GAME NOTES: The quarterfinal round of the National Invitation Tournament kicks off Tuesday evening with a battle pitting the top-seeded Richmond Spiders against the second-seeded Miami-Florida Hurricanes at the Robins Center.

The winner advances to the semifinal round of the tournament and will face off against either one-seed Temple or third-seeded Louisiana Tech.

Miami advanced past Alabama on Saturday at home with a 73-66 victory over the Crimson Tide. Since dropping a 70-63 contest against eventual ACC champion Notre Dame in the conference tournament, the Hurricanes have won back-to-back tilts to reach the NIT quarterfinal round.

Richmond bowed out of the Atlantic 10 Tournament right away with a loss to eventual league champ VCU. But the Spiders have climbed back into the spotlight with wins over St. Francis-Brooklyn (84-74) and Arizona State (76-70 OT) to reach the quarterfinal round of the NIT.

This will be the first-ever meeting between Miami and Richmond on the basketball court.

Miami fell behind to Alabama early on in Saturday's contest, as the Crimson Tide owned a 34-30 lead at the intermission. However, the Hurricanes battled back in the second half behind 44.4 percent shooting, and a strong defensive effort that limited the Tide to a mere 31.3 percent from the floor in the frame. Manu Lecomte led all Hurricanes with 17 points in the win, while Davon Reed added 15 with eight rebounds and Deandre Burnett chipped in with 13 points off the bench. Tonye Jekiri nearly had a double-double with nine points and a team-best 12 rebounds.

Angel Rodriguez didn't step on the floor for the Hurricanes in their last battle, though he's no longer listed on the injury report. The star guard averages 11.9 ppg in 32 games played, and has dished out a team-high 126 assists this season serving as the team's floor manager. He's only topped in the scoring department by Sheldon McClellan, who nets 14.3 ppg. That total went down after Saturday however, as McClellan only managed two points against the Crimson Tide. Jekiri finished the regular season as the ACC's top rebounder, and enters this clash securing 10.1 boards per outing with a team- best 51 blocked shots. The Hurricanes are averaging 68.7 ppg this season, and are allowing only 63.4 ppg to opponents.

Richmond and Arizona State were locked in a heated battle that needed overtime in order to be settled. The Spiders held a one-point advantage at the end of the first half, but the Sun Devils came back to take a four-point lead - their largest of the game - with just under nine minutes to play in the second. The Spiders knotted the score at the end of regulation, and won in overtime by going 4-of-6 from the floor and 6-of-7 from the free-throw line in the extra session. Kendall Anthony netted 21 points to lead the charge, while T.J. Cline chipped in 19 points, ShawnDre' Jones collected 15 and Terry Allen contributed a double-double with 17 points and 10 rebounds.

Anthony was one of the better scorers in the Atlantic 10 this season, ad the guard enters this contest netting 16.6 ppg on 45.1 percent shooting. His 85 assists are second on the squad, and just two behind team- leader Jones, who had handed out 87 assists. Allen checks in at second in scoring on Richmond with 12.8 ppg, adding in a team-high 6.5 rpg. Cline (11.6 ppg) and Jones (10.4 ppg) round out the group of double-digit scorers for the Spiders, who enter Tuesday's quarterfinal matchup averaging 66.2 ppg on 46 percent shooting. Defense is the specialty of the Spiders, who allow opponents to net a mere 61.1 ppg.

Richmond gets a huge boost playing in front of its home crowd. The Spiders are 16-3 this season at the Robins Center, though Miami has earned some big wins this season on the road. The status of Rodriguez will be crucial, but either way Richmond will try to overwhelm the 'Canes with stifling defense.