The team last played in the NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament in 2022 under head coach Chris Mooney, who has guided the program since the 2005–2006 season.

UR's basketball program has developed a reputation as a "giant killer" in the NCAA tournament, defeating the Charles Barkley-led Auburn Tigers in 1984, reaching the Sweet Sixteen in 1988 by defeating defending national champion Indiana and Georgia Tech, beating #3 seeded South Carolina in 1998, and becoming the first #15 seed to knock off a #2 seed when the Spiders defeated Syracuse in 1991.

[2] The Spiders hold the distinction of being the only basketball program to win NCAA tournament games as a 12, 13, 14, and 15 seed.

*The NIT in 2006 began using a seeding and region system similar to what is used in the NCAA tournament.

Starting in 2022, only the top four teams in each of the four regions received seeds, with their unseeded opponents matched up based partly on geographic considerations.