COACH: Chris Mooney, six years at Richmond, two years in NCAA tournament.
HOW THEY GOT IN: Automatic bid (Atlantic 10 tournament champion).
GO-TO GUYS: Senior F Justin Harper and senior G Kevin Anderson form an explosive scoring tandem that is supplemented by the contributions of senior C Dan Geriot. Harper averaged 18.0 points per game in the regular season, just ahead of Anderson (16) and Geriot (10.3). All three, along with sophomore G Darien Brothers and senior F Kevin Smith, shoot 40 percent or better from 3-point range with Harper's 47.9 percentage leading the conference. Harper also shot 80.2 percent from the free throw line. Anderson (106) and Smith (100) also were in triple digits in assists. Backup C Darrius Garrett led the Spiders in blocked shots in the regular season with 47, nine more than Harper.
X FACTOR: Geriot needs to continue to keep his scoring up to take the pressure off of Harper and Anderson. Geriot had a streak of nine consecutive games in double figures end late in the year when he was held to seven points against Charlotte and six against Duquesne in two of the last three games of the regular season.
STRENGTHS: The Spiders are a salty bunch with four seniors and a sophomore starting. They also have NCAA experience, losing in the first round to St. Mary's last year. The Spiders' run a fast-paced version of the Princeton offense with all the cuts and passing that goes with that, but average about 71 points per game doing it. They shot a solid 47.1 percent from the field overall and an outstanding 40.7 percent on 3-pointers. Their plus-2.16 advantage in turnover margin was second only to Duquesne's plus-7.31 in the Atlantic 10. The Spiders have eight players averaging at least 12 minutes played per game.
WEAKNESSES: Rebounding is a concern. For the season, the Spiders were down an average of minus-2.3 rebounds a game. In most of their losses, stopping the other team's shooting was the problem. In their losses in A-10 play, Temple shot 55.6 percent against the Spiders, Xavier 49.1, and Rhode Island 48.2. The Spiders finished the regular season under 70 percent from the free throw line, which could be a factor in close games.
