Virginia Commonwealth Rams
Colonial Athletic Association (28-6, 15-3)
VCU went on a dream run to the Final Four last season when many thought that they should not have even been in the tournament field. They took out the likes of Georgetown, Florida State and Kansas before falling to Butler in the national semifinals. The year after that Final Four appearance, they’ve put together another nice season. It was just too bad that Drexel and George Mason were having comparable seasons and so the Rams got a little overshadowed. After dropping two in a row in early January, the Rams won 11 in a row to set themselves up for a strong push for the conference title. Do they have another spirited run in them?
Big Wins: 11/30 South Florida (69-46), 2/18 Northern Iowa (77-68), 3/5 vs Drexel (59-56)
Bad Losses: 11/18 versus Georgia Tech (60-73), 1/4 Georgia State (53-55), 2/14 at George Mason (61-62)
Coach: Shaka Smart (3 seasons at VCU)
Why They Can Surprise:
The easiest thing to point to is the fact that this “smaller” school has the tournament experience to get back to the Promised Land. The seven players left over from last year’s roster have tasted success. The coaches know the mental makeup needed to endure a long tournament. They know the physical demands and the fanfare that comes with being in the spotlight. Beyond that, this team is stellar on defense much like its Colonial counterparts. They are 22nd in the country in points allowed, and hold opponents to 31.4 percent from beyond the three-point line. The Rams are first in the country at stealing the ball (10.7 per game).
Why They Can Disappoint:
This year’s version of VCU will be held back by its ability to score. They shoot a paltry 41.0 percent from the field. Behind the 3-point line they shoot merely 33.9 percent. They carved out a nice regular season behind those numbers, but against better teams in each round of the tournament, they are going to have to put up more points if they want to compete. The bottom half of the teams in the Colonial are not winning teams. It’s easy to get by against competition like that. This team did lose quite a few pieces from last year as well. Their bench is full of freshmen. That may be a factor come the postseason.
Probable Starters:
Darius Theus, Junior, Guard, 8.6 ppg, 4.8 apg
Troy Daniels, Junior, Guard, 10.0 ppg, 3.3 rpg
Bradford Burgess, Senior, Guard-Forward, 13.3 ppg, 1.5 apg, 4.9 rpg
Juvonte Reddic, Sophomore, Forward, 10.6 ppg, 6.8 rpg, 1.2 bpg
D.J. Haley, Sophomore, Center, 3.2 ppg, 3.9 rpg
Key Roleplayers:
Rob Brandenberg, Sophomore, Guard, 8.9 ppg, 1.8 apg
Treveon Graham, Freshman, Guard, 7.1 ppg, 3.3 rpg
Briante Weber, Freshman, Guard, 4.9 ppg, 1.7 apg
By the Numbers:
Scoring Offense: 68.7 (156th in nation, 3rd in conference)
Scoring Defense: 59.9 (22, 3)
Field-Goal Percentage: 41.0 (283, 8)
Field-Goal Defense: 42.5 (144, 6)
Three-Point Field Goals Per Game: 7.5 (64, 2)
Three-Point Field-Goal Percentage: 33.9 (188, 4)
Free-Throw Percentage: 68.9 (187, 7)
Rebound Margin: -1.0 (226, 9)
Assists Per Game: 12.4 (214, 6)
Turnovers Per Game: 11.5 (31, 2)
Last Five Postseason Appearances:
Virginia Commonwealth 2011 NCAA Opening Round win over USC
Virginia Commonwealth 2011 NCAA Round of 64 win over Georgetown
Virginia Commonwealth 2011 NCAA Round of 32 win over Purdue
Virginia Commonwealth 2011 NCAA Regional Semifinal win over Florida State
Virginia Commonwealth 2011 NCAA Regional Final win over Kansas
Virginia Commonwealth 2011 NCAA National Semifinal loss to Butler
Virginia Commonwealth 2010 CBI First Round win over George Washington
Virginia Commonwealth 2010 CBI Second Round win over Charleston
Virginia Commonwealth 2010 CBI Semifinal win over Boston University
Virginia Commonwealth 2010 CBI Finals win over St. Louis
Virginia Commonwealth 2009 NCAA Round of 64 loss to UCLA
Virginia Commonwealth 2008 NIT First Round loss to UAB
Virginia Commonwealth 2007 NCAA Round of 64 win over Duke
Virginia Commonwealth 2007 NCAA Round of 32 loss to Pittsburgh
*all team stats through 3/4
See All Men’s Basketball Postseason Capsules
