VCU's win over crosstown rival, Richmond, combined with a Mason road upset of Dayton means the Rams have not one, but two shots at clinching the outright A-10 regular season title. Attempt No.1 -- and hopefully the only one needed -- comes tonight, when the Rams host A-10 preseason No.2 Saint Louis in a rematch of an 8-point February 3 road win.
VCU RAMS (22-7, 13-3)
VCU RAMS (22-7, 13-3)
SAINT LOUIS BILLIKENS (19-10, 11-5)[/HEADING=3]
A QUICK LOOK AT SAINT LOUIS[/HEADING=3]
SLU boasts one of the most experienced groups in the A-10 and with that experience, had high expectations to start the season. The Billikens picked up seven first place votes in the preseason to check in at No.2 behind the Flyers and a spot ahead of VCU, but due mostly to some inconsistent defense, find themselves two games back of the Rams, yet still within striking distance of at least a share of the regular season title.
SLU ranks 74th nationally in adjusted offensive efficiency on the season, tops among A-10 team, but checks in just behind Dayton in that category in A-10 play and a spot ahead of the Rams. They're led by one of the nation's best assist men in Yuri Collins (10.2 apg) who often finds Richmond native and Billikens leading scorer, Gibson Jimerson (14.4 ppg) as a part of a fairly balanced offensive attack. That duo is joined by the dangerous scoring senior, Javonte Perkins, who has perhaps underperformed overall on the year, but has a slew of 20 and even 30-point performances throughout his career with the Billikens and is most definitely a player to keep an eye on tonight. If you hear his name too much, things are likely not going well.
Defensively SLU has had a tendency to get beat from beyond the arc, something VCU can be quite inconsistent at doing offensively, but also struggle at turning teams over, an concept that seems completely foreign to a VCU program that has been one of the tops in the nation at that for over a decade now. The Billikens rank 336th nationally in turnover percentage defense, something that has hurt Saint Louis at times this season.
The long and short of Saint Louis though is you have a very experienced, very "together" team who is looking to sure up a double-bye while ruining VCU's celebration tonight. They will be extremely tough to beat with so much on the line.
A QUICK LOOK AT VCU[/HEADING=3]
For those of you new here essentially what we've learned about VCU is this: If they are simply decent at three-point shooting (30% or so) they are likely going to beat you and probably fairly easy (most times). When they are good at it (38%+), you are likely getting run out of the gym.
The Rams hit just 31.6% of their threes against crosstown rival Richmond, but cruised to a 15-point victory after leading by 24 in the second half.
VCU shot just 23.5% from deep against Saint Louis in their last meeting, connecting on 4-of-17 attempts, but managed to hit enough shots inside the arc while outscoring SLU at the free throw stripe, 15-5, to pull off the road win. Ace Baldwin led the Rams in a Jordan-like effort, posting a career-high 37 points on 12 of 15 shooting while hitting a perfect 9-9 from the free throw line. Still, despite that effort it was a tight contest, just a one-point game with under six minutes to play and a three-point contest with three to go before the Rams pulled away late. Will a better shooting night from the black and gold as a team provide a less stressful victory tonight?
TALE OF THE TAPE[/HEADING=3]
Scoring Offense: <span style="color: #ff0000;">SLU 75.9, VCU 70.6</span>
Scoring Defense:<span style="color: #339966;"> VCU 62.7, SLU 71.2</span>
Effective Field Goal% Offense: <span style="color: #ff0000;">SLU 52.1%, VCU 51.4%</span>
Effective Field Goal% Defense: <span style="color: #339966;">VCU 47.3%, SLU 48.1%</span>
3-Point Field Goal%: <span style="color: #ff0000;">SLU 34.9%, VCU 33.7%</span>
3-Point Field Goal% Defense: <span style="color: #339966;">VCU 32.4%, SLU 34.4%</span>
2-Point Field Goal%: <span style="color: #ff0000;">SLU 52%, VCU 51.8%</span>
2-Point Field Goal% Defense: <span style="color: #ff0000;">SLU 46%, VCU 46.5%</span>
Rebounds per game: <span style="color: #ff0000;">SLU 38.4, VCU 33.1</span>
Turnover% Offense: <span style="color: #ff0000;">SLU 17%, VCU 20.2%</span>
Turnover% Defense: <span style="color: #339966;">VCU 24.8%, SLU 15.3%</span>
VCU WINS IF[/HEADING=3]
Turnovers and threes.
I don't expect another 37-point night from Ace tonight, so I'll go back to the formula of the Rams needing to win the turnover battle (they won it by four in the last meeting) and will need to hit threes as a team. Just an overall better team performance on offense really. Of the four threes the Rams hit against SLU the last game, four were by Ace Baldwin, meaning the rest of the Rams went a combined 0-12. Can't have that again. Guys gotta step up and win as a team as we've seen VCU do during this conference season.
Kenpom: 75-69 VCU win with a 72% chance of a Rams victory.
Game tips at 7PM at the Stuart C. Siegel Center in Richmond, VA
Watch: CBS Sports Network
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>
SLU boasts one of the most experienced groups in the A-10 and with that experience, had high expectations to start the season. The Billikens picked up seven first place votes in the preseason to check in at No.2 behind the Flyers and a spot ahead of VCU, but due mostly to some inconsistent defense, find themselves two games back of the Rams, yet still within striking distance of at least a share of the regular season title.
SLU ranks 74th nationally in adjusted offensive efficiency on the season, tops among A-10 team, but checks in just behind Dayton in that category in A-10 play and a spot ahead of the Rams. They're led by one of the nation's best assist men in Yuri Collins (10.2 apg) who often finds Richmond native and Billikens leading scorer, Gibson Jimerson (14.4 ppg) as a part of a fairly balanced offensive attack. That duo is joined by the dangerous scoring senior, Javonte Perkins, who has perhaps underperformed overall on the year, but has a slew of 20 and even 30-point performances throughout his career with the Billikens and is most definitely a player to keep an eye on tonight. If you hear his name too much, things are likely not going well.
Defensively SLU has had a tendency to get beat from beyond the arc, something VCU can be quite inconsistent at doing offensively, but also struggle at turning teams over, an concept that seems completely foreign to a VCU program that has been one of the tops in the nation at that for over a decade now. The Billikens rank 336th nationally in turnover percentage defense, something that has hurt Saint Louis at times this season.
The long and short of Saint Louis though is you have a very experienced, very "together" team who is looking to sure up a double-bye while ruining VCU's celebration tonight. They will be extremely tough to beat with so much on the line.
A QUICK LOOK AT VCU[/HEADING=3]
For those of you new here essentially what we've learned about VCU is this: If they are simply decent at three-point shooting (30% or so) they are likely going to beat you and probably fairly easy (most times). When they are good at it (38%+), you are likely getting run out of the gym.
The Rams hit just 31.6% of their threes against crosstown rival Richmond, but cruised to a 15-point victory after leading by 24 in the second half.
VCU shot just 23.5% from deep against Saint Louis in their last meeting, connecting on 4-of-17 attempts, but managed to hit enough shots inside the arc while outscoring SLU at the free throw stripe, 15-5, to pull off the road win. Ace Baldwin led the Rams in a Jordan-like effort, posting a career-high 37 points on 12 of 15 shooting while hitting a perfect 9-9 from the free throw line. Still, despite that effort it was a tight contest, just a one-point game with under six minutes to play and a three-point contest with three to go before the Rams pulled away late. Will a better shooting night from the black and gold as a team provide a less stressful victory tonight?
TALE OF THE TAPE[/HEADING=3]
Scoring Offense: <span style="color: #ff0000;">SLU 75.9, VCU 70.6</span>
Scoring Defense:<span style="color: #339966;"> VCU 62.7, SLU 71.2</span>
Effective Field Goal% Offense: <span style="color: #ff0000;">SLU 52.1%, VCU 51.4%</span>
Effective Field Goal% Defense: <span style="color: #339966;">VCU 47.3%, SLU 48.1%</span>
3-Point Field Goal%: <span style="color: #ff0000;">SLU 34.9%, VCU 33.7%</span>
3-Point Field Goal% Defense: <span style="color: #339966;">VCU 32.4%, SLU 34.4%</span>
2-Point Field Goal%: <span style="color: #ff0000;">SLU 52%, VCU 51.8%</span>
2-Point Field Goal% Defense: <span style="color: #ff0000;">SLU 46%, VCU 46.5%</span>
Rebounds per game: <span style="color: #ff0000;">SLU 38.4, VCU 33.1</span>
Turnover% Offense: <span style="color: #ff0000;">SLU 17%, VCU 20.2%</span>
Turnover% Defense: <span style="color: #339966;">VCU 24.8%, SLU 15.3%</span>
VCU WINS IF[/HEADING=3]
Turnovers and threes.
I don't expect another 37-point night from Ace tonight, so I'll go back to the formula of the Rams needing to win the turnover battle (they won it by four in the last meeting) and will need to hit threes as a team. Just an overall better team performance on offense really. Of the four threes the Rams hit against SLU the last game, four were by Ace Baldwin, meaning the rest of the Rams went a combined 0-12. Can't have that again. Guys gotta step up and win as a team as we've seen VCU do during this conference season.
Kenpom: 75-69 VCU win with a 72% chance of a Rams victory.
Game tips at 7PM at the Stuart C. Siegel Center in Richmond, VA
Watch: CBS Sports Network
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: #ff0000;">SLU 75.9, VCU 70.6</span>
Scoring Defense:<span style="color: #339966;"> VCU 62.7, SLU 71.2</span>
Effective Field Goal% Offense: <span style="color: #ff0000;">SLU 52.1%, VCU 51.4%</span>
Effective Field Goal% Defense: <span style="color: #339966;">VCU 47.3%, SLU 48.1%</span>
3-Point Field Goal%: <span style="color: #ff0000;">SLU 34.9%, VCU 33.7%</span>
3-Point Field Goal% Defense: <span style="color: #339966;">VCU 32.4%, SLU 34.4%</span>
2-Point Field Goal%: <span style="color: #ff0000;">SLU 52%, VCU 51.8%</span>
2-Point Field Goal% Defense: <span style="color: #ff0000;">SLU 46%, VCU 46.5%</span>
Rebounds per game: <span style="color: #ff0000;">SLU 38.4, VCU 33.1</span>
Turnover% Offense: <span style="color: #ff0000;">SLU 17%, VCU 20.2%</span>
Turnover% Defense: <span style="color: #339966;">VCU 24.8%, SLU 15.3%</span>
