What: Vanderbilt Commodores (23-10) vs. Richmond Spiders (27-7)

Where: Pepsi Center (19,155), Denver, Col.

When: 3:00 p.m. Central, Thursday

TV: TBS

Radio: Nashville: 97.1 FM

Rankings: Vanderbilt is 25th in the ESPN poll; Richmond is unranked

Warren Nolan RPI: Vanderbilt: 27, Richmond: 42

The line: Vanderbilt by 2

Sagarin prediction: Vanderbilt by 3

Pomeroy prediction: Vanderbilt 70, Richmond 68 (VU has an 57 percent chance of victory)

Series record: Vanderbilt leads 2-0, but the teams haven't played since the 1978-79 season

VANDERBILT COMMODORES STARTERS							RICHMOND SPIDERS STARTERS
Player	Ht.	Wt.	Cl.	PPG	RPG	Pos.	Player	Ht.	Wt.	Cl.	PPG	RPG
Brad Tinsley	6-3	210	Jr.	10.6	3.7	PG	Kevin Anderson	6-0	175	Sr.	16.5	2.7
John Jenkins	6-4	215	So.	19.5	3.0	SG	Darien Brothers	6-3	195	So.	7.8	1.9
Jeffery Taylor	6-7	225	Jr.	15.1	5.4	SF	Kevin Smith	6-5	200	Sr.	4.0	4.2
Lance Goulbourne	6-8	225	Jr.	6.9	7.3	PF	Justin Harper	6-10	225	Sr.	17.9	7.0
Festus Ezeli	6-11	255	Jr.	12.8	6.2	C	Dan Geriot	6-9	235	Sr.	9.9	3.8

Preview

It's the classic 5-12 matchup, and with Vanderbilt on the "5" side of things, you can't blame the Commodores if they're sick of hearing about being an upset victim on Thursday.

Then again, if the 'Dores are sick of hearing about, today's the perfect time to change history. As anyone who's watched ESPN all week knows, VU was a 4-seed in 2008 and 2010 before falling to 13-seeds Siena and Murray State in the first round.

The Commodores face the dangerous Richmond Spiders on Thursday afternoon in the first round of the NCAA Tournament. The Spiders, too, have something to be irritated about coming in, feeling they deserved better than the 12-seed them got.

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