Cinderella steps lively in East Regional

WASHINGTON -- Dick Tarrant hurriedly took off his radio headset, looked for his grandson in the stands and quietly pumped his fists at the sea of Richmond red shirts in view.

In his role as a radio color commentator on broadcasts of Richmond basketball, Tarrant doesn't pretend to be impartial. He has too much invested.

He was the

Richmond's Nick Patrick (left) and Jonathon Baker celebrate their stunning first-round victory over South Carolina. The Spiders face Washington in the second round. (Reuters)

head coach behind Richmond's reputation for knocking down favorites. In his first game as Richmond's head coach, in 1982, the Spiders beat Wake Forest. Two years later, they upset the Auburn team that had Charles Barkley on the roster. In 1988, they beat defending national champion Indiana and then Georgia Tech to reach the Sweet 16. And 1991? That was when Richmond, as a No. 15 seed, eliminated No. 2 seed Syracuse in the first round.

IT'S ALMOST THAT GOOD AGAIN for Richmond. As the No. 14 seed at the East Regional, the Spiders turned back the one school most haunted by last season when it beat South Carolina 62-61 late Thursday afternoon. South Carolina was determined not to go home early again. The Gamecocks were disgusted at the frequent recollections of last year's first-round loss to No. 15 Coppin State. They played as if they would do anything to keep that kind of upset from happening again.

"They played hard," Tarrant said of the Gamecocks.

To him, this was the surprise. It would have been one thing if the Gamecocks came out, well, cocky. Had they looked past Richmond, it would have been understandable for the Spiders to catch them off-guard. But to beat South Carolina when it was locked-in, riveted, fixated on avenging a ghost? This would seem a bit much.

Before the tournament, Tarrant said South Carolina might be the most vulnerable of all the No. 3 seeds. He was right. "You've got to do what you've got to do, which is play almost flawless basketball," Tarrant said.

In the midst of his dejection, South Carolina guard BJ McKie said Tarrant is correct on that score, too. McKie is the point man who is responsible in no small part for the Gamecocks' combined 47-16 record the last two years. He was also the one who ran the clear-out play for an attempt at the winning basket, made his drive and watched his shot go in and out before a scramble for the rebound and, ultimately, the final buzzer.

"I think they were almost flawless. They played smart. They didn't make many mistakes," McKie said. "On defense, they did a great job of sliding over. Yeah, the bad side of the tournament is you can have a great year and in one game you're out. But that's also college basketball. So on the other hand you've got schools like Richmond and other places no one's really heard of that get the chance for some big attention."

THE EAST SUB-REGIONAL AT THE MCI CENTER looked every bit the yawner before it started. Xavier was sure to beat No. 11 seed Washington, a school that needed to justify its at-large berth. How interesting could South Carolina vs. Richmond be, given how the odds were supposed to catch up with both schools and end one's first-round pain and stop the other's first-round euphoria? Maybe Oklahoma-Indiana presented some pizzazz because forward Andrae Patterson can play and Bobby Knight can, or can't, still coach -- depending upon your view. Connecticut seemed destined to mop up the floor with No. 15 seed Fairleigh Dickinson.

Alas, sightings of Monica Lewinsky and Linda Tripp aren't the only sources of entertainment in Washington. On Saturday, an 11th and a 14th seed will meet to advance to the Sweet 16. Whether it is Washington or Richmond, neither one is supposed to be going.

"You can go so far," Tarrant said, referring to a program the size of Richmond, which plays in the Colonial Athletic Association. "If you can get one win, that's like going to the Final Four. Richmond's not going to beat North Carolina."

WE'LL TAKE THAT ASSUMPTION to the bank. But no one knows that they won't be around to make someone nervous in the Sweet 16. As the competition grows each year, teams that surprise in the first round don't have to stop there.

Said South Carolina coach Eddie Fogler, his voice subdued but strong: "Hey, I saw Xavier plays a few times this year. I think Xavier is really good. Really, really good. And you see that Washington beat them, the 11th seed. Now being the 11th seed tells you they almost didn't get in. So that shows you how even college basketball is. Someone's going to the Sweet 16, right? Either way, it's a very low seed, a 14 or an 11."

Tarrant might be wrong about one thing, then. Winning one might not be like going to the Final Four. Teams in Richmond's position can get a little greedy now. They want more.

"We seniors and the rest of the team are just proud we'll be in the (Richmond) record books now," said senior forward Jarod Stevenson, who scored 24 points.

The school media guide has a whole section devoted to the program's history of upsets. There are references to "Cinderella." A better title might be, "It Might As Well Be Spring."

Mike Lurie is a CBS SportsLine staff writer.

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