VCU v Dayton for the Atlantic 10 Tournament Championship and a ticket to the 2023 NCAA Tournament...it's just the way it's supposed to be. The conference's two premier programs will clash today to settle a tied season series with it all on the line.
VCU RAMS (26-7, 17-3)
VCU RAMS (26-7, 17-3)
DAYTON FLYERS (22-11, 14-6)[/HEADING=3]
A QUICK LOOK AT DAYTON[/HEADING=3]
The Flyers inherited what looked like the easiest 2-seed path in recent A-10 history, taking on 16-16 Saint Joseph's after the Hawks upset then 16-15 GW, then matching up with a Fordham team that ranked 13th in the conference in offensive efficiency. Dayton flirted with disaster against St. Joe's, but ultimately survived the Hawks 60-54 thanks in part to a limited Flyers roster that saw just five players play double-digit minutes. Their following contest ended up being effectively a Fordham home game, as the surprising Bronx Rams found themselves in the conference semis and playing in front of the largest A-10 conference tourney crowd at Barclays this tournament has seen.
Dayton looked in danger in the second half of that game, trailing Fordham 46-45 with 14:17 to play, then fighting to keep a lead with 6:13 left to play. Then, six unanswered DaRon Holmes points and a massive Mustapha Amzil three gave the Flyers a more comfortable 10-point lead with 3:38 to play that they used to keep Fordham at a comfortable distance before hanging on for the 10-point win.
The Flyers have been without starting shooting guard, Kobe Elvin, in both contests and were without point guard, Mike Sharavjamts, in their first matchup. The 6'8 point guard from Mongolia returned for Dayton for their semi-final matchup against Fordham, but logged just 10 minutes of action in the win. RJ Blakney has played sparingly for the Flyers so far in the tournament, averaging nine minutes so far due to coach's decision, but heading into their third game in four days, it will be interesting to see if Anthony Grant and Co. get more minutes from the 6'6 guard.
This week and on the season the Flyers have been carried by the talented front court duo of Holmes and Toumani Camara. The twin towers combined for 48 points in the Flyers win over Fordham, finishing 19 of their 22 twos while going 10-12 from the free throw stripe. They are averaging 18.5 and 22.5 points this tournament.
A QUICK LOOK AT VCU[/HEADING=3]
The Rams ride and eight-game winning streak into today's title game, a streak that would sit at 11 if it weren't for a 62-58 Siegel Center home loss against this Dayton Flyers team. VCU scored just 58 points in that loss in a game the Rams were 4-19 from three and 10-20 from the free throw stripe. And if you've been reading these game previews this season you know just how important those two stats are.
Basically when VCU is simply decent from three (30-33% or so) and aren't horrible from the stripe, they not only win games, but win with relative ease. When they are good from three, they look downright unbeatable against their A-1o competition. And that's exactly what they've been their first two A-10 tournament games.
The Rams cruised past Davidson in a contest VCU hit 42.9% from three, then against the 4-seed Billikens, even outdid that performance by shooting 47.4% from deep in the easy semifinal victory.
Jayden Nunn led the Rams with 18 points in their most recent win, looking downright unstoppable for VCU in the second half, but overall it has just been a balanced team effort for VCU that have gotten them to this year's championship game.
VCU has the conference's top-ranked defense and rank 17th nationally in adjusted defensive efficiency on the season. While their offense has been less consistent overall on the year, the black and gold rank third in conference play in offensive efficiency and present a huge challenge for the 2-seed Flyers in today's title game thanks to the deepest roster in the Atlantic 10.
TALE OF THE TAPE[/HEADING=3]
Scoring Offense: <span style="color: #008000;">VCU 71.5, UD 69</span>
Scoring Defense: <span style="color: #ff0000;">UD 60.8, VCU 63.1</span>
Effective Field Goal% Offense: <span style="color: #ff0000;">UD 53.6%, VCU 52.2%</span>
Effective Field Goal% Defense: <span style="color: #ff0000;">UD 44.8%, VCU 47.4%</span>
3-Point Field Goal%: <span style="color: #ff0000;">UD 34.5%, VCU 34.4%</span>
3-Point Field Goal% Defense: <span style="color: #ff0000;">UD 28.8%, VCU 33.3%</span>
2-Point Field Goal%: <span style="color: #ff0000;">UD 54.7%, VCU 52.5%</span>
2-Point Field Goal% Defense: <span style="color: #ff0000;">UD 45.7%, VCU 46.3%</span>
Rebounds per game: <span style="color: #ff0000;">UD 35.8, VCU 33.3</span>
Turnover% Offense: <span style="color: #ff0000;">UD 19%, VCU 19.7%</span>
Turnover% Defense: <span style="color: #008000;">VCU 24.3%, UD 16.3%</span>
VCU WINS IF[/HEADING=3]
Containing Camara and Holmes is a tall task, but one that could/should go a long way toward an A-10 championship today. VCU has done a decent job of slowing Holmes in their first two matchups this season, but in doing so watched Camara go absolutely nuclear, averaging 26.5 points in the first two meetings between these rivals. And if you help on either, the Flyers have three perimeter shooters today shooting better than 37% from deep on the season. So VCU's ability to come out today as the top-20 nationally-ranked defense they are is just everything. They say defense wins championships, so hopefully that will be the case for the black and gold and we'll be preparing for Selection Sunday with anticipation instead of anxiety later today.
Kenpom: 65-64 VCU win with a 51% chance of a Rams victory.
Game tips at 1PM at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, NY
Watch: CBS
Listen: <a href="https://www.iheart.com/live/fox-sports-910-richmond-2461/?autoplay=true&pname=1248&campid=header&cid=index.html">Fox Sports 910 AM & 98.5 FM</a>
Live Tweets: <a href="https://twitter.com/vcuramnation">@VCURamNation</a>
The Flyers inherited what looked like the easiest 2-seed path in recent A-10 history, taking on 16-16 Saint Joseph's after the Hawks upset then 16-15 GW, then matching up with a Fordham team that ranked 13th in the conference in offensive efficiency. Dayton flirted with disaster against St. Joe's, but ultimately survived the Hawks 60-54 thanks in part to a limited Flyers roster that saw just five players play double-digit minutes. Their following contest ended up being effectively a Fordham home game, as the surprising Bronx Rams found themselves in the conference semis and playing in front of the largest A-10 conference tourney crowd at Barclays this tournament has seen.
Dayton looked in danger in the second half of that game, trailing Fordham 46-45 with 14:17 to play, then fighting to keep a lead with 6:13 left to play. Then, six unanswered DaRon Holmes points and a massive Mustapha Amzil three gave the Flyers a more comfortable 10-point lead with 3:38 to play that they used to keep Fordham at a comfortable distance before hanging on for the 10-point win.
The Flyers have been without starting shooting guard, Kobe Elvin, in both contests and were without point guard, Mike Sharavjamts, in their first matchup. The 6'8 point guard from Mongolia returned for Dayton for their semi-final matchup against Fordham, but logged just 10 minutes of action in the win. RJ Blakney has played sparingly for the Flyers so far in the tournament, averaging nine minutes so far due to coach's decision, but heading into their third game in four days, it will be interesting to see if Anthony Grant and Co. get more minutes from the 6'6 guard.
This week and on the season the Flyers have been carried by the talented front court duo of Holmes and Toumani Camara. The twin towers combined for 48 points in the Flyers win over Fordham, finishing 19 of their 22 twos while going 10-12 from the free throw stripe. They are averaging 18.5 and 22.5 points this tournament.
A QUICK LOOK AT VCU[/HEADING=3]
The Rams ride and eight-game winning streak into today's title game, a streak that would sit at 11 if it weren't for a 62-58 Siegel Center home loss against this Dayton Flyers team. VCU scored just 58 points in that loss in a game the Rams were 4-19 from three and 10-20 from the free throw stripe. And if you've been reading these game previews this season you know just how important those two stats are.
Basically when VCU is simply decent from three (30-33% or so) and aren't horrible from the stripe, they not only win games, but win with relative ease. When they are good from three, they look downright unbeatable against their A-1o competition. And that's exactly what they've been their first two A-10 tournament games.
The Rams cruised past Davidson in a contest VCU hit 42.9% from three, then against the 4-seed Billikens, even outdid that performance by shooting 47.4% from deep in the easy semifinal victory.
Jayden Nunn led the Rams with 18 points in their most recent win, looking downright unstoppable for VCU in the second half, but overall it has just been a balanced team effort for VCU that have gotten them to this year's championship game.
VCU has the conference's top-ranked defense and rank 17th nationally in adjusted defensive efficiency on the season. While their offense has been less consistent overall on the year, the black and gold rank third in conference play in offensive efficiency and present a huge challenge for the 2-seed Flyers in today's title game thanks to the deepest roster in the Atlantic 10.
TALE OF THE TAPE[/HEADING=3]
Scoring Offense: <span style="color: #008000;">VCU 71.5, UD 69</span>
Scoring Defense: <span style="color: #ff0000;">UD 60.8, VCU 63.1</span>
Effective Field Goal% Offense: <span style="color: #ff0000;">UD 53.6%, VCU 52.2%</span>
Effective Field Goal% Defense: <span style="color: #ff0000;">UD 44.8%, VCU 47.4%</span>
3-Point Field Goal%: <span style="color: #ff0000;">UD 34.5%, VCU 34.4%</span>
3-Point Field Goal% Defense: <span style="color: #ff0000;">UD 28.8%, VCU 33.3%</span>
2-Point Field Goal%: <span style="color: #ff0000;">UD 54.7%, VCU 52.5%</span>
2-Point Field Goal% Defense: <span style="color: #ff0000;">UD 45.7%, VCU 46.3%</span>
Rebounds per game: <span style="color: #ff0000;">UD 35.8, VCU 33.3</span>
Turnover% Offense: <span style="color: #ff0000;">UD 19%, VCU 19.7%</span>
Turnover% Defense: <span style="color: #008000;">VCU 24.3%, UD 16.3%</span>
VCU WINS IF[/HEADING=3]
Containing Camara and Holmes is a tall task, but one that could/should go a long way toward an A-10 championship today. VCU has done a decent job of slowing Holmes in their first two matchups this season, but in doing so watched Camara go absolutely nuclear, averaging 26.5 points in the first two meetings between these rivals. And if you help on either, the Flyers have three perimeter shooters today shooting better than 37% from deep on the season. So VCU's ability to come out today as the top-20 nationally-ranked defense they are is just everything. They say defense wins championships, so hopefully that will be the case for the black and gold and we'll be preparing for Selection Sunday with anticipation instead of anxiety later today.
Kenpom: 65-64 VCU win with a 51% chance of a Rams victory.
Game tips at 1PM at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, NY
Watch: CBS
Listen: <a href="https://www.iheart.com/live/fox-sports-910-richmond-2461/?autoplay=true&pname=1248&campid=header&cid=index.html">Fox Sports 910 AM & 98.5 FM</a>
Live Tweets: <a href="https://twitter.com/vcuramnation">@VCURamNation</a>
Scoring Offense: <span style="color: #008000;">VCU 71.5, UD 69</span>
Scoring Defense: <span style="color: #ff0000;">UD 60.8, VCU 63.1</span>
Effective Field Goal% Offense: <span style="color: #ff0000;">UD 53.6%, VCU 52.2%</span>
Effective Field Goal% Defense: <span style="color: #ff0000;">UD 44.8%, VCU 47.4%</span>
3-Point Field Goal%: <span style="color: #ff0000;">UD 34.5%, VCU 34.4%</span>
3-Point Field Goal% Defense: <span style="color: #ff0000;">UD 28.8%, VCU 33.3%</span>
2-Point Field Goal%: <span style="color: #ff0000;">UD 54.7%, VCU 52.5%</span>
2-Point Field Goal% Defense: <span style="color: #ff0000;">UD 45.7%, VCU 46.3%</span>
Rebounds per game: <span style="color: #ff0000;">UD 35.8, VCU 33.3</span>
Turnover% Offense: <span style="color: #ff0000;">UD 19%, VCU 19.7%</span>
Turnover% Defense: <span style="color: #008000;">VCU 24.3%, UD 16.3%</span>
