

 

[MrTbone]

it sounds to me like some of you think we might be a really good team and we blew our at-large chances by scheduling softly.
if that's true, then mission accomplished with this schedule. it improved morale through year end. posts have been positive about the players and the direction of the program. that's a nice change.

but if we go 8-10 in conference, then we scheduled appropriately. hope I'm wrong, but I still see a team that probably can't shoot straight against a good team. we couldn't handle W&M's press. I doubt that's the toughest defense we see this season. let's see if we're still feeling positive in January.

I think this is pretty spot on. So far we look good against bad competition which at least has people feeling positive.

First turd that we drop could change the narrative pretty quickly.

 

[*23*]

I think this is pretty spot on. So far we look good against bad competition which at least has people feeling positive.

First turd that we drop could change the narrative pretty quickly.

I think it is pretty hard to simulate strong competition in practice. The positive is that we SEEM to have good depth, so hopefully that makes practices better. But, yes I think the first step up in competition could be an eye opener. I guess VMI is supposed to be decent? They did not look like they gave much effort on defense, or possibly just very slow - because there were some wide open shots.

Again, I like the ball movement and chemistry much better so far than last season. Hopeful that can hold up in conference play.

 

[vt4700]

it sounds to me like some of you think we might be a really good team and we blew our at-large chances by scheduling softly.
if that's true, then mission accomplished with this schedule. it improved morale through year end. posts have been positive about the players and the direction of the program. that's a nice change.

but if we go 8-10 in conference, then we scheduled appropriately. hope I'm wrong, but I still see a team that probably can't shoot straight against a good team. we couldn't handle W&M's press. I doubt that's the toughest defense we see this season. let's see if we're still feeling positive in January.

If we go 8-10 in conference, a reason could be because we played no one OOC who compares to and prepares us for many of the A-10 teams.

 

[vt4700]

I can't think of one reason why a garbage schedule like ours could ever be called appropriate. Go 8-10 in the A-10? This says we didn't prepare ourselves for the A-10 during OOC play. Go 14-4 A-10? This says we should have scheduled better OOC to give ourselves an at large chance. I just don't understand why we would want to eliminate ourselves from at large consideration before playing our 1st game.

 

[RichmondNative]

Such fun early season banter.

Do the Spiders have a bad OOC schedule? Yes

Do most of the A10 schools have a bad OOC schedule? Yes

Will the A10 get an at-large bid? Maybe 1.

Will the Spiders earn an at-large bid? No

Can a Spider fan be encouraged by the play of this year’s team and still hate the OOC schedule? Yes

Does the A10 have a no doubt dominant team? No

Do the Spiders have a shot at the auto bid? Yes

Is it too early to celebrate? Of course

 

[fan2011]

I can't think of one reason why a garbage schedule like ours could ever be called appropriate. Go 8-10 in the A-10? This says we didn't prepare ourselves for the A-10 during OOC play. Go 14-4 A-10? This says we should have scheduled better OOC to give ourselves an at large chance. I just don't understand why we would want to eliminate ourselves from at large consideration before playing our 1st game.

Used to make sense when RPI was heavily used for tournement selection, since it is a way for the conference as a whole to game the metrics. NET is not as susceptible to gaudy records against cupcakes though.

 

[97spiderfan]

, but I still see a team that probably can't shoot straight against a good team.

Agreed, much like last year, Mooney has recruited a team that individually and collectively is not a good 3 point shooting team. What encourages me this year, unlike last year, is that we are not settling for the 3 point shot. Instead, we are playing more to our strength.

Now, I have heard Mooney several times, speak about how we can and need to shoot better so you know he is going to try to pound the square peg into the round hole as he likes to do, but hopefully, the more we play like we are playing, the natural tendencies and play of this team take it away from bombing 3's and more towards a slashing/driving/interior based team which is our strength.

 

[fan2011]

Agreed, much like last year, Mooney has recruited a team that individually and collectively is not a good 3 point shooting team. What encourages me this year, unlike last year, is that we are not settling for the 3 point shot. Instead, we are playing more to our strength.

Now, I have heard Mooney several times, speak about how we can and need to shoot better so you know he is going to try to pound the square peg into the round hole as he likes to do, but hopefully, the more we play like we are playing, the natural tendencies and play of this team take it away from bombing 3's and more towards a slashing/driving/interior based team which is our strength.

I think Mooney did recruit much better 3pt shooters this year than last year.

AJ Lopez has taken 238 3s against D1 competition, and made 38%. A huge sample size. We should expect ~38% from him for the year (currently at 43%).

Will Johnston has taken 523 3s against D1 competition, and made 39%. An incredible sample size. We should expect him to shoot ~39% this year (currently at 47%).

Compare that to last year, the only shooter we brought in with significant D1 playing time was Dusan. AP and GW3 had no actual proven shooting ability, just theoretical. Dusan ended up shooting much worse, and much more often, last year as a Spider than he did on previous teams though.

I agree, that not settling for 3s and having the athleticism to get to the hoop is a huge help for our offense, and should make our 3FG% go up as well. AJ Lopez and Will Johnston are not one dimensional offensive threats like some of our previous 3pt specialists, making the offense work much better, and allowing us to not settle for 3s when they are on the court.

 

[RichmondNative]

I think Mooney did recruit much better 3pt shooters this year than last year.

AJ Lopez has taken 238 3s against D1 competition, and made 38%. A huge sample size. We should expect ~38% from him for the year (currently at 43%).

Will Johnston has taken 523 3s against D1 competition, and made 39%. An incredible sample size. We should expect him to shoot ~39% this year (currently at 47%).

Compare that to last year, the only shooter we brought in with significant D1 playing time was Dusan.

Good point @fan2011. If you look at the numbers, the average is being brought down by players that simply shouldn’t be shooting the 3, but they are playing limited minutes and are shooting them while they have the chance to. Nearly all of these players are the ones that didn’t produce last year (there is also a freshman that may get better as time goes by). As others have mentioned, the other great thing is that there is a diversity of scoring options and the Spiders are not living and dying by the 3 so far this year.

 

[sman]

As others have mentioned, the other great thing is that there is a diversity of scoring options and the Spiders are not living and dying by the 3 so far this year.

we're actually taking almost 4 more 3's per game so far this year compared to last season.
and 5 more 2's per game.
and 10 more FTs.
12 more rebounds per game.
assists and steals are way up too.

numbers will slow as we get in conference against tougher defense. wish I could find last year's OOC stats.
but we do seem to be playing much faster this season.

 

[97spiderfan]

we're actually taking almost 4 more 3's per game so far this year compared to last season.
and 5 more 2's per game.
and 10 more FTs.
12 more rebounds per game.
assists and steals are way up too.

numbers will slow as we get in conference against tougher defense. wish I could find last year's OOC stats.
but we do seem to be playing much faster this season.

Interesting, I would not have guessed we would be shooting more 3's. I think that has to do more with competition, the fact that we are rebounding the ball so much better.

 

[PhillySpider]

So on Kenpom our SOS is a staggeringly bad 363rd out of 365 teams! And that doesn't even count So. Va. since they aren't D1. And I dont see anything coming that's going to move it too much!

This is indefensible. No excuses acceptable. Three A10 teams in the bottom 10 (only conference with more than 1) is also terrible and we need a commish (and an AD) who won't let this sort of sh_t happen. And our "big" OOC against Belmont - - they are also in the bottom 10 of SOS.

Simply brutal. Mooney needs to be told in not uncertain terms that this can not happen again. And winning all of the OOC doesn't make it OK. If this schedule appears again, he should be fired on the spot.

And this OOC tells us (or the staff) absolutely zero about our team. we will arrive at conference play having no idea. Some people will think that we might be on to something (and they could turn out to be right) but there will be no basis. We could easily go 12-0 in OOC and 6-12 in conference! Now if we lose any of these OOC (save maybe Belmont) we will know - - - we aren't good!

 

[Spider17]

So on Kenpom our SOS is a staggeringly bad 363rd out of 365 teams! And that doesn't even count So. Va. since they aren't D1. And I dont see anything coming that's going to move it too much!

This is indefensible. No excuses acceptable. Three A10 teams in the bottom 10 (only conference with more than 1) is also terrible and we need a commish (and an AD) who won't let this sort of sh_t happen. And our "big" OOC against Belmont - - they are also in the bottom 10 of SOS.

Simply brutal. Mooney needs to be told in not uncertain terms that this can not happen again. And winning all of the OOC doesn't make it OK. If this schedule appears again, he should be fired on the spot.

And this OOC tells us (or the staff) absolutely zero about our team. we will arrive at conference play having no idea. Some people will think that we might be on to something (and they could turn out to be right) but there will be no basis. We could easily go 12-0 in OOC and 6-12 in conference! Now if we lose any of these OOC (save maybe Belmont) we will know - - - we aren't good!

If there’s a bright spot too regarding our situation, is that nobody is fooled by this. Again, separate to say that I am very happy for the team and want us to continue winning. However, when it comes to our schedule, other than a few people, I think most people recognize that we are only 5-0 because we are playing really bad teams. That is reflected here, posts I’ve read on Facebook and Twitter when the schedule came out, and most evidently the lack of attendance.

Like what has been said many times, this is absolutely inexcusable and there should be a lot of pressure to get a good schedule next year, or else we’ll all know that our men’s team is not serious about being a top program or having post-season aspirations, unlike our women’s team.

 

[Urmite]

If there’s a bright spot too regarding our situation, is that nobody is fooled by this. Again, separate to say that I am very happy for the team and want us to continue winning. However, when it comes to our schedule, other than a few people, I think most people recognize that we are only 5-0 because we are playing really bad teams. That is reflected here, posts I’ve read on Facebook and Twitter when the schedule came out, and most importantly the lack of attendance.

Like what has been said many times, this is absolutely inexcusable and there should be a lot of pressure to get a good schedule next year, or else we’ll all know that our men’s team is not serious about being a top program or having post-season aspirations, unlike our women’s team.

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[gospidersgo]

Sidebar - when did teams start counting non D1 games as part of their record? I keep seeing us listed as 5-0, and I know other teams are similarly counting D3 games into their record, but I'm pretty sure this was not always the case.

 

[PhillySpider]

Teams have always counted them I think. The NET (and RPI etc.) and NCAA selection committee and any ranking system do not!

 

[Fatherspider]

I can't think of one reason why a garbage schedule like ours could ever be called appropriate. Go 8-10 in the A-10? This says we didn't prepare ourselves for the A-10 during OOC play. Go 14-4 A-10? This says we should have scheduled better OOC to give ourselves an at large chance. I just don't understand why we would want to eliminate ourselves from at large consideration before playing our 1st game.

To have a decent record and make Mooney look good.

 

[Spiderguy]

So on Kenpom our SOS is a staggeringly bad 363rd out of 365 teams! And that doesn't even count So. Va. since they aren't D1. And I dont see anything coming that's going to move it too much!

This is indefensible. No excuses acceptable. Three A10 teams in the bottom 10 (only conference with more than 1) is also terrible and we need a commish (and an AD) who won't let this sort of sh_t happen. And our "big" OOC against Belmont - - they are also in the bottom 10 of SOS.

Simply brutal. Mooney needs to be told in not uncertain terms that this can not happen again. And winning all of the OOC doesn't make it OK. If this schedule appears again, he should be fired on the spot.

And this OOC tells us (or the staff) absolutely zero about our team. we will arrive at conference play having no idea. Some people will think that we might be on to something (and they could turn out to be right) but there will be no basis. We could easily go 12-0 in OOC and 6-12 in conference! Now if we lose any of these OOC (save maybe Belmont) we will know - - - we aren't good!

That 363 out of 365 is below embarrassment territory. I doubt Hardt or Mooney feel that.

The eye test tells me that we are more athletic, aggressive, skilled, and deep this year. Will perception become reality? However your fourth paragraph sums it all up.

Here's another thought. For season ticket holders, we're paying premium for our seats for THAT OOC SCHEDULE. And they are offering games at $5.00. If Hardt & Moon schedule next year like this for OOC, I'm out for season tickets.