The Richmond Spiders will face the University of Iowa Hawkeyes in Buffalo, N.Y. Thursday afternoon in one of the opening games of the NCAA men’s basketball tournament. The Hawkeyes defeated the Purdue Boilermakers Sunday to win the Big Ten tournament, shortly after the Spiders won the A-10 tournament against one-seed Davidson.

“As good as that felt, we want to put it behind us and start fresh for this huge task ahead of us,” Spiders head coach Chris Mooney said.

Spiders guard Jacob Gilyard is a finalist for the Naismith Player of the Year Award, along with Hawkeyes forward Keegan Murray. The Hawkeyes are 26-9 in the Big Ten.

“Tomorrow, when we’re up there and we feel the excitement of the tournament, it’ll be impossible not to be energized for an NCAA tournament game,” Mooney said. “This week is more mental than anything else, but the closer we get to the game, the more we talk about harnessing our energy and putting it on the court.”

The team headed to Buffalo Tuesday night, with a shootaround on Wednesday to prepare for the matchup. The Spiders take on the Hawkeyes Thursday afternoon at 3:10 p.m. ET.

“We’re preparing so when we go out there, we feel like we’re playing a team that we can beat,” Mooney said.