Richmond wouldn't have received a March Madness invitation last weekend if they came up short against top-seeded Davidson in the Atlantic-10 title game. But, the Spiders pulled off the mid-major upset in the final moments, securing their first trip to the NCAA Tournament since 2011. And naturally, they managed to channel similar underdog magic on Thursday.
With a game-high 24 points from guard Jacob Gilyard, 12th-seeded Richmond pulled off a huge opening-round upset, defeating 5th-seeded Iowa, 67-63, in the Midwest Region of the bracket. The Spiders now have nine wins as a 12th seed or lower in the tournament, five more than any other team since seeding began in 1979. As for Iowa, they're a Big Ten champion heading home early.
"We lost a fair of amount of really close games in our conference. We lost four games, either they made a shot or we missed one," Spiders head coach Chris Mooney told The Zach Gelb Show on Thursday. "Those are hard lessons, and with a team with less character, it might've made that team wilt. We were able to use those as stepping stones. Tried to learn from them, and do better, and tried to get the great feeling we had today.
"A lot of this has to do with the character of a lot of these guys on our team... I've said it before, rather than worrying about doubters, I'd rather worry about the believers and investors. We've got plenty of them on our team and in our locker room. Those are the guys I spend all my time trying to help, lead, and grow into young men. Those are the most important guys to me."
Two other Richmond upperclassmen scored double-digit points against Iowa, as Tyler Burton added 18 points and a team-high 11 rebounds and Nathan Cayo contributed 15 points on seven made shots. The Hawkeyes entered Thursday averaging 83.8 points per game, the fourth-best mark in Division I. They were held to their third-fewest point total this season, and in the final 14 minutes of action, the Spiders never gave up the lead.
With the thrilling victory, Richmond has survived and advanced to the second round, and they're set to face 4th-seeded Providence on Saturday in Buffalo. According to FiveThirtyEight's projections, the Spiders have been given a 41-percent chance to make their third Sweet 16 and a 9-percent chance to earn an Elite Eight spot.
The entire Richmond basketball conversation between Mooney and Gelb can be accessed in the audio player above.
You can follow The Zach Gelb Show on Twitter @ZachGelb and Tom Hanslin @TomHanslin.