Richmond to host St. John's in first round of CBI Tournament

Sophomore guard Kevin Anderson knows the perils of going up against a basketball team in the Big East -- the first conference to get three No. 1 seeds in the NCAA tournament.

"The Big East is a very physical conference," Anderson said ahead of Wednesday's 7 p.m. home post-season game against St. John's University, the team Richmond will play in the first round of the College Basketball Invitational.

The Red Storm (16-17, 6-12 in the Big East) upset Georgetown University in last week's Big East Tournament 64-59, earning their first post-season win in five years before losing to No. 24 Marquette University the next day. Paris Horne leads the team in scoring at 14.8 points per game and D.J. Kennedy is second among active players at 12.8 ppg.

The teams have met just three times -- between 1954 and 1958 -- for match-ups that all ended in Richmond losses. The game will be St. John's second time playing the Spiders in Richmond.

"We're excited to play, definitely excited to host a Big East team in our gym," said Richmond coach Chris Mooney. "It's a good reward for us."

Like St. John's, Richmond (18-15, 9-7 in the Atlantic 10) also earned a victory in its conference tournament, beating St. Bonaventure on March 11 in the first round before losing to Dayton University the following day. The Spiders have appeared in post-season games in six of the last nine seasons.

For the Spiders to advance in the CBI tournament, which is single-elimination, they must be ready to handle St. John's tough play, rebound the ball well and connect on more shots, Mooney said.

"They are a good rebounding team," said Mooney, who is 2-3 against Big East teams in his four years as a Spider. "We've done everything really well recently with the exception of making threes. I think if we shoot the ball a little better, we will be very good."

But bringing post-season play home came at a price: $60,000. The Gazelle Group -- which owns the CBI tournament -- asked for the money guarantee to allow Richmond to host the game. The athletic department did not use money from its budget to pay, instead relying on private funds, athletics director Jim Miller said.

Richmond played last year in the CBI, losing to the University of Virginia in the first round 66-64. The Spiders were winning for most of the game, but a 17-3 Cavalier run over the final nine minutes allowed Virginia to squeak by.

"Last year being away was a challenge, so being at home should be beneficial," Mooney said.

If the Spiders can secure the win Wednesday night, they will negotiate with the Gazelle Group to host the second round game or any other future round, Miller said. The second-round game would be played March 23 against the winner of the College of Charleston and Troy University match-up.

Making a run deep into the post-season could also bolster the team's confidence for next year.

"If we win a couple games here, we're a 20-plus win season," Anderson said. "To beat a Big East team and beat Xavier late -- that's a pretty good season for us. We're trying to win this tournament."

The game also allows the team at least one more chance to play together and gain experience for next year.

"Maybe (sophomore Justin Harper) has another great game, maybe (freshman) Josh Duinker has a great game," Mooney said. "Anything where we can build on some of the positives that we already created this year would be beneficial."

The CBI is now in its second year as a post-season men's basketball tournament and was formed by the Gazelle Group to compete with the National Invitation Tournament for a group of teams that did not reach the NCAA Tournament, Miller said. The Gazelle Group also owns other in-season tournaments, including the O'Reilly Auto Parts CBE Classic, which Richmond participated in this past year.

Contact staff writer Andrew Prezioso at andrew.prezioso@richmond.edu