The Richmond Spiders men’s basketball team announced a 30-game schedule for the 2022-23 season Wednesday highlighted by at least nine nationally-televised games.
The Spiders will face teams that finished last season at or above .500 in 16 of their 30 games as Richmond attempts to defend its 2022 Atlantic 10 championship.
“We’ve created a non-conference schedule that includes some big games against power-conference opponents while also giving us the chance to prove ourselves against some of the nation’s best mid-major programs,” said Richmond coach Chris Mooney, who is entering his 18th season with the Spiders. “We’re going to need to test ourselves prior to starting play in an Atlantic 10 Conference that is bigger and more demanding than ever.”
The Spiders are currently scheduled to play nine games on national television: five on ESPN networks, three on USA Network, and one on CBS Sports Network. Richmond could also potentially add an additional non-conference game at a later date.
Richmond will open the 2022-23 season on Monday, Nov. 7 vs VMI at the Robins Center in the first meeting between the schools since 2016. That Friday, Nov. 11, UR will host Northern Iowa, defending regular-season champions from the Missouri Valley Conference. It will be the third-straight season the Spiders have met the Panthers, with UR winning each of the previous two matchups.
Following a game at Charleston on Nov. 14, the Spiders will head to the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, N.Y. for the 2022 Empire Classic presented by Continental Tire. Richmond will face Syracuse on Nov. 21 at 7 PM on ESPNU and play either St. John’s or Temple on Nov. 22 on ESPN2. Tickets for the event are available at https://spides.us/EmpireClassic.
Following Thanksgiving, the Spiders are scheduled to begin a two-game road trip on Nov. 30 at Toledo, defending regular-season champions from the Mid-American Conference, before heading to William & Mary on Dec. 3. Richmond will return to the Robins Center to take on Drake on Dec. 10 and Fairleigh Dickinson on Dec. 13.
On Dec. 17, Richmond will travel to Greenville, S.C. to face ACC-foe Clemson for the first time since 1952. The game will be part of the Greenville Classic, a one-day triple-header at Bon Secours Wellness Arena. UR has 27 wins over power-conference opponents during Mooney’s tenure, including victories against Iowa and NC State last season.
Richmond will wrap up its non-conference schedule with home games against Bucknell on Dec. 21 and Coppin State on Dec. 28.
The Spiders will open their 22nd Atlantic 10 season on Dec. 31 at George Mason before returning to the Robins Center to face George Washington on Jan. 4 and Duquesne on Jan. 7.
UR will head to Davidson on Jan. 11 to take on the Wildcats in a rematch of the 2022 Atlantic 10 Championship game, won by the Spiders 64-62. Richmond will stay on the road to visit St. Bonaventure on Jan. 14 at 2:30 PM on the USA Network, the first of seven nationally-televised conference games for the Spiders, before hosting Rhode Island on Jan. 17.
The first game of the 2023 Richmond Area Honda Dealers Capital City Classic will be on Jan. 20, when Richmond hosts VCU in a nationally-televised game on a to-be-determined ESPN network. It will be the second time – and first since 2017 — UR has hosted the Rams in an A-10 ESPN Friday Night Showcase game since the primetime series originated in 2016.
Richmond will then take a pair of trips to A-10 arenas they last visited during the 2018-19 season, playing at Massachusetts on Jan. 25 and at Dayton on Jan. 28, a game that will be broadcast on CBS Sports Network.
UR opens Feb. with home dates vs St. Bonaventure on Feb. 1 and Fordham on Feb. 5, an early 12 PM tip on USA Network. Following a Feb. 8 road date at George Washington, Richmond will welcome new A-10 member Loyola Chicago to the Robins Center for the first time ever on Feb. 11 for a game that will be broadcast on an ESPN network to-be-determined.
Richmond will play two of its next four games in Philadelphia, visiting La Salle on Feb. 15 and Saint Joseph’s on March 1. In between, UR will host Saint Louis on Feb. 21 and play at VCU on Feb. 24 on a to-be-determined ESPN network in the second game of the Richmond Area Honda Dealers Capital City Classic.
The Spiders will conclude their Atlantic 10 schedule as they started it: against in-state foe George Mason. UR will host the Patriots on March 4 at 12:30 PM on USA Network.
Richmond will be the defending champions at the 2023 Atlantic 10 Men’s Basketball Championship, held at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, N.Y. from March 8-12. The 2022 title was Chris Mooney’s second at Richmond, and the Spiders followed it up with a victory over Big Ten champion Iowa in the First Round of the NCAA Tournament. This year’s Spiders return their leading scorer and rebounder from 2021-22 in All-Conference selection Tyler Burton as well as two-year starter Andre Gustavson. Matt Grace, who made the game-winning field goal in last year’s A-10 semifinal and A-10 championship, is back as well for the Spiders.
Fans can currently purchase season tickets for 2022-23 by visiting richmondspiders.com/buytickets or calling 1-877-SPIDER1. Mini plans and flex plans will go on sale at the end of September and single-game tickets will be available during the first week of October.
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