Men's Basketball Looks To Rebound Against Long-Time Rival William & Mary
12/30/2005 | Men's Basketball
Dec. 31, 2005
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UNIVERSITY OF RICHMOND, Va. - The University of Richmond men's basketball team will look to get back on tract when it hosts long-time rival William & Mary on Saturday in the Robins Center at 1 p.m.
The Spiders had played well in two home games last week with a victory over Old Dominion and a near upset of No. 22 Wake Forest, but Richmond couldn't match Tulane's emotional lift in its return to New Orleans. The Spiders suffered a 64-41 loss to the Green Wave, but look to rebound as they have after two other sub-par performances this season.
After losing to Arkansas State 56-37 on Dec. 3, Richmond came back the next day to score a season-high 62 points in a 62-48 win over Prairie View and then almost knocked off then No. 5 ranked Louisville the following day, before falling by eight points. After a 49-37 loss to Virginia Commonwealth on Dec. 10, the Spiders came back to post their second-highest point total of the season in a 61-58 overtime win over Old Dominion and then nearly topped No. 22 ranked Wake Forest before losing seven points.
Richmond hasn't come close to playing a school as many times as the 191 games against William & Mary, but the two teams have not faced since the Spiders' last season in the Colonial Athletic Association in 2000-01. Richmond holds a 96-95 advantage in the all-time series, having won the last meeting 57-49 on Feb. 3, 2001 in Williamsburg.
The William & Mary game is the first of three-straight home games for the Spiders. Richmond will host Longwood on Jan. 2 in its final non-conference game of the season and then open Atlantic 10 play against La Salle on Jan. 7.
Richmond (5-6) is 4-2 at home this season with its only losses coming to a pair of ACC schools, Virginia and Wake Forest.
The Spiders are in the midst of playing seven of nine games at home. Richmond opens the conference schedule playing three of the first four in the Robins Center.
Saturday's game can be followed here at RichmondSpiders.com by Gametracker and audio broadcast with the Spider Sports Network. Bob Black will handle the play-by-play and Greg Beckwith is the analyst.