The edict from Kansas University basketball coach Bill Self to his players in preparation for Friday night’s Southwest regional semifinal game against Richmond was twofold: 1. No layups off back-door cuts; 2. No three-pointers.

Then Self and assistant coach Joe Dooley spent three days changing their players’ basketball brains, altering where they stood in relation to the player they were guarding. Basically, instead of playing between the ball and your man, players were told to play between their man and the basket.

Instead of playing “down the line” in a position to help on drives to the hoop, the KU defenders blocked the cutters’ path to the hoop by staying in front of them. It frustrated the life out of the slower Spiders, who couldn’t compete and lost, 77-57, in the Alamodome, where Kansas feels right at home.

Kansas held Richmond to 0.90 points per possessions -- its second-worst mark of the season.

Richmond features five starters capable of shooting the three, including Justin Harper, who has made 75 of 166 treys for 45.2 percent.

“I know they’re a very good defensive team,” Richmond coach Chris Mooney said of KU. “But I’m not sure if they’ve seen someone like (senior guard) Kevin Anderson. And (senior forward) Justin Harper is a difficult matchup for some teams.”

KU has enough depth at guard to throw a bunch of different looks at the undersized Anderson, Richmond’s second-leading scorer at 16.7 points per game.

But the skill set Harper possesses will make his showdown with the twins as interesting to watch as any on the floor.

“That’s one of the keys,” Richmond sophomore Darien Brothers said. “For them to come out and have to guard our bigs. If we bring them out of their element, it can cause some huge matchup problems.”

Richmond plays very slow, ranking 318th out of 345 NCAA teams in pace.

Spiders point guard Kevin Anderson, who will try to slow the game down and make sure his team gets a shot on every possession, has KU’s full attention.

"(Anderson) controls the game," KU point guard Tyshawn Taylor said. "He wants to slow the game down and get shorter possessions. He wants to control the clock. He wants to get us out of our comfort zone."

Yes, Anderson, who averages 16.7 points and 3.3 assists, has the Jayhawks' complete attention. And after scoring 25 points in an upset win over Vanderbilt in the second round, including the game-winner, and 14 in a third-round victory over Morehead State to make it to San Antonio this weekend, they very well should.

"He's just so fast and he kind of reminds me of (Boston U. guard John Holland)... except (Anderson) has scored over 2,000 points in his career," Kansas coach Bill Self said. "He's one of the best in the country at playing point guard."

"Offensively they don't do anything that doesn't run through (Anderson)," Taylor said. "So defensively, for us, it's kind of one of those things that we know we have to stop. You watch them and you see what he can do and know if you want to beat them that's where it begins."

Richmond center Dan Geriot has registered 100 assists, an unusually high number for a center, but one that doesn't begin to quantify the ball movement he generates.

The Spiders, who run a Princeton-style offense, stationed Geriot near the foul line in their 65-48 victory over Morehead State. His passing frequently led to a pass that turned into one of Richmond's 18 assists on 26 field goals.

"He's probably the best passing big man in college right now," said Richmond forward Justin Harper.

"He passes so well and has such a good feel for the game, it's hard to explain in words," said UR junior center Darrius Garrett. "It makes it so much easier for the other four players on the court with him."

Geriot averages 4.6 assists per 40 minutes pace adjusted.

A year ago, Richmond power forward Justin Harper averaged 10.6 points and 5 rebounds in 25 minutes; this season, he is leading the Spiders with averages of 18 points and 7 rebounds in 31 minutes and is projected as a late first round pick in the 2011 draft.

“I couldn't point to any one exact moment, but just the work I did this summer has really helped me gain a new mindset, I've learned to approach the game like a professional,” Harper said. “I'm learning to utilize every single day to get better as a player.”

At 6-foot-10 with range that extends beyond the arc, Harper has developed into one of the most efficient scorers in the country, ranking in the 98th percentile in scoring efficiency according to Synergy Sports Technology.

“The biggest difference with Justin is he's doing all of this at 6-10,” Spiders coach Chris Mooney said. “It's incredible that he has the kind of range and touch that he does at that size, in addition to all the other things he can do. He's clearly one of the best shooters in the country, and again, it's so unique given his size.”

Harper is listed 23rd on RealGM's latest mock draft for 2011.

Richmond defeated Dayton to win the 2011 Atlantic-10 Tournament.

Kevin Anderson of Richmond was named Tournament MVP.

Joining Anderson on the All-Tournament Team was teammate Justin Harper, Chris Wright and Chris Johnson (Dayton) and Lavoy Allen (Temple).

• Click here to view RealGM’s comprehensive list of 2011 Conference Tournaments.

Ohio State is the No. 1 overall seed in the 2011 NCAA Tournament and will be placed in the East Region.

Joining the Buckeyes No. 1 seeds is Kansas in the Midwest, Pittsburgh in the Southeast and Duke in the West.

Pitt is the only No. 1 seed to not win their conference tournament, losing to eventual champion Connecticut in the quarterfinals.

San Diego State, North Carolina, Notre Dame and Florida are the No. 2 seeds, while Syracuse, Purdue, Connecticut and BYU are the No. 3 seeds. Kentucky, Louisville, Texas and Wisconsin are the No. 4 seeds.

Kansas and Duke were also No. 1 seeds in the 2010 NCAA Tournament, while Ohio State was a No. 2 and Pitt was a No. 3.

The Final Four will be held in Houston on April 2nd and 4th.

• Click here to view RealGM’s 2011 NCAA Tournament Page.

Tu Holloway of Xavier has been named the Atlantic-10 Player of the Year.

Damian Saunders of Duquesne won Defensive POY honors, while teammate T.J. McConnell won Rookie of the Year.

Joining Holloway on the All-Conference First Team were Kevin Anderson and Justin Harper (Richmond), Lavoy Allen (Temple) and Andrew Nicholson (St. Bonaventure).

On the All-Conference Second Team are Saunders and teammate Bill Clark, Delroy James (Rhode Island), Ramone Moore (Temple) and Tony Taylor (George Washington).

On the All-Conference Third Team are Mark Lyons and Jamel McLean (Xavier), Juan Fernandez (Temple), Anthony Gurley (Massachusetts) and Chris Wright (Dayton).

Khalif Wyatt and Scootie Randall (Temple) won the Sixth Man of the Year and Most Improved Player awards.

• Click here for more award information from the Atlantic-10.