Associated Press

Virginia coach Dave Leitao is preparing his team for Richmond.

By the time Virginia announced its first-round pairing for the College Basketball Invitational, coach Dave Leitao was fast asleep.

At 2:51 a.m., who could blame him?

UVa isn't in the habit of issuing news releases at that hour, but things could be worse. In Leitao's first season, 2005-06, the Cavaliers barely had 48 hours' warning before a first-round National Invitation Tournament game at Stanford.

"Not having to go 3,000 miles and three time zones away is certainly better for us and would be for any team," Leitao said.

It wasn't until he awoke Monday morning that Leitao knew for sure that the Cavaliers (15-15) would be playing Richmond (16-14), but he already knew that Virginia would be playing at home and that tipoff would be at 7 tonight.

That much was clear when the NIT announced pairings that did not include Virginia. On Saturday, the Cavaliers had announced that they would serve as host for a first-round CBI game if an NIT bid did not materialize.

Leitao already had gotten a sense that the Cavaliers wanted to keep playing from their much-decorated senior guard, Sean Singletary.

"If he had said, 'No, I'm done playing; I don't want to play,' I still would have made a decision in agreement or maybe disagreement," Leitao said, "but, I wanted to get their input."

When asked about the advantages of playing in the CBI, Leitao turned the question around.

"The question would be asked back, 'What are the disadvantages?' " Leitao said. "There are no disadvantages. There's only advantages in every aspect of playing, coaching, cheering,"

Tonight's meeting will be the first between the Cavaliers and Spiders since November 2005, when Virginia prevailed 59-43 at Richmond in the second game of Leitao's first season.

That was also the first season for Spiders' head coach Chris Mooney, whose arrival in Richmond was at least partly connected to Leitao's arrival in Charlottesville. After Leitao resigned as DePaul coach to take the Virginia job, the Blue Demons hired then-Richmond coach Jerry Wainwright as his successor.

Mooney is a Princeton alumnus and former player who subscribes to the patterned offense made famous by ex-coach Pete Carril. His 2005-2006 Richmond team led Division I in fewest points allowed, and the Spiders are giving up 66 points per game this year.

Former Blacksburg High School standout Jarhon Giddings, a 6-foot-9, 235-pound junior, has played in every game as a post man for the Spiders, whose most impressive victories have come over Virginia Tech and NCAA invitee Temple.

"In this day and age, it's pretty easy to get your hands on film," Leitao said of the 36-hour turnaround between the time he learned of the pairing and tonight's tipoff. "I've already watched two games [by noon], and we'll watch one or two more."

Virginia saw a Princeton-style offense earlier this season when it played Northwestern, coached by Carril disciple Bill Carmody.

"You have to rely more on the things you try day to day to do well, rather than a specific gameplan," Leitao said. "It's challenging for Richmond, it's challenging for us, it's challenging for any team."

Dan Geriot, a 6-9, 235-pound sophomore, is the leading scorer (14.0) and rebounder (5.5) for a Spiders team that boasts seven players with at least 13 3-point field goals apiece.

Tonight's game will allow UVa fans a second opportunity to bid farewell to Singletary, a three-time All-ACC selection, "but, in my mind, that's secondary to continuing to play and trying to win games," Leitao said.