With wins against some of the top teams in the Atlantic 10 and a two-point loss to then-No. 10 Xavier, games against middle-of-the-pack Atlantic 10 opponents should be easy for the Massachusetts men’s basketball team.

So far this season, that has not been the case for UMass coach Derek Kellogg and his Minutemen. Despite those strong games, UMass has lost to the likes of Toledo and Charlotte.

Although the Minutemen are coming off arguably one of their best games of the year, an 82-80 loss to Xavier, today’s opponent, Richmond, will not be taken lightly by Kellogg and his team.

‘I’ve had the opportunity to watch them quite a bit on tape,’ Kellogg said during his weekly A-10 teleconference. ‘Quite frankly, I’m a little nervous.’

While Xavier (19-2, 7-0 A-10) boasted a perfect record in conference play and is nationally ranked, the same can’t be said of the Spiders. Richmond (11-10, 3-3 A-10) is just a game over .500 overall and is .500 in the A-10.

Richmond still holds a better record than UMass (7-12, 2-4 A-10) but on a much easier schedule. The Minutemen currently have the 21st toughest schedule in the nation as opposed to Richmond‘s schedule that ranks 135.

The Spiders are built around a youthful core including three sophomore starters and just three seniors on the team. Senior Jarhon Giddings is the only senior starter, on a team that returned almost every player and finished fourth last season in the A-10.

Junior swingman, David Gonzalvez, leads the team with 16.7 points per game and 4.4 rebounds per game and shoots 50 percent from the floor. Last year’s A-10 Rookie of the Year, Kevin Anderson, has also been an integral player this year for the Spiders. The sophomore is second on the team in scoring with 14.6 ppg and also grabs 2.3 rebounds per game.

Three of Richmond’s five starters average double figures in points per game, but the Spiders lack an inside presence after the loss of forward/center Dan Geriot. The junior led Richmond in points (14.3 ppg) and rebounds (5.5 rpg) last season but injured his knee in a summer league competition and will miss the entire season.

Richmond‘s lack of an inside game could work to UMass’ advantage. With Tony Gaffney (10.89 rpg) and Luke Bonner (5.42 rpg) both averaging more rebounds than the Spider’s leading rebounder (Justin Harper 5.1 rpg).

Despite the lack of an inside game, Kellogg acknowledges that the Spiders do play a unique style of basketball and the Minutemen need to be prepared.

‘We’re going to have to do some things to make sure we’re aware of how they’re trying to play and what they’re trying to do,’ Kellogg said.

Kellogg also noted during his weekly teleconference that the Spiders don’t play at a slow tempo but are a very patient team.

‘They wait for you to make a mistake, and then they capitalize,’ Kellogg added.

Last year, while Kellogg was an assistant to John Calipari at Memphis, he saw Richmond when the then-No. 3 Tigers defeated the Spiders 80-63. According to Kellogg, even though the Spiders lost by 17, they controlled the tempo of the game.

The Minutemen will look to defend their home court where they are 2-1 in A-10 play, compared to their 0-3 record on the road.

Jeffrey R. Larnard can be reached at [email protected].