VCU unveiled their men’s basketball non-conference schedule this past week, one chock-full of big names and even bigger RPI-boosting opportunities. Here’s a quick Twitter-style breakdown of each game, in 140 characters or less.
Nov. 7 – Cal U (PA) (Exhibition) – Your first look at the 2014-15 Rams and all the upgrades to the Siegel Center. Last year’s exhibition was a 50-point win, so expect fun.
Nov. 14 – Tennessee (Annapolis, MD) – Neutral court battle against a 2014 Sweet 16 team at the US Naval Academy. Vols lost a ton of production and their coach in offseason.
Nov. 18 – Toledo – A TOUGH regular season home-opener against a VERY good Rockets team. Toledo returns a ton of production from a 27-win 2013-14 team.
Nov.20 – Maryland-Eastern Shore – The Hawks won 6 games last season and their defense ranked 349th in defensive efficiency (3rd from last). Should be fun if you like scoring.
Nov.24 – Villanova – Nova returns a ton of production from a team that lost just 2 games all of last season. One of their losses was to national champ, UConn.
Nov.25 – Michigan/Oregon – Will either be championship or third-place game of Legends Classic in Brooklyn after Nova game. Rams have struggled in pre-season tourneys.
Nov.29 – @ Old Dominion – Next…
Dec.2 – @ Illinois State – Return game from 38-point blowout last season. Rams can’t afford a road loss here. Redbirds 12-3 at home last season.
Dec.6 – UVA – Will be the hottest ticket in Siegel Center history and potentially between two ranked teams. This will be a battle once again. A must see.
Dec.13 – Northern Iowa – VCU will look for revenge after falling at UNI last season and if there’s one thing the Rams do well it’s show up for revenge games.
Dec.16 – Belmont – Bruins will be without JJ Mann (18.3 ppg) but return Craig Bradshaw (15.7) from a team that ranked 2nd nationally in effective FG%.
Dec.20 – @ Cincinnati – Bearcats lose top 3 scorers from last year’s NCAA tournament team. VCU should have the better team but it’ll be a tough road environment.
Dec.22 – ETSU – You’ll remember ETSU as the team Troy Daniels hit 11 3-pointers on. Melvin Johnson, think you can hit 12?
Dec.29 – Cleveland State – The Vikings return majority of their production from a 21-win team. One of the deadliest long-range shooting groups in America. Watch out.
