University of Richmond Athletics
Atlantic 10 Showdown At Robins Center Tuesday
01/05/2004 | Men's Basketball
Jan. 5, 2004
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UNIVERSITY OF RICHMOND, Va. - The Richmond men's basketball team puts its three-game win streak on the line Tuesday night when the first top-10 team since 1997 enters the Robins Center for an Atlantic 10 Television contest.
The Spiders (8-5, 1-0 A-10), featuring the league's top defense, host #9 Saint Joseph's (11-0, 1-0 A-10) at 7 p.m. on Tuesday in a battle of two of the Atlantic 10's hottest teams. Seniors Mike Skrocki (sixth in the A-10 in scoring) and Tony Dobbins (fourth in the A-10 in rebounding) showdown with Jameer Nelson (fourth in the A-10 in scoring) and Delonte West (seventh in the A-10 in assists) in a match-up of the league's elite combos.
Richmond beat two ranked teams last year, both on the road. The last top-10 team to invade the Robins Center was #2 North Carolina on Nov. 19, 1997. The Spiders have never beaten a top-10 team at home.
The Spiders return to action at 2 p.m. on Saturday, Jan. 10 at La Salle.
STORYLINES
* Richmond has never beaten a top-10 ranked team in the Robins Center. The last time a top-10 team came to the Robins Center was Nov. 19, 1997 when No. 2 (USA Today)/4 (AP) North Carolina defeated the Spiders 84-65.
* The last time Richmond defeated a top-10 team was March 14, 1991 when the No. 15 seed Spiders defeated No. 7 Syracuse, 73-69, in the NCAA Tournament first round.
* Spider head coach Jerry Wainwright is 2-4 against ranked teams at Richmond. So far this season, the Spiders dropped an 81-66 decision at #16 Wake Forest. (now #6)
* The Spiders' three-game win streak is their second this season. A win against St. Joe's would tie for the longest under Wainwright at Richmond.
* Senior Tony Dobbins has notched two consecutive double-doubles for the second time this season. His 20 points against Duquesne established a season high.
* Senior Mike Skrocki has scored in double figures each of the first 13 games, including a season-high 24 against Duquesne. Currently 28th on Richmond's all-time scoring list, Skrocki ranks sixth in the Atlantic 10 with a 16.7 scoring average.
* Richmond leads the Atlantic 10 in scoring defense (60.9) and three-point FG % defense (26.4). Skrocki leads the league in 3 FG % (44.2)
* UR and Xavier have the second-longest current win streak in the A-10 (SJU - 11).
GAME NOTES
Against the Ranked ... The Spiders last win against a ranked opponent came Jan. 7, 2003 when Richmond defeated #21 Xavier 67-59 in Cincinnati ... The Spiders last win against a top-20 program at home came on Dec. 1, 1990, a 73-71 win against #14 Georgia Tech ... Richmond is 2-4 against ranked opponents under Jerry Wainwright, including an 81-66 loss to then No. 16 Wake Forest in Winston-Salem on Dec. 6 ... Last year, Richmond defeated #17 Stanford and #21 Xavier, while losing to #23 Wake Forest, #25 Dayton and #23 Xavier later in the year.
Welcome The Hawks ... The last time Saint Joseph's visited the Robins Center was Feb. 13, 2002 when Mike Skrocki (13) led the Spiders to a 61-59 win ... The Hawks had a chance to tie at the buzzer but Jameer Nelson's shot would not fall ... The game was tied 32-32 at halftime ... The Hawks out-rebounded the Spiders, 36-30, but Richmond went 10-for-26 (38.4 percent) from behind the arc.
Double-Doubles ... A Spider has recorded a double-double in three consecutive contests and six out of the first 13 ... Tony Dobbins has recorded this feat in back-to-back games -- 11-10 at Colorado and 20-12 vs. Duquesne ... He also recorded consecutive double-doubles against UAB and VCU earlier this winter ... Dobbins leads the Spiders with nine in his career ... Against Hampton, sophomore Kevin Steenberge enjoyed his first with 12 points and a career-high 13 boards.
Last Time Two With 20 ... In Richmond's 69-66 victory against Duquesne, seniors Mike Skrocki (24) and Tony Dobbins (20) became the first Spider combo to score 20+ in a game since they accomplished the feat on Feb. 6, 2002 in a 78-66 win against St. Bonaventure ... In that game, Dobbins scored a career-high 26 and Skrocki followed with 24.
Terrific Combo ... Seniors Mike Skrocki and Tony Dobbins refused to let Richmond lose its A-10 opener against Duquesne ... The duo scored 63.7 percent of the Spiders' points (44-of-69), including all but two of the final 25 ... With Richmond trailing by four with 54 seconds to play, Dobbins drained a triple from the top of the key (assist Skrocki) and then stole the ensuing in-bounds pass and called timeout ... With 39 seconds remaining, Skrocki knocked down a three to give Richmond its first lead since the 4:58 mark of the first half (assist Dobbins) ... Dobbins and Skrocki both made crucial two-shot free throws in the last 20 seconds to seal the win.
Hot From Outside ... Senior Mike Skrocki leads the Atlantic 10 with a 44.2 three-point field goal percentage (34-for-77) ... Skrocki has made 9-of-17 (.529) from behind the arc in the past two games.
Atop The A-10 ... With their recent defensive presence, the Spiders have moved to the top of the Atlantic 10 scoring defense list ... Richmond is allowing a league-best 60.9 points per game ... The Spiders also lead the conference in three-point percentage defense, allowing 26.4 percent from three-point range.
Turning Up The D ... In the last four games, the Spiders are forcing 18.3 turnovers per game, including a season-high 22 against Hampton ... The Spiders are 7-1 when committing fewer turnovers than its opponent.
