The Rams hit the road for their first true road game of the season, a revenge journey to take on the only non-conference opponent that defeated VCU in the Siegel Center last season: the Cougars of Charleston. Grant Riller and Co. are coincidentally looking for a bounce-back win after suffering a recent loss in Richmond themselves, this time to the Spiders of UofR.
VCU (8-2)
VCU (8-2)
CHARLESTON (5-5)[/HEADING=3]
A QUICK LOOK AT CHARLESTON[/HEADING=3]
Picked to finish second in the CAA preseason poll, yet grabbing the most first place votes, Charleston is a potential NCAA tournament team and another underrated resume-building opportunity for the Rams this evening. Their 5-5 record is somewhat deceiving, having three of those losses come at the hands of top-100 opponents (Oklahoma St., Wake Forest and Richmond) and the other two both to kenpom No.107 UCF. Overall the Cougars have played the 48th toughest schedule up to this point and will be a tricky road challenge for the Rams tonight.
That said, this is not exactly last season's Cougars team. Sure, future pro Grant Riller is back and is still a bucket (20.8 ppg), but his supporting cast looks a solid bit different, particularly via the graduation of versatile big man, Jarrell Brantley. Brantley chipped in 19.4 points and a team-high 8.4 rebounds for the Cougars this past season and posted a dominant 26 and 14 in the Cougars victory at VCU last year. He is gone, as is 6'10 270-pound load, Nick Harris and senior guard, Marquise Pointer.
So far Charleston has competed, but have taken a bit of a step back in offensive efficiency. CofC has gone from 37th nationally last season in effective field goal percentage (54.7%) to 194th this season at 48.6%. That should improve as they enter CAA play and the competition weakens, but not before meeting a VCU defense that ranks 24th nationally in adjusted defensive efficiency.
The Cougars have played just one top-50 team this season, like with tonight's VCU game, also at home, a 73-54 loss to Oklahoma State. Charleston struggled to slow down State, a decent but by no means deadly offense and were held under 60 points for the first of three times they've been limited to below 60 on the year.
Players to watch tonight are Riller of course, as well as 6'2 junior guard, Brevin Galloway, an efficient scorer when he does get into the paint, but a player who prefers to float outside the three-point arc. The Anderson, SC native has taken almost twice as many threes as twos during his career, but would best be described as "solid" from distance with a career 3p% of 33.8%. That duo is joined by 6'7 230 senior big, Jaylen McManus, as Charleston's primary scorers (9.5 ppg, 5.7 rebs).
McManus has basically been a career role player who's seeing the most action of his career as a senior (27.9 ppg). He has not been particularly strong in much of anything this season however -- inefficient scorer, typically weak rebounder, doesn't block shots, etc -- which could tell you a thing or two about just how different this year's Cougars are from last season's group.
One less-used but potentially dangerous option to monitor however, is sophomore guard, Zep Jasper. The 6'1 guard is a career 38.9% from three-point land and has gotten up five attempts three times this season. You can't leave him alone.
A QUICK LOOK AT VCU[/HEADING=3]
The Rams have limited back-to-back opponents to under 50 points, most recently limiting a solid Missouri State squad to 51 in a 10-point win that didn't seem as close as the final score suggests. It was the sixth time VCU held an opponent to under 60 on the year.
VCU's defense has carried over their dominance from last season, but are still looking for an offense to match. The black and gold are actually sliiiiightly more efficient on O this season than last thanks to much-improved three-point shooting and a slight improvement in the turnover offense, but have had trouble connecting from three feet or less on the year, seeing their two-point percentage make a roughly 6% drop from last season.
The moral being VCU is technically (on paper), somehow someway, better offensively this season than last, even if it hasn't felt like it, but still with what seems like an attainable higher ceiling they've yet to really come close to.
One new development to monitor is the injury status of senior guard/forward, Malik Crowfield. The LaPlace, LA native was having a career year, connecting on 50% of his three-point attempts as a part of a career-high 120.6 offensive rating, the highest on the team prior to his injury. Coach Rhoades said Crowfield is likely to miss a couple of weeks with a broken bone in his hand, his likely replacement coming somewhat by committee, but the biggest beneficiary likely sophomore KeShawn Curry who saw a a career-high 23 minutes in VCU's Sunday night win over Missouri State.
TALE OF THE TAPE[/HEADING=3]
Scoring Offense: <span style="color: #339966;">VCU 71.9, CofC 68.1</span>
Scoring Defense: <span style="color: #339966;">VCU 61, CofC 67.1</span>
Effective Field Goal% Offense: <span style="color: #339966;">VCU 50.2%, CofC 48.6%</span>
Effective Field Goal% Defense: <span style="color: #339966;">VCU 46.1%, CofC 48.1%</span>
3-Point Field Goal%: <span style="color: #339966;">VCU 36.9%, CofC 28.7%</span>
3-Point Field Goal% Defense: <span style="color: #339966;">VCU 31.5%, CofC 32.4%</span>
2-Point Field Goal%: <span style="color: #ff0000;">CofC 51.7%, VCU 46.8%</span>
2-Point Field Goal% Defense: <span style="color: #339966;">VCU 45.5%, CofC 47.9%</span>
Rebounds per game: <span style="color: #ff0000;">CofC 34.6, VCU 32.2</span>
Turnover% Offense: <span style="color: #339966;">VCU 19%, CofC 19.3%</span>
Turnover% Defense: <span style="color: #339966;">VCU 28.7%, CofC 19%</span>
VCU WINS IF[/HEADING=3]
I'll take defense for the win, Alex.
Last season the Cougars came to the Siegel Center and shoved the ball down VCU's throat, connecting on 57% of their 35 attempts inside the arc, hitting 37% outside of it and adding a ridiculous 25 points at the free throw stripe on top of that. The 83 points the Rams surrendered that night was the most allowed in regulation all of last season. So while I'll be hoping for an improved night offensively inside the arc for VCU (although not betting the mortgage on it), I think the Rams are just going to have to win via their identity, which is locking teams down and gutting out defensive wins by any means necessary, ugly ones if need be.
Kenpom: 71-65 VCU win with an 71% chance of a Rams victory.
Game tips at 7PM at the TD Arena in Charleston, SC
Watch: n/a
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>
Picked to finish second in the CAA preseason poll, yet grabbing the most first place votes, Charleston is a potential NCAA tournament team and another underrated resume-building opportunity for the Rams this evening. Their 5-5 record is somewhat deceiving, having three of those losses come at the hands of top-100 opponents (Oklahoma St., Wake Forest and Richmond) and the other two both to kenpom No.107 UCF. Overall the Cougars have played the 48th toughest schedule up to this point and will be a tricky road challenge for the Rams tonight.
That said, this is not exactly last season's Cougars team. Sure, future pro Grant Riller is back and is still a bucket (20.8 ppg), but his supporting cast looks a solid bit different, particularly via the graduation of versatile big man, Jarrell Brantley. Brantley chipped in 19.4 points and a team-high 8.4 rebounds for the Cougars this past season and posted a dominant 26 and 14 in the Cougars victory at VCU last year. He is gone, as is 6'10 270-pound load, Nick Harris and senior guard, Marquise Pointer.
So far Charleston has competed, but have taken a bit of a step back in offensive efficiency. CofC has gone from 37th nationally last season in effective field goal percentage (54.7%) to 194th this season at 48.6%. That should improve as they enter CAA play and the competition weakens, but not before meeting a VCU defense that ranks 24th nationally in adjusted defensive efficiency.
The Cougars have played just one top-50 team this season, like with tonight's VCU game, also at home, a 73-54 loss to Oklahoma State. Charleston struggled to slow down State, a decent but by no means deadly offense and were held under 60 points for the first of three times they've been limited to below 60 on the year.
Players to watch tonight are Riller of course, as well as 6'2 junior guard, Brevin Galloway, an efficient scorer when he does get into the paint, but a player who prefers to float outside the three-point arc. The Anderson, SC native has taken almost twice as many threes as twos during his career, but would best be described as "solid" from distance with a career 3p% of 33.8%. That duo is joined by 6'7 230 senior big, Jaylen McManus, as Charleston's primary scorers (9.5 ppg, 5.7 rebs).
McManus has basically been a career role player who's seeing the most action of his career as a senior (27.9 ppg). He has not been particularly strong in much of anything this season however -- inefficient scorer, typically weak rebounder, doesn't block shots, etc -- which could tell you a thing or two about just how different this year's Cougars are from last season's group.
One less-used but potentially dangerous option to monitor however, is sophomore guard, Zep Jasper. The 6'1 guard is a career 38.9% from three-point land and has gotten up five attempts three times this season. You can't leave him alone.
A QUICK LOOK AT VCU[/HEADING=3]
The Rams have limited back-to-back opponents to under 50 points, most recently limiting a solid Missouri State squad to 51 in a 10-point win that didn't seem as close as the final score suggests. It was the sixth time VCU held an opponent to under 60 on the year.
VCU's defense has carried over their dominance from last season, but are still looking for an offense to match. The black and gold are actually sliiiiightly more efficient on O this season than last thanks to much-improved three-point shooting and a slight improvement in the turnover offense, but have had trouble connecting from three feet or less on the year, seeing their two-point percentage make a roughly 6% drop from last season.
The moral being VCU is technically (on paper), somehow someway, better offensively this season than last, even if it hasn't felt like it, but still with what seems like an attainable higher ceiling they've yet to really come close to.
One new development to monitor is the injury status of senior guard/forward, Malik Crowfield. The LaPlace, LA native was having a career year, connecting on 50% of his three-point attempts as a part of a career-high 120.6 offensive rating, the highest on the team prior to his injury. Coach Rhoades said Crowfield is likely to miss a couple of weeks with a broken bone in his hand, his likely replacement coming somewhat by committee, but the biggest beneficiary likely sophomore KeShawn Curry who saw a a career-high 23 minutes in VCU's Sunday night win over Missouri State.
TALE OF THE TAPE[/HEADING=3]
Scoring Offense: <span style="color: #339966;">VCU 71.9, CofC 68.1</span>
Scoring Defense: <span style="color: #339966;">VCU 61, CofC 67.1</span>
Effective Field Goal% Offense: <span style="color: #339966;">VCU 50.2%, CofC 48.6%</span>
Effective Field Goal% Defense: <span style="color: #339966;">VCU 46.1%, CofC 48.1%</span>
3-Point Field Goal%: <span style="color: #339966;">VCU 36.9%, CofC 28.7%</span>
3-Point Field Goal% Defense: <span style="color: #339966;">VCU 31.5%, CofC 32.4%</span>
2-Point Field Goal%: <span style="color: #ff0000;">CofC 51.7%, VCU 46.8%</span>
2-Point Field Goal% Defense: <span style="color: #339966;">VCU 45.5%, CofC 47.9%</span>
Rebounds per game: <span style="color: #ff0000;">CofC 34.6, VCU 32.2</span>
Turnover% Offense: <span style="color: #339966;">VCU 19%, CofC 19.3%</span>
Turnover% Defense: <span style="color: #339966;">VCU 28.7%, CofC 19%</span>
VCU WINS IF[/HEADING=3]
I'll take defense for the win, Alex.
Last season the Cougars came to the Siegel Center and shoved the ball down VCU's throat, connecting on 57% of their 35 attempts inside the arc, hitting 37% outside of it and adding a ridiculous 25 points at the free throw stripe on top of that. The 83 points the Rams surrendered that night was the most allowed in regulation all of last season. So while I'll be hoping for an improved night offensively inside the arc for VCU (although not betting the mortgage on it), I think the Rams are just going to have to win via their identity, which is locking teams down and gutting out defensive wins by any means necessary, ugly ones if need be.
Kenpom: 71-65 VCU win with an 71% chance of a Rams victory.
Game tips at 7PM at the TD Arena in Charleston, SC
Watch: n/a
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: #339966;">VCU 71.9, CofC 68.1</span>
Scoring Defense: <span style="color: #339966;">VCU 61, CofC 67.1</span>
Effective Field Goal% Offense: <span style="color: #339966;">VCU 50.2%, CofC 48.6%</span>
Effective Field Goal% Defense: <span style="color: #339966;">VCU 46.1%, CofC 48.1%</span>
3-Point Field Goal%: <span style="color: #339966;">VCU 36.9%, CofC 28.7%</span>
3-Point Field Goal% Defense: <span style="color: #339966;">VCU 31.5%, CofC 32.4%</span>
2-Point Field Goal%: <span style="color: #ff0000;">CofC 51.7%, VCU 46.8%</span>
2-Point Field Goal% Defense: <span style="color: #339966;">VCU 45.5%, CofC 47.9%</span>
Rebounds per game: <span style="color: #ff0000;">CofC 34.6, VCU 32.2</span>
Turnover% Offense: <span style="color: #339966;">VCU 19%, CofC 19.3%</span>
Turnover% Defense: <span style="color: #339966;">VCU 28.7%, CofC 19%</span>
