Wednesday, December 3rd, 7:00 p.m. (et)

FACTS & STATS: Site: Ted Constant Convocation Center,(8,424) -- Norfolk, Virginia. Television: CSN. Home Record: Richmond 2-0, ODU 0-1. Away Record: Richmond 1-1, ODU 1-2. Neutral Record: Richmond 1-1, ODU 0-0. Conference Record: Richmond 0-0, ODU 0-0. Series Record: Old Dominion leads, 27-21.

GAME NOTES: The Richmond Spiders travel east to take on instate rival Old Dominion tonight in non-conference action at the Constant Center in Norfolk. The Spiders are fresh off a 78-67 win over Coppin State which improved them to 4-2 on the year, and with a win over ODU tonight they would be off to their best start since the 2000-01 season when they went 7-1 to open the season. Three of the Spiders' four wins here in the early going have been by 11 points. After tonight's tilt, Richmond begins a four-game homestand beginning on December 6th against Delaware State. After opening the season with a one- point win at Charlotte, the Monarchs have lost three in a row. ODU dropped a tough 83-82 decision to Bucknell in double-overtime on November 25th and followed that up with a four-point setback last Saturday at Marshall. Including tonight's game, the Monarchs play six of their next seven at the Constant Center. These two schools are hardly strangers, having played 48 times previously. The Monarchs own a 27-21 edge in the series, but dropped a 55-49 decision in Richmond last year.

Richmond shot 54.5 percent from the field, including an incredible 69.2 percent in the first half, which gave the team a commanding 49-32 halftime lead. The final score was a little misleading as Richmond had a 24-point lead with just over a minute-and-a-half to play but the Eagles ran off 13 consecutive points to close out the game. One negative that came out of the game was that Richmond was only able to force 10 turnovers against a team that was playing catch up most of the game. David Gonzalvez led the Spiders with 16 points, eight boards and four assists -- giving him seven straight games in which he has reached double figures. The Spiders also got double-digit scoring efforts from Kevin Anderson and Jarhon Giddings, who netted 14 and 12 points, respectively. On the season, the Spiders are averaging 75 ppg and are shooting 51.6 percent from the floor, including 37.9 percent from three-point land. Gonzalvez and forward Kevin Smith have been a formidable one-two punch for Richmond as they are both averaging better than 16 ppg. Gonzalvez has been the Spiders' best log-distance shooter, hitting 12-of-27 attempts from beyond the arc. Richmond is only being outrebounded by an average of one per game which is an improvement over last season when the team was beaten on the boards by 5.7 rpg.

The Monarchs started their game at Marshall over the weekend prior to noon, and the early start may have been a detriment to the team as it trailed 31-25 at the break. ODU could not overcome the deficit and although it tied the game at 45 with just under 12 minutes to play, the Thundering Herd took the lead again and never looked back. The Monarchs lost the game despite shooting 57.4 percent from the floor, including 68 percent in the second half, but unfortunately they allowed Marshall to hit 58 percent of its shots in the final frame. ODU also shot 50 percent (7-of-14) from three-point range, but committed 17 turnovers. Three Monarchs scored in double figures led by Ben Finney who tallied a game-high 16 and also grabbed five rebounds. Darius James added 11 points and Gerald Lee, who played only six minutes in the first half because of early foul trouble, chipped in with 10. ODU is shooting just 40 percent in its first four games while allowing its opponents to make 47 percent of its shots which have led to 74 ppg. While they are not outscoring their opponents, the Monarchs are outrebounding them by an average of four per game. Lee is averaging 15 ppg and five rpg and is shooting 57.9 percent from the field. Finney is second in scoring with 10.3 ppg, but leads the Monarchs in rebounding with 6.5 per game. James is averaging a respectable 9.8 ppg and has dished out a club-best 16 assists (four per game).

The Monarchs are excited about playing in front of their fans for the first time in more than two weeks. However, ODU will have a difficult time containing Gonzalvez, Smith and Giddings who are also shooting 47.5 percent or better from the floor. If the Monarchs take care of the ball and control the glass they have a shot at keeping it close, otherwise it will be long night.

Predicted Outcome

Richmond 73, Old Dominion 62