March 17, 2004

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UNIVERSITY OF RICHMOND, Va. - March Madness is sweeping through the Robins Center for the first time since 1998. The men's basketball teams travels West to Milwaukee for a first-round showdown with Wisconsin at 7:20 p.m. on Friday in the NCAA Tournament.

The Bradley Center will be electric when the 11th-seeded Spiders attempt to quiet another hostile crowd, something very familiar to this year's squad. Richmond has already won at Kansas and Colorado as well as performing admirably at Wake Forest and Dayton.

Atlantic 10 Defensive Player of the Year Tony Dobbins draws another formidable task when he matches up with Big Ten Player of the Year Devin Harris of the sixth-seeded Badgers.

CBS's Tim Brando and Mike Gminski call the action as the Spiders enter their seventh NCAA Tournament, but only the second time as an at-large recipient.

STORYLINES
* The Spiders return to the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 1998, seventh in history. This marks Richmond's second at-large bid (1986), having been a No. 11 seed both times. The Spiders are 6-6 all-time in the NCAA Tournament.
* The 2003-04 season marks the 20th anniversary of Richmond's first-ever trip to the NCAAs. The Spiders advanced to the second round before falling to Indiana.
* Richmond is 1-1 against the Big Ten in the NCAA Tournament, both decisions coming against Indiana.
* Wisconsin is the fifth first-time opponent for Richmond this season (Colorado, Kansas, Manhattan and Miss. Valley St., ). The Spiders are 3-1 in those games.
* The Badgers are the third top-10 opponent that Richmond has faced this season. Jerry Wainwright is 3-5 against ranked opponents at Richmond, 1-2 this winter.
* The last time Richmond defeated a top-10 opponent on a neutral floor was the 1991 NCAA Tournament when the 15th-seeded Spiders defeated #7 Syracuse, 73-69, on March 14. Richmond's last win against a top-10 team was Kansas in January.
* UR reached 20 wins for the 15th time in program history, third in the past four.
* Spider head coach Jerry Wainwright returns to the NCAA Tournament for the third time in the past five years. His teams went to the NIT the other two seasons.

GAME NOTES
Reaching 20 Wins ... For the third time in four seasons, Richmond has reached the 20-win mark ... It is the Spiders' 15th time in program history, the sixth since 1990 ... Richmond captured 22 victories in 2000-01 and 2001-02.

Atlantic 10 Accolades ... The 2004 Atlantic 10 Tournament weekend started off well for the Spiders as three student-athletes were honored by the league's coaches ... Senior Tony Dobbins became the first player in A-10 history to earn back-to-back Defensive Player of the Year honors ... In addition to being named to the All-Defensive Team, Dobbins was joined on the All-Conference Second Team by fellow senior Mike Skrocki ... Freshman Gaston Moliva became the first Spider to earn All-Rookie honors in three-years of league existence.

The Badger State ... Richmond has played one previous game in the state of Wisconsin ... The Spiders lost at Marquette, 75-67, on Feb. 5, 1985 ... That contest was the second of a home-and-home series ... Marquette won in Richmond, 59-55, on Feb. 4, 1984.

Controlling The Boards ... The Spiders, who have 37 rebounds in each of the last three games, have taken control of the boards recently, out-rebounding their opponent in the last four contests and posting a +24 margin during that span ... Richmond is 12-3 when securing more rebounds.

Amazing Half ... Richmond's 41-point second half, fueled by a swarming full court press, was the Spiders' third highest point total in a half this season ... Richmond's most prolific half was a 45-point first half against UMass in the regular-season finale (March 6) ... The second best half was against George Washington on Jan. 31 when the Spiders reeled off 43 in the first 20 minutes.