University of Richmond Athletics
Support Spiders At Tuesday's Primary Game
02/09/2004 | Men's Basketball
Feb. 9, 2004
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UNIVERSITY OF RICHMOND, Va. - The Richmond Spiders, winners in six-of-its-last-seven contests, host back-to-back home games for the first time since early January when Xavier and Fordham visit this week.
Tuesday's rematch with the Musketeers gives the Spiders a chance to capture their first victory against Xavier in the Robins Center. Richmond, 13-9, 5-4 and currently third in the A-10 West, defeated Xavier (12-9, 3-5) by nine points (53-44) in Cincinnati on Jan. 25.
Led by Mike Skrocki's 11 points, four Spiders reached double-figures in Saturday's 71-51 win at Duquesne. Richmond improved to 6-4 on the road, the third-best mark in the Atlantic 10.
STORYLINES
* This week -- Xavier (Feb. 10) and Fordham (Feb. 14) -- is the first time Richmond has hosted back-to-back home games since Jan. 3-6.
* The Spiders are 4-3 against the A-10 West, having swept the regular-season series against Duquesne and being swept by Dayton. Senior Mike Skrocki's leads the Spiders with 16.0 ppg in A-10 West contests, while senior Tony Dobbins averages 12.7 points and 8.7 rebounds in those games.
* After holding Duquesne to 32.5 % shooting, the Spiders assumed command of three Atlantic 10 defensive categories. Richmond leads the league in scoring defense (60.3), field goal percentage defense (39.4) and 3-pt. fg defense (26.8).
* The Spiders also lead the A-10 in free-throw percentage (73.8). Richmond has made more free throws (336) than any other A-10 program.
* Richmond has held each of its last four opponents to 40.0 shooting or less. The Spiders have held their last six foes to 30.0-or-less three-point shooting.
* The Spiders +20 rebounding margin at Duquesne was their largest this season. They also equaled a season high with 16 assists.
* Senior Tony Dobbins has led the team in rebounding each of the past five games. The Spiders are 4-1 in those contests.
GAME NOTES
Tightening The Screws ... The Spider defense has fueled the recent surge that provided wins in five of the past six games ... Only two opponents have shot more than 40.0 percent from the field and one more than 30.0 percent from three-point range during that span ... The last time Richmond and Xavier met, the Musketeers shot 21.0 percent from the field and 24.0 from behind the arc.
Defense, Defense ... Richmond leads the Atlantic 10 and is 26th nationally in scoring defense, allowing 60.3 points per game ... The Spiders also lead the league in field goal percentage defense (40.1) and three-point field goal percentage defense (26.8).
Remember Us? ... The Spiders return to the Robins Center for only their second home game since Jan. 15 ... In the mean time, Richmond has played at Temple, Kansas, Xavier, Dayton and Duquesne, with a home game against George Washington (Jan. 31) mixed in ... The Spiders' two consecutive home games this week is the first time they've been home for two straight games since Jan. 3-6.
No Luck At Home Against Muskies ... The Spiders are 0-2 against Xavier in the Robins Center ... The Musketeers escaped with a three-point win in their Robins Center debut (Jan. 2, 2002) and then raced to a 66-52 victory last winter ... The average score in those two games is 68.0 to 58.0 in favor of the visitors.
The Last Time We Met ... The Spiders held Xavier to 21.0 percent shooting from the floor in a 53-44 victory on Jan. 25 ... Richmond became the first team to beat the Musketeers twice in the Cintas Center and gave them their first season with more than one home loss in their new building ... Senior Tony Dobbins led the Spiders with 19 points, including eight straight during a crucial second-half spurt.
Another Closing In On A Grand ... Senior Tony Dobbins has compiled 914 points in 86 career games at Richmond ... With at least eight games remaining, Dobbins would have to average 10.8 points per game ... His scoring average in the first 22 games is 11.6 ppg and he has notched 10.6 ppg for his three-year career ... If Dobbins reaches 1,000, he will become only the 13th Spider to reach the milestone in less than four years ... Dobbins scored 125 points as a freshman at Virginia Tech, giving him 1,039 points for his career.
