Live Blog: 2011 NCAA Tournament

SAN ANTONIO —

9:40 p.m. Despite the loss, you have to be proud of how this Richmond team handled itself. Although the faces on the bench were sad, there was no real hanging of the head or burying their faces in towels or their jerseys. They handled themselves with poise during the press conference and in the locker room. That just tells you what you need to know about this group of guys outside of the court.

Richmond will struggle to replace the seniors on this team but the future is bright. Cedrick Lindsay has the makings of being a great guard, Darien Brothers will continue to get better, Francis-Cedric Martel will be able to step in and give the team what Kevin Smith gave it this year and if Darrius Garrett can get a bit better offensively, he will have a very good senior season. Although the loss hurts today, just remember how incredible this run was.

8:24 p.m. That puts an end to Richmond's season as it falls 77-57 to No. 1 Kansas. It's all gloomy faces for the Spiders as they walk off the court.

8:07 p.m. Richmond appears determined to stay within 20 points as every time Kansas opens a lead by more than 20, Richmond fights back to about 18. But that's as far as Richmond can get before the Jayhawks open it right back up.

7:57 p.m. Richmond needs to work now to make this game look respectable. It trails by 18 with 11:27 left. Kevin Anderson isn't going out without a fight as he makes back-to-back layups that could not be made by a normal person. It's vintage KA but may be too late to save Richmond's season and extend his Richmond career.

7:47 p.m. Dan Geriot cannot buy a shot as his three pointer that would have made it 49-35 rims out. Both Smith and Harper had their hands on the rebound but neither could control it and it goes out of bounds to Kansas with 15:28 left and Kansas up 49-32.

7:43 p.m. Richmond crowd back into the game after a 6-0 Richmond run that started when Kansas guard Brady Morningstar picked up a technical for excessive celebration on his three pointer. Since the two made free throws by Anderson, Harper has hit back-to-back shots as he starts showing some fire in his game.

7:33 p.m. Mooney brings his team out with just less than five minutes left in the half. Richmond has allowed Kansas to hit exactly half of its 10 three-pointers and half of its 32 total shots. Markieff Morris only played five minutes for Kansas as he picked up two early fouls. The only thing working in Richmond's favor is its 9-6 edge in second chance points. The stat sheet is just ugly from a Richmond stand point.

7:15 p.m. It's half here with Kansas up 41-22. Richmond players just walked by to their locker room with a dazed look on their faces as Mooney just kept his head low and with a disgusted look. I wouldn't want to be in there for his speech.

7:11 p.m. Richmond showing signs of life. Improved defense and rebounding has given it an 8-0 run to make it a 37-22 game. Richmond will need to keep up that intensity for the next 1:27 of the half to give it a shot.

7:03 p.m. I don't envy Mooney right now. His team is down 35-11 and has already gone through three timeouts. And there's the whole second half of the game to be played. I haven't seen Richmond this out of sorts since Temple.

6:55 p.m. Richmond needs to trim this 16-point deficit down to 10 in order to have any shot in the second half. Kansas is just looking too good right now for the Spiders to even compete in this game.

6:52 p.m. Things are getting out of hand for Richmond. Kansas has been able to get open looks at three-pointers and knock them down. Mooney has had to use his second timeout as Kansas is now up 25-9.

6:40 p.m. Richmond being too unselfish now as it passes up open looks and ends up turning the ball over as Kansas has opened a 15-7 lead. Richmond is also only shooting 20 percent on its threes so far, not a good sign.

6:37 p.m. Darrius Garrett gets his first action of the game as he goes in for Geriot.

6:34 p.m. Richmond survived its first test. After Darien Brother's hit a three to give UR the 5-4 lead, Kansas went on a 6-0 run to get the Kansas fans on their feet and just fill the Alamodome with noise. But Kevin Smith hit an athletic layup to stop the run and Markieff Morris just picked up his second foul of the game.

6:23 p.m. The game hasn't even started and we already had our first minor confrontation. As Darrius Garret was walking to his bench, a Kansas player bumped into him. Garrett started to jaw at the player but was held back by one of his teammates as the Kansas player continued to walk away. Starting lineups are being introduced now.

6:21 p.m. I should be able to hear a mixed reaction to every play tonight. I have the Richmond section behind me and to my right is a majority of Kansas fans.

6:16 p.m. We are only minutes from Richmond's second-ever Sweet 16 game. The Spiders will be wearing their red uniforms for the first time this tournament since Kansas' main color is blue. I was talking to someone close to the team before I left the hotel and was told that the players were so confident that they were calming down the coaches. Richmond will need this poise as not only is it playing the No. 2 team in the nation, but there also is a majority of Kansas fans in the stands.

11:08 a.m. CST Friday First of all, you may have noticed we have a new picture to go along with this blog (thank you Jimmy Young for posting it). Now on to business.

Today is game day. All that Richmond has to do is beat the No. 2 team in the nation, the team that has the fifth-highest scoring average in the nation and boasts two dominant forwards. Not like Richmond has a big challenge ahead of it or anything.

At yesterday's press conference, Richmond coach Chris Mooney admitted that this was probably the biggest game in his players' lives. Not only are they playing Kansas but they are also trying to make school and tournament history. No Richmond team has ever been to the Elite Eight and no 12 seed has ever knocked off a 1 seed in the Sweet 16. Kansas is perfect in its three games against 12 seeds in tournament history and has lost to a double-digit seed just three times (with the lowest being a 14).

But Richmond is a program known for making tournament history. It was the first school to win a game as a 15 seed and is the only program to have won an opening-round game as a 12, 13, 14 and 15 seed. And this current Spider team is a confident bunch. Kevin Anderson said so yesterday with his remark that the team's "focus right now is to get a National Championship and Kansas is in the way right now so we have to go out there and handle our business."

I expect Richmond to come out loose and ready to play tonight. Few people are giving them a chance to even hang around with Kansas, and even fewer are expecting a Richmond win. And plus, you can't get any more disrespected than having a waiter, who was serving the table next to me at dinner last night, name three of the four teams playing here this weekend and blanking on one team: Richmond.

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5:46 p.m. We are out of the Alamodome for the day and back at the hotel. In the lobby, there's the ESPN 950 am radio show being broadcast while the athletic department is holding an event there at the same time. Not sure where the players are, but I saw Dan Geriot and Kevin Hovde there so I'm assuming they're here at the hotel. I don't know how the game tomorrow will turn out, but I do know this: coach Mooney will have his team ready to play and that the players will not be afraid of Kansas.

2:36 p.m. Well, Kansas coach Bill Self must not care for an open practice too much as he takes his team off the court with about 14 minutes left. He also brought his team on the court a few minutes late and just ran the team through some warm ups and some shooting drills. Now most of the crowd at the Alamodome is leaving now that the Jayhawks finished practice. Tomorrow night will definitely have a strong Kansas showing.

2:11 p.m. CST The horn sounded and the clock has started ticking on the Kansas practice and the team is ... well, I don't know where it is. The Jayhawks still aren't out on the court yet, which is surely disappointing to the couple hundred KU fans that are here.

1:44 p.m. CST Richmond has gone through its round of practice and press conferences and now its VCU on the court for the next four minutes or so. Then comes Kansas and the first look at the Morris twins. Richmond ran its usual, drill-oriented practice with post players getting in a lot of work. Unlike in Denver, the public address announcer recognized that Richmond is from the Atlantic 10 Conference and not the Colonial Athletic Association.

1:32 a.m. CST Thursday After a long night of travel, we are finally here in San Antonio. The team's flight got delayed by about two hours due to a passing thunderstorm so instead of arriving to the hotel at about 10 p.m., we got in around midnight. I feel bad for the people back in the office who had to wait for me to get an Internet connection so I could send them the story that I did on the plane (it will be on the front page of this week's edition).

The hotel is very nice, right on the Canal Walk in downtown San Antonio. It's too late to go out and explore the city so I'll have to save that for tomorrow. Also tomorrow is both Richmond's and Kansas' press conferences and practice, so I'll be at the Alamodome for that. I also have a pair of interviews tomorrow, one for the Pulse Network (you can see it here) at 3:30 p.m. EST and then one for NBC12 at 4 p.m. EST.

DENVER —

5:43 p.m. It's always a sad moment when the losing team goes through its press conference. This one is especially sad as coach Donnie Tyndall brought his two daughters in with him.

5:26 p.m. Richmond is back in the Sweet 16. For the first time since 1988, Richmond has won its first two tournament games. The celebration on the court was tame by the players again though, as Richmond won by 17, 65-48. Full game story to come soon.

5:19 p.m. Morehead State is starting to foul Richmond with 1:22 left. Anderson just made both free throws to give Richmond a 60-45 lead, its largest of the game.

5:11 p.m. Richmond is 4:30 away from a trip to San Antonio next weekend. Dan Geriot just hit a three pointer to give the Spiders a 56-43 lead. The Eagle fans still have hope though, as they just broke out a short-lived "We still believe!" chant.

5:01 p.m. Morehead calls timeout as Richmond opens its biggest lead of the game at 12 with 8:10 left in the game. Justin Harper has made the past three baskets for Richmond and now has 17 points.

4:51 p.m. Richmond had a scary moment when Darrius Garrett was under-cut on a rebound attempt and hit the floor hard. He stayed down for a few moments but did a couple of push-ups as he got up to his feet. The trainers briefly looked at him but he appears to be okay now. It's 43-34 in favor of the Spiders with 11:59 left.

4:43 p.m. Kevin Anderson moved into second place on the school's scoring list with his runner that was banked in over Faried that gave Richmond the 35-26 lead. It's now 37-30 with 15:30 left in the game. Ty Proffitt has been the Eagles' main source of scoring, as he now has 10 points and has been able to drive for a number of layups.

4:35 p.m. Second half about to start and its the same starting lineups for both. The Eagles have the ball first.

4:14 p.m. It's half and Richmond is up 30-21. Richmond has done a good job of shutting down Morehead's two star players in Kenneth Faried (who now has two fouls) and Demonte Harper. The only thing concerning for Richmond is Kevin Anderson and Justin Harper.

4:02 p.m. Anderson picks up his second foul and that leads to a timeout with 3:44 left in the half and Richmond up 22-16. It took Richmond 15 minutes to get its first foul shots but Anderson knocked them down. Fouls are starting to pile up for Richmond, as it has six compared to Morehead's three.

3:51 p.m. Richmond withstood Morehead State's 7-0 run and now lead 18-11. Derrick Williams will get his first action of the tournament when play resumes. The referees have let a lot of contact go, but have called a five-second violation and a three-second violation on the Eagles.

3:39 p.m. Spiders looking strong after a bit of a slow start on the offensive end. Harper and Darien Brothers have hit back-to-back threes to give UR the 12-4 lead. So far, Richmond has done a good job with MSU's big man, Faried, as he has two points that came on a dunk and three rebounds, but has also turned the ball over once.

3:31 p.m. Better start for Richmond than last game. The Spiders are up 4-2 at the first media timeout and have limited Kenneth Faried. He is being guarded by either Justin Harper or Dan Geriot and when he gets passed the ball, a second defender comes over to try to steal it from him.

3:19 p.m. Starters are up on the board and it's the usual five for Mooney. For the Eagles, it's Drew Kelly, Kenneth Faried at the forwards and at guard it's Ty Proffitt, Demonte Harper and Terrance Hill. The MSU fans sitting behind me just finished up with a "We believe!" chant.

3:03 p.m. Hello again from Pepsi Center. It's about 15 minutes from the start of today's third round game between Richmond and Morehead State. Both teams are out on the floor getting ready, with Richmond in its white uniforms for only the second time in history and Morehead in blue uniforms with yellow trimming. I get a great view of this game as I'm sitting in the second row near midcourt. I also have a large section of Morehead State fans sitting behind me. If Richmond is able to win this game, it will advance to the Sweet 16 for the second time in history, with the first coming in 1988.

10:11 a.m. MDT Saturday Today's game reminds me a lot of the A-10 championship game on Sunday. The game before it, Richmond defeated the more-respected team (Temple and Vanderbilt) and now gets a team that wasn't supposed to make it that far (Dayton and Morehead State). Dayton and Morehead State also play a similar style as they aren't a great shooting team and try to get easy putbacks. The Eagles have the more skilled big man in Kenneth Faried but he is their tallest player at 6-foot-8. I think Mooney should put Harper on him instead of Geriot or Garrett. Faried showed quickness that I don't think Geriot or Garrett have and Faried would be able to get easy looks at the basket against them. Also, Harper's length may cause problems for Faried and that would free up Garrett to come from the weak side to help out on defense.

On a personal note, today's our last day in Denver and I'm sad to be leaving the city. It is an incredible city and would encourage everyone to come out here at least once. Special thank you to former Collegian online editor and current Denver Post social media editor Dan Petty for hosting me and Anna, and also one to the Richmond Athletic Department for getting us on the charter flight and making sure that we were taken care of. Without you guys, none of this would have been possible.

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3:33 p.m. MDT The press conferences for Morehead State and Richmond just finished and they were by far the most entertaining of this tournament, especially Richmond's. The Eagles went first and the big story that came out of it was that they liked to compare themselves to last year's Butler team. The Eagles' coach, Donnie Tyndall, also compared Kevin Anderson to a poor-man's Jameer Nelson with the combination of Anderson's size and strength.

But the highlights came during Richmond's press conference, thanks to the Denver Post's Woody Paige. Reporters are supposed to identify themselves before asking a question, so Woody decides to say "Woody Paige from wherever," which caused everybody to laugh. Then, Darrius Garrett misheard Woody's question about Mooney's influence in being fans of the band U2 by mistaking U2 for YouTube which caused even more laughter, as Garrett had to ask what Woody meant by YouTube. Finally, in a question to Mooney about his graduation rate and the academics at Richmond, Mooney called the team's academic tutor an "academic (pause) guy," which led to some playful back-and-forth between the two.

12:40 p.m. MDT Friday About to head over to Pepsi Center (there's no 'the' in front of Pepsi Center) for Morehead's and Richmond's press conferences. Practice is closed today, so I won't be able to report on that but my bet is that Chris Mooney is keeping his team focused and probably will run a practice similar to Wednesday's. Tomorrow will be just the second time in school history that Richmond will be wearing its white uniforms as the higher seed. Last time that did not go so well (last year's game) so Richmond will look to change that.

Just as an update, tomorrow's game will start at about 5:10 p.m. EST. The winner of that game will advance to the Sweet 16, which will be held next Friday in San Antonio, Texas.

And to update the rest of the action from last night in Denver. Gonzaga easily defeated St. John's to pull the third upset of the day in the Mile High City. The Red Storm were without their leading rebounder and it showed as they got dominated by the Bulldogs on the boards. There appeared to be more Gonzaga fans in the stands than St. John's fans and in the Gonzaga crowd was former NBA All-Star John Stockton, whose son is currently on the Gonzaga team. Gonzaga will play BYU on Saturday for a Sweet 16 berth.

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8:58 p.m. It's now halftime here in tonight's last game as Gonzaga is going for one last upset here in Denver. If the Bulldogs can hold their 11-point lead, then three of the four games here would qualify as upsets, although Mooney refuses to call Richmond's victory an upset. Regardless, Richmond will now be the favorite and is expected to reach the Sweet 16 for only the second time in school history. The key for Richmond will be to see how it handles the pressure of being the favorite and possibly the Cinderella of the tournament.

7:57 p.m. BYU won its game, which appeased much of the crowd here at Pepsi Center, and Jimmer scored his 1,000th point this season on a free throw. Now it's the finale here with Gonzaga playing Saint John's University. This SJU team is similar to the one that played at the one that played at the Robins Center two years ago in the CBI. Many of the key Red Storm players on that team are on this one that earned a 6 seed in this year's tournament. It's a high-scoring game early, with the teams tied at 10 not even four minutes into the game.

7:07 p.m. Game story finished, so it's time to sit back and watch about four more minutes of Jimmer. BYU holds the 10-point lead right now, so all that is left is for Jimmer to score five more points to get 30 on the day and give him an even 1,000 on the year. While writing the story, I would look up at game action from time-to-time, and it seemed like every time I did, Jimmer woud get a layup. He is an amazing scorer.

6:07 p.m. I still can't believe how the Spiders responded from the first few minutes of both halves. The start of the game, it looked like Richmond was going to be in for a long day. Even after Richmond tied it up at the start of the second half, Vanderbilt went on a 7-0 run to regain control of the game. But these are resilient Spiders, and they showed that things would be different from last year. Even when they won, emotions were kept under control. The team celebrated some on the court, but nothing to the extent of how Morehead did.

But now, it's Jimmer time as BYU is up 33-29 over Wofford at the half. Not surprisingly, the majority of the crowd is in support of BYU since it's a six-hour drive from Provo, Utah, to here in Denver. I'm watching this game while writing the Richmond game story.

4:50 p.m. It's press conference time. Vanderbilt goes first, then Richmond's Chris Mooney, Kevin Anderson, Darrius Garrett and Justin Harper will be there for the Spiders.

4:41 p.m. No. 12 Richmond has upset No. 5 Vanderbilt University, 69-66. A last-second three was missed as the Spiders rushed the court to celebrate.

4:38 p.m. Vanderbilt advances ball to mid-court and calls final timeout with 2.5 left.

4:36 p.m. Anderson misses the chance to seal the game by going one for two from the line. It's a three-point UR lead with 3.4 left.

4:35 p.m. Ezeli makes first, misses second on purpose. Anderson gets rebound and fouled with 3.4 left. He gets two shots.

4:33 p.m. Garrett misses front end and Ezeli gets rebound. He gets fouled by Harper and he will shoot two foul shots after the Richmond timeout.

4:32 p.m. Richmond's defense prevents Vanderbilt from getting a clean look at a three and a pass gets picked off by Darrius Garrett. He is fouled for a one-and-one with 5.5 seconds left.

4:27 p.m. Anderson hits trademark floater to give UR a three-point lead with 18.7 seconds left. Vandy has the ball and dangerous three-point shooters, especially Jenkins who has made 4 out of 5 today.

4:25 p.m. Vanderbilt timeout with 58.9 seconds left and down by two. Let's see who handles the nerves better.

4:17 p.m. Mooney yelling at the refs after Geriot is called for a foul on Ezeli when lot of contact let go on Richmond's possession. Ezeli will be going to the line for a one-and-one with Richmond up 64-63 with 3:32 left in the game.

4:16 p.m. Richmond getting into foul trouble. Kevin Smith has been sitting with four and Francis-Cedric Martel just picked up his third. Richmond leads 64-63 with four minutes left.

4:04 p.m. Today's attendance has just been announced at 18,000 as Richmond and Vanderbilt are now tied at 55 at the under-eight media timeout. It's getting down to crunch time, where the Spiders' experience may come through.

3:57 p.m. Kevin Anderson gives Richmond its first lead of the day with his third-straight three pointer and now the Spiders lead 51-48 with 11:37 to go. Anderson now has 18 points.

3:52 p.m. Richmond fans back into this game as Anderson hits back-to-back three's to tie the game and Darrius Garrett plays strong defense to stop the Commodores inside. The Richmond fan section sitting behind me broke out the first "Here we go Spiders, here we go!" chant of the day as the rest of the crowd (except for the Vandy section) roots for the Spiders.

3:45 p.m. The start of the half went well for Richmond as Darien Brothers tied it up with a three, but Vandy then went on a 7-0 run and leads Richmond 48-42 with 15 minutes left in the game.

3:43 p.m. Things just not clicking for Richmond. Anderson drives and tries to pass to Harper, but he's not expecting it and creates loose ball. Richmond retains it, but it shows how off the Spiders are.

3:35 p.m. The second half will start soon. It's the same starting lineup for both teams. And the smell of a sausage sandwich coming from behind me is starting to make me hungry.

3:23 p.m. Stats from the half: Festus Ezeli goes 5 for 5 to score 13 but has only three rebounds. As a team, the Commodores shot 54 percent as Richmond improves from a slow start to go 41.4%. Justin Harper missed his first five shots before making his sixth and final of the half to score four. Kevin Anderson and Francis-Cedric Martel each have nine. Martel and Kevin Smith each have two fouls while no Vanderbilt player has more than one.

3:17 p.m. Despite things not going Richmond's way, it is still in this game at the half. Vanderbilt holds the 35-32 lead but Justin Harper has made just one basket so far and that was right at the end of the half. Festus Ezeli has gone off for 13 points and John Jenkins has added 11 for the Commodores. Richmond is led by Kevin Anderson and Francis-Cedric Martel who have nine each. This game could be a lot worse for Richmond, but it has found a way to stick in this game.

3:14 p.m. Mooney looks unhappy with his team's quick shot selection as Vanderbilt has the ball with a five-point lead and 43.7 seconds left in the half.

3:06 p.m. If Richmond can get it down to within five by the half, it will have to feel lucky. Vanderbilt has really shut Richmond down with its 2-3 zone and Ezeli and Jenkins have created problems for the Richmond defense. It's 31-25 with Vandy up with 3:43 to go in the half.

3:02 p.m. Dan Geriot has left the game with a bloody nose. Referees are checking to see if there's a foul on a Vandy player and are now meeting with both coaches.

2:50 p.m. Richmond has to consider itself lucky to be down only three so far. Justin Harper has not made a shot so far and Kevin Anderson is 3 for 8. But Richmond will have the ball when play is back.

2:42 p.m. It's still early but Richmond cannot seem to get within five of Vanderbilt. Richmond has done a better job of getting rebounds that stretch but is unable to convert on the offensive end. Kevin Smith has two fouls already and Justin Harper has one.

2:33 p.m. Not the start the Spiders wanted. It's the first media break with Vandy up 10-5. Vandy's Festus Ezeli already has five points as Vanderbilt is making it a priority to get the ball to him. On the defensive end, the Commodores are playing a 2-3 zone, something that has given Richmond trouble all season long, including so far today.

2:25 p.m. Richmond is starting its usual lineup while Vanderbilt starts Brad Tinsley, John Jenkins, Jeffrey Taylor, Festus Ezeli and Lance Goulbourne. Tip to come soon.

2:18 p.m. Richmond has come onto the floor wearing its navy blue uniforms. It will look for its first NCAA tournament win since 1998.

2:12 p.m. The madness from Morehead's dramatic win is still not gone from the Pepsi Center. Both teams are gone from the court and Vanderbilt is now shooting around with Richmond back in its locker room. But the images of Demonte Harper freezing Peyton Siva on a cross-over and draining a three and then Kenneth Faried blocking a last-second three by Mike Marra still remain.

1:54 p.m. It's an upset here in Denver. Louisville's last-second shot attempt by Mike Marra was blocked by who else but Kennet Faried as No. 13 Morehead State knocks off No. 4 Louisville The Eagles are still on the floor, celebrating by their fans.

1:53 p.m. Demonte Harper hit a three pointer with 4.2 left to give the Eagles a one-point lead. Louisville timeout and it has enough time to get a good shot.

1:50 p.m. Morehead had a buzzer-beater at the end of the first half, and now let's see if they can get another one here. Louisville just missed the front end of a one-and-one and Morehead got the rebound and called timeout with 23.8 left and trailing by two.

1:43 p.m. And just like that, momentum is back with Louisville. Cardinals coach Rick Pitino called a timeout with his team down five and it since responded by taking a two-point lead. Reserve Elisha Justice just made a three pointer that gave his team the lead again. However, Knowles is still out for the Cardinals and has the shoe off of his left foot. It does not look like he will return today.

1:36 p.m. Last year in Providence, R.I., it was Robert Morris' Karon Abraham that became a fan favorite with his performance in an upset bid of a Big East team. This year, it's Terrance Hill, who has hit back-to-back three pointers to put the Eagles up five over Louisville with 5:16 left. He now has a season-high 23 points. And like last year, the crowd is getting behind the under-dog team.

1:25 p.m. It looked like Louisville was going to run away with this game, but Morehead State has fought back in and now trails by only one. The Cardinals had led by as many as eight this half but the Eagles have used the three to shoot themselves back in. Also concerning for Louisville, Terrence Jennings was getting looked at by trainers (he just checked back in) and Preston Knowles left with what appears to be an ankle or lower leg injury.

As I'm writing this, Morehead steals the ball and gets fouled attempting a layup, which brings the game to the under-eight media timeout. Morehead will have a chance to tie or go ahead when play resumes.

12:45 p.m. Richmond is now at the Pepsi Center and getting ready for its game. Just saw Kevin Smith in his warm-ups, getting some Powerade. The pep band is also here. It's half here between Louisville and Morehead State, and Richmond will play about 30 minutes after the end of this game.

12:32 p.m. We just had a buzzer-beater here in Denver. Morehead's Demonte Harper hit a three pointer as time expired to end the first half to send both teams to the locker room tied at 33. Morehead controlled the game early but Louisville has cut down on its turnovers and started hitting its three pointers.

12:10 p.m. MDT The winner of the Richmond-Vanderbilt game will have its hands full trying to prepare for either Louisville or Morehead State. Both teams like to press and have created a number of turnovers so far. Morehead also has a very good player in Kenneth Faried, who despite his size, is quick and gets good reads off of misses.

11:48 a.m. MDT I'm sitting at press row right now watching Morehead State take on Louisville. There were some issues finding my seat but those were taken care of and I will be here the rest of the day, including for the Richmond game at around 4:10 p.m. EST. The Pepsi Center is pretty full with an interesting mix of colors in the stands. There is a Louisville red section behind the Louisville bench and the Morehead blue section across from the Morehead bench. But the rest are wearing some shade of green for Saint Patrick's Day.

Right now, the Morehead State defense looks very good as its the Eagles leading 7-0.

8:16 a.m. MDT Thursday Only a few hours remain before Richmond's game today. But before Richmond plays, we get to the No. 4 Louisville play No. 13 Morehead State. I'm excited to see Kenneth Faried play for the Eagles. I've heard comparisons of him to Dennis Rodman because of his rebounding ability, so I can't wait to see that. The game before Richmond last year was Villanova's escape of No. 15 Robert Morris' upset bid. I still maintain that RoMo was the better team that day and if it wasn't for some questionable calls going in Villanova's way, RoMo would have pulled the upset.

And then after today's Richmond game, it's Jimmer time as BYU plays Wofford. There are a lot of good matchups here in this region and a lot of good players. Vanderbilt's John Jenkins was asked yesterday who the best shooter in this region is (trying to get Jenkins to choose between himself of Jimmer) and all Jenkins could do was laugh and say that we'll have to find out. Even the last game of the night here should be entertaining as St. John's plays Gonzaga.

It should be a good day of basketball here in Denver.

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9:10 p.m. MDT Wednesday It's not a Richmond game, and I'm not there but I'm doing a VCU update. Honestly, I did not think that the Rams deserved a spot in the NCAA Tournament, but right now they are playing well. They are hitting their shots, something that they did not do against UR back in December, and are also forcing a ton of USC turnovers. When the Rams can do that, they are a good team.

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3:47 p.m. MDT Wednesday Just got back from Richmond and Vanderbilt press conferences and practice. Both are really good academic schools, but that's where the similarities seem to end, at least basketball-wise. The two Vanderbilt players at the press conference, Jeffrey Taylor and John Jenkins, were not very quotable. Their answers were short and they avoided some questions. Richmond's players on the other hand (it was Kevin Anderson and Justin Harper today) were pretty good with the media. They answered all the questions and gave lengthy responses and had some quotable answers. One positive sign for Richmond fans is that both Anderson and Harper want more than just an appearance in the tournament this year and are motivated by getting a 12 seed.

Another difference between the two teams was how their practices were run. Richmond coach Chris Mooney had his team go through passing and fast-break drills and run through some game situations for most of the 40 minutes of practice. It was only for the last minute that the team was allowed to shoot around. I did not get to see all of Vanderbilt's practice but for the 15 minutes or so that I did see it, Vandy players had an organized shoot-around and the whole atmosphere was more laid-back. Jenkins and Rod Odom were having a shooting competition (Odom won in my book) and Vanderbilt coach Kevin Stallings was nearly invisible for the practice.

But in watching Vanderbilt's practice, I noticed that it is a good shooting team. Some reporters asked both coaches if this Vanderbilt team is similar to the Saint Mary's team from last year that knocked Richmond out of the tournament with the combination of a skilled big man and good three-point shooters. Mooney said that there were some similarities but that Vanderbilt has a different style of offense than Saint Mary's.

Since it is 70 degrees and sunny here in Denver (go figure) and it is a really nice city, I'm going out to see it but I'll post a preview article later. So check back for that.

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8:24 a.m. MDT Wednesday Just three days ago, I was in Atlantic City, N.J., covering Richmond's Atlantic 10 Tournament championship. Now, I'm in Denver, Colo., after flying out here with the team last night. The flight itself was uneventful, I was in the back of the plane and the team was sitting up in the front so no blog-worthy stories came out from it. But today is Richmond's practice and press conference, so I'll be able to pass along some information later.

One thing that will be important to look out for on Thursday is how fresh Richmond plays. In the span of a week, Richmond will have played four games, traveled from Atlantic City to Richmond then flown to Denver, where the effects of the altitude can hinder the performance of even some well-rested teams. The only effect I've felt from the altitude so far is that my mouth is almost always dry due to the air being very dry as well. But in talking to people who live here, it's when you are running that you feel the affects of the altitude most strongly. Thankfully for Richmond, Vanderbilt will have to deal with the same elements.

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