1987–88 Richmond Spiders men's basketball team

1987–88 Richmond Spiders men's basketball
CAA regular season champions CAA tournament champions
NCAA tournament, Sweet Sixteen
Conference	Colonial Athletic Association
Record	26–7 (11–3 CAA)
Head coach	Dick Tarrant (7th season)
Captain	Steve Kratzer Rodney Rice Peter Woolfolk
Home arena	Robins Center

1987-88 CAA men's basketball standings

v t e	Conf							Overall
Team	W		L		PCT			W		L		PCT
Richmond †	11	–	3		.786			26	–	7		.788
American	9	–	5		.643			14	–	14		.500
George Mason	9	–	5		.643			20	–	10		.667
UNC-Wilmington	8	–	6		.571			15	–	14		.517
Navy	6	–	8		.429			12	–	16		.429
James Madison	5	–	9		.357			10	–	18		.357
William & Mary	5	–	9		.357			10	–	19		.345
East Carolina	3	–	11		.214			8	–	20		.286
† 1988 CAA tournament winner Rankings from AP Poll[1]

The 1987–88 Richmond Spiders men's basketball team represented the University of Richmond in National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I college basketball during the 1987–88 season. Richmond competed as a member of the Colonial Athletic Association (CAA) under head basketball coach Dick Tarrant and played its home games at the Robins Center.

Richmond finished first in the CAA regular-season standings with an 11–3 conference record, and won the CAA tournament to earn an automatic bid to the 1988 NCAA tournament. In the opening round, the Spiders defeated Indiana, 72–69, and followed that with a 59–55 win over Georgia Tech to reach the Sweet Sixteen. Richmond lost to #1 ranked Temple, 69–47, in the East regional semifinals.

Roster

1987–88 Richmond Spiders men's basketball team
Players	Coaches
Pos. # Name Height Weight Year Previous school Hometown G 10 Ken Atkinson 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) 175 lb (79 kg) So St. Anthony's   G 24 Curtis Blair 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) — Fr Patrick Henry Roanoke, Virginia C Jim Shields 6 ft 10 in (2.08 m) — Fr	Head coach Dick Tarrant Assistant coach(es) Legend (C) Team captain (S) Suspended (I) Ineligible (W) Walk-on Injured Current redshirt

Schedule and results

Date time, TV	Rank^#	Opponent^#	Result	Record	Site city, state
Regular season
Nov 27, 1987*		Boston University Central Fidelity Holiday Classic	W 66–61	1–0	Robins Center  Richmond, Virginia
Nov 28, 1987*		No. 3 North Carolina Central Fidelity Holiday Classic	L 76–87	1–1	Robins Center  Richmond, Virginia
Dec 4, 1987*		vs. Tulsa Kactus Classic	W 64–60	2–1	Wells Fargo Arena  Tempe, Arizona
Dec 5, 1987*		at Arizona State Kactus Classic	W 76–63	3–1	Wells Fargo Arena  Tempe, Arizona
Dec 9, 1987*		Radford	W 67–53	4–1	Robins Center  Richmond, Virginia
Dec 18, 1987*		at VCU Times-Dispatch Tournament	W 60–58	5–1	Richmond Coliseum  Richmond, Virginia
Dec 19, 1987*		vs. Old Dominion Times-Dispatch Tournament	W 70–63	6–1	Richmond Coliseum  Richmond, Virginia
Dec 22, 1987*		at Georgia Tech	W 73–67	7–1	Alexander Memorial Coliseum  Atlanta, Georgia
Jan 4, 1988*		at VCU	L 53–72	7–2	Richmond Coliseum  Richmond, Virginia
Jan 6, 1988*		VMI	W 88–55	8–2	Robins Center  Richmond, Virginia
Jan 9, 1988*		Navy	W 78–63	9–2 (1–0)	Robins Center  Richmond, Virginia
Jan 11, 1988*		La Salle	W 82–81	10–2	Robins Center  Richmond, Virginia
Jan 13, 1988		at American	W 78–65	11–2 (2–0)	Fort Myer Ceremonial Hall  Washington, D.C.
Jan 16, 1988		George Mason	W 86–70	12–2 (3–0)	Robins Center  Richmond, Virginia
Jan 20, 1988		at James Madison	L 54–58	12–3 (3–1)	JMU Convocation Center  Harrisonburg, Virginia
Jan 23, 1988		East Carolina	W 84–79	13–3 (4–1)	Robins Center  Richmond, Virginia
Jan 27, 1988		UNC Wilmington	W 73–66	14–3 (5–1)	Robins Center  Richmond, Virginia
Jan 30, 1988		at William & Mary	W 77–69	15–3 (6–1)	Kaplan Arena  Williamsburg, Virginia
Feb 2, 1988*		Old Dominion	W 82–75	16–3	Robins Center  Richmond, Virginia
Feb 6, 1988		at Navy	L 59–73	16–4 (6–2)	Halsey Field House  Annapolis, Maryland
Feb 10, 1988		American	L 63–68	16–5 (6–3)	Robins Center  Richmond, Virginia
Feb 13, 1988		at George Mason	W 62–60	17–5 (7–3)	Patriot Center  Fairfax, Virginia
Feb 15, 1988*		at Virginia Tech	L 74–87	17–6	Cassell Coliseum  Blacksburg, Virginia
Feb 17, 1988		James Madison	W 69–55	18–6 (8–3)	Robins Center  Richmond, Virginia
Feb 20, 1988		at East Carolina	W 68–64	19–6 (9–3)	Williams Arena at Minges Coliseum  Greenville, North Carolina
Feb 24, 1988		at UNC Wilmington	W 61–60	20–6 (10–3)	Trask Coliseum  Wilmington, North Carolina
Feb 27, 1988		William & Mary	W 73–65	21–6 (11–3)	Robins Center  Richmond, Virginia
CAA Tournament
Mar 5, 1988*	(1)	vs. (8) East Carolina Quarterfinals	W 67–41	22–6	Hampton Coliseum  Hampton, Virginia
Mar 6, 1988*	(1)	vs. (4) UNC Wilmington Semifinals	W 54–53	23–6	Hampton Coliseum  Hampton, Virginia
Mar 7, 1988*	(1)	vs. (3) George Mason Championship	W 74–71	24–6	Hampton Coliseum  Hampton, Virginia
NCAA Tournament
Mar 18, 1988*	(13 E)	vs. (4 E) Indiana First round	W 72–69[2][3]	25–6	Hartford Civic Center  Hartford, Connecticut
Mar 20, 1988*	(13 E)	vs. (5 E) Georgia Tech Second Round	W 59–55[4]	26–6	Hartford Civic Center  Hartford, Connecticut
Mar 24, 1988*	(13 E)	vs. (1 E) No. 1 Temple East Regional semifinal – Sweet Sixteen	L 47–69[5]	26–7	Brendan Byrne Arena  East Rutherford, New Jersey
*Non-conference game. ^#Rankings from AP poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. E=East. All times are in Eastern.

^[6]

References

1. sports-reference.com 1987-88 Colonial Athletic Association Season Summary
2. "RICHMOND UPSETS INDIANA, 72-69". The Washington Post. March 19, 1988. Retrieved April 5, 2020.
3. "Spiders' NCAA win over defending champ Indiana 30 years ago help set UR's course". Richmond Times-Dispatch. March 16, 2018. Retrieved April 5, 2020.
4. "INSIDE, RICHMOND'S TOUGH". The Washington Post. March 21, 1988. Retrieved April 5, 2020.
5. "Temple Breezes Past Richmond". The New York Times. March 25, 1988. Retrieved April 5, 2020.
6. "2019–20 Richmond Spiders Men's Basketball Media Guide" (PDF). University of Richmond Athletics. p. 117. Retrieved April 5, 2020.