By CHUCKIE MAGGIO
BUFFALO — Chris Mooney remarked before Richmond’s NCAA Tournament game against Iowa that even during the losing seasons from 2017-19, despite a billboard being commissioned near his own workplace three years ago advocating for his firing, vindication never entered his mind.
“I feel like it’s so common, especially in sports, to worry about the doubters,” Mooney said. “It’s irrelevant to me. I would rather worry about the believers and the investors. We have that.”
The Spiders rewarded those investors who, like point guard Jacob Gilyard, believed a week ago that this experienced team could still conduct a March run against lofty odds. Richmond conducted a stifling defensive effort against one of the most prolific scoring teams in the country and pulled off the No. 12-over-No. 5 stunner, prevailing 67-63 in front of 16,017 fans to advance to Saturday’s Round of 32 against Providence.
Gilyard matter-of-factly said he first thought the Spiders could win the game “last Thursday,” when they defeated Rhode Island in their Atlantic 10 Tournament opener. He supported that confidence by continuing a torrid March, pouring in 24 points on 8-of-15 shooting along with six assists and six rebounds. Three of his four 3-pointers fell during the second half, including a deep ball from the top of the arc that extended Richmond’s lead to eight with 6:13 remaining.
“I don’t think we were too scared to play at their pace,” Gilyard said. Richmond wasn’t scared of Iowa at all, as the Hawkeyes missed 23 of their 29 3-point attempts and made just 36 percent of their field goal tries altogether.
Nathan Cayo drew the task of slowing Keegan Murray and held the All-American to just 12 points over the first 37 minutes, none of them 3-pointers. Jordan Bohannon never found his stroke, missing six of his eight shots and finishing with six points. A team that averaged 84 points a night turned in its third-lowest output of the year in what Patrick McCaffery, who scored 18 points to keep Iowa in the game, called “probably the worst game we played all year, and I don’t think it’s close.”
The Hawkeyes tallied 11 points over the final three minutes, desperate to erase the consequences of a five-minute second half scoring drought. Cayo converted crucial layups through contact on back-to-back possessions, however, and Gilyard sank four free throws in the last 15 seconds to ice the contest.
Cayo made seven baskets, helping Richmond outscore Iowa 38-30 in the paint. He offset a nondescript evening for star forward Grant Golden, who made just two of his 11 shots and notched more assists (five) than points (four).
“Words don’t really do him justice,” Gilyard said of Cayo, adding that “I think it started when he got matched up with Murray. I think he did a really good job defensively, and that got himself going. And, obviously, defensively he did a really good job today.”
Tyler Burton posted a double-double, drawing 11 fouls en route to 18 points while coming within one rebound of Richmond’s single-game NCAA Tourney record of 12.
“I think we all personally bought in,” Burton assessed. “From top to bottom, we all really just dig in on defense. We focused a lot on it in practice, and just overall that was our weakness this year, I think. And for us to just come full circle at the end of the year and really dig in these last five games… unbelievable.”
The Atlantic 10 Conference has now won a first round game in 13 of the last 15 NCAA Tournaments, including Dayton’s win over Big Ten member Ohio State in the same building in 2014. The A-10 is 4-2 against the Big Ten this season and 17-12 against all power-five conferences.
Mooney remarked that the league has “probably six really good teams” capable of scoring a similar upset. Defeating the Big Ten Tournament champions, he added, illustrated the strength of the conference as a whole.
“They just won the Big Ten Championship, but when you go out there, when we take the floor, I don’t see anybody that can guard Jacob, necessarily,” Mooney said. “I feel like Tyler could have a big game; Grant could have a big game. Once you get past the conference or the size of the school or whatever it is, you’re just playing, and then you’re starting to focus on the Xs and Os.
“It means a great deal, but I think there are a lot of teams in our league capable of it.”
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