GAME NOTES: The Musketeers aim to continue their success against Richmond tonight, as they face the Spiders at the Robins Center. Xavier is hoping for a shot at a first-round bye in the upcoming Atlantic 10 Tournament. To do so, the Musketeers must win their final two games, which includes a contest at home versus Dayton on Saturday. The top two teams from each A-10 division receive opening-round byes and Xavier already holds a tiebreaker over the Flyers by virtue of a better West Division record. Xavier is 3-0 all-time at the Robins Center and has won six of the eight all-time meetings between these two teams. That includes an 81-57 squashing of the Spiders on January 19th in Cincinnati. Richmond shot a blistering 63.6 percent from the field in the opening half, but still trailed 43-31 at halftime and could never catch up. Xavier comes into tonight's contest having lost two of its last three bouts, including a 53-52 overtime defeat at La Salle on Sunday. Meanwhile, the Spiders broke a four-game skid with a 76-62 triumph at Duquesne on Sunday.

Xavier is 6-2 against teams from the A-10 West. The Musketeers have limited their opponents to just 37.8 percent shooting over their last eight contests, compared to 45.9 percent in the first 17 games. The Musketeers are 14-4 when holding foes under 50 percent from the field, but are winless in seven games when opponents make at least half their shots. Xavier shot just 25 percent from the field after halftime on Sunday and committed 17 turnovers on the day. The Musketeers had a chance to win at the end of regulation, but missed a couple of shots and they led 52-49 with just under two minutes left in OT, but blew that also. The Musketeers have one of the nation's best balanced offensive attacks, as four players average at least 11 ppg -- Stanley Burrell (11.6), Brian Thornton (11.3), Justin Cage (11.2) and Justin Doellman (11.0). Thornton leads the team in rebounding at 6.3 per game.

The Spiders got 19 points from center Kevin Steenberge and 15 from guard Andres Sandoval in their win over the Dukes on Sunday. Gaston Moliva blocked four shots in just 14 minutes of action. Steenberge hit 8-of-10 attempts from the field, while Sandoval was 6-of-10. The Spiders limited Duquesne to 38 percent shooting. Steenberge (12.4 ppg, 6.0 rpg) leads the team in both scoring and rebounding. Daon Merritt (11.3 ppg) is second offensively, but he is expected to be out the remainder of the season with a sprained knee. Jermaine Bucknor (10.7 ppg) is third offensively, followed by Jamaal Scott (9.8 ppg) and Patrick O'Malley (6.7 ppg). Richmond is now 8-1 overall, including 5-1 in A-10 contests, when leading at intermission.

The Musketeers have thrived in February with a 19-4 mark during the month in the last three years. Steenberge can provide the Spiders with solid inside play, but in the first meeting he was limited to six points and five rebounds, although he did block five shots. The Musketeers posted five players in double figures in that January 19th game and will again cause matchup problems this evening.