July 24, 2006

UNIVERSITY OF RICHMOND, Va. - Eight home contests and road games at ACC schools Virginia Tech and Wake Forest highlight the 2006-07 men's basketball non-conference schedule, released today by the Richmond athletic department.

Including eight home Atlantic 10 Conference games, which will be announced in September, the Spiders are scheduled to host 16 games for the second-straight year. It will be the third time that Richmond has played 16 home games in a season, having also done so in 2001-02. The only year Richmond played more home contests was in 1981-82, when it hosted 17 games. The Spiders finished 11-5 in the Robins Center last year.

"We are very happy with the non-conference schedule," second-year head coach Chris Mooney said. "We play three games at ACC and Big East Schools and have a full home schedule in the Robins Center, where we enjoyed success last season. With a young team, this schedule will help the freshmen get adjusted to college basketball, while giving them some difficult tests as we prepare for Atlantic 10 action."

Richmond will play Virginia Tech for the first time since the 1991-92 season, when the Spiders won 84-51 in the Robins Center. The Spiders will travel to Blacksburg for a Jan. 3 game just before A-10 play starts. The three-year series with the Hokies continues next season at the Robins Center, with the Spiders returning to Blacksburg in 2008-09.

Richmond will also make a trip to Winston-Salem, N.C. to take on Wake Forest and will head to the Sunshine State to visit Big East member South Florida. The 13-game non-conference schedule includes seven teams from Virginia, including a trip to NIT-semifinalist Old Dominion on Nov. 25 and VCU's appearance in the Robins Center Dec. 9 for the Farm Bureau Insurance Black & Blue Classic.

Richmond's schedule opens with three-straight home games, and seven of the first nine in the Robins Center. The Spiders tip-off the season against East Carolina Nov. 14, then host American (Nov. 17) and Longwood (Nov. 20). Richmond makes its first road trip of the season to Old Dominion Nov. 25, before returning home to face Radford (Nov. 29) and Marist (Dec. 2). The Spiders head to South Florida Dec. 5, then host state rivals VCU (Dec. 9) and VMI (Dec. 20). Richmond plays at Wake Forest Dec. 22, hosts Tulane Dec. 28, before wrapping up the non-conference schedule with trips to William & Mary (Dec. 31) and Virginia Tech (Jan. 3).

Richmond returns four players who started at least 14 games last year and welcomes six first-year players plus a red-shirt freshman The 2005-06 team finished 13-17 but ranked seventh in the nation in scoring defense, allowing just 57.8 points per game while holding 17 of its first 19 opponents to 60 points or less.

Date     Day         Opponent
Nov. 14  (Tues.)     EAST CAROLINA
Nov. 17  (Fri.)      AMERICAN
Nov. 20  (Mon.)      LONGWOOD
Nov. 25  (Sat.)      at Old Dominion
Nov. 29  (Wed.)      RADFORD
Dec. 2   (Sat.)      MARIST
Dec. 5   (Tues.)     at South Florida
Dec. 9   (Sat.)      VCU (Farm Bureau Black & Blue Classic)
Dec. 20  (Wed.)      VMI
Dec. 22  (Fri.)      at Wake Forest
Dec. 28  (Thu.)      TULANE
Dec. 31  (Sun.)      at William & Mary
Jan. 3   (Wed.)      at Virginia Tech
HOME GAMES IN CAPS