After a brief pause due to COVID protocols, the Rams are back in action tonight with a road trip up 95 North to Fairfax. VCU will be looking for a bit of revenge against a George Mason team that defeated the black and gold in the previous meeting between these two, a shocking 72-67 win by the Patriots at the Siegel Center that started a massive 1-7 slide that ended VCU's seasons in disappointing fashion.
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VCU (8-2, 1-0)
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VCU (8-2, 1-0)
MASON (5-3, 1-1)[/HEADING=3]
A QUICK LOOK AT GEORGE MASON[/HEADING=3]
The Patriots are off to a decent start in terms of record, but it has been far from pretty. Two of GMU's losses are to kenpom top-100 squads, falling first to No.99 Belmont 77-67, as well as a 9-point conference-opening loss to the No.76 Dayton Flyers (who just lost to Fordham), a game the Patriots actually led late. But thrown into their batch of losses is a bad home L to No.233 Norfolk State, as well as close wins over Division II Queens (66-65), No.245 VMI (68-66), No.220 Towson (70-65) and a double-overtime 1-point defeat of a UMass team that has two sub-160 kenpom losses so far this season.
Things have not gone as smoothly as Patriot fans might have hoped for during Dave Pauslen's sixth season in Fairfax, a tenure in NOVA that could be described as mediocre at best. This year's Pats are rank a very mediocre 152nd nationally on the offensive side of the ball and 131st on D, both entirely underwhelming, but also potentially dangerously capable of an upset. Still, Mason's close calls against bad teams and 9.5-point average margin of defeat against top-100 squads has the Rams heading into tonight's contest as a decent road favorite.
The key pieces for this edition of GMU are once again shot-blocking machine, AJ Wilson, a bouncy senior forward who has been a defensive pest, but has struggled to finish efficiently on offense, checking in with a fairly miserable 44.1% true shooting percentage. He's joined in the paint by the team's best player, 6'6 versatile junior, Jordan Miller, the team-leader at 17.8 points and 6 rebounds per contest to go with a 122.1 offensive rating and team-high 63.3% true shooting percentage. Miller has hit a blistering 47.8% of his threes on a team that has struggled beyond the arc overall. He has gotten some help however from freshman shooter, Tyler Kolek, a 6'3 guard who has averaged 18 points per game over his last three contests.
Like typical Dave Paulsen teams, the Patriots biggest strength comes on the defensive glass, limiting second-chance points when they do manage to put together a stop. Mason ranks 230th nationally in effective field goal percentage D, but 29th in defensive rebound percentage when the ball doesn't manage to go through the hoop.
A QUICK LOOK AT VCU[/HEADING=3]
Seven of the Rams' eight wins this season have come by double-digits including two neutral court top-100 wins and a recent 16-point road win against Saint Joseph's, albeit in an empty Hagan Arena. Outside of a terrible second half against JMU, a game the Rams still managed to win (...by 1), VCU has been on a serious roll, no doubt the early surprise of this year's A-10 after being picked ninth in the preseason poll. Still, their 8-2 start simply matches last season's 8-2 start. This year's team's story, like last year's, won't be told by how they started, but by how they finish.
On the optimistic side of that, this is a very young team. In theory and usually statistically, young players tend to get better as the game slows down and things start to click. Five of VCU's nine Rams averaging double-digit minutes are underclassmen, two are freshmen. Yet somehow with all that youth figuring things out, the black and gold boast the nation's No.16 defense and on the season have a 54.3% effective field goal offense that is the most efficient of the kenpom era (dates back to 2002).
A huge part of that offensive efficiency has been junior Vince Williams' hot start. After dealing with injuries to start his career, the Toledo native is in the best shape of his life and connecting on a team-best 67% true shooting percentage. Williams is averaging 11.2 points, one of just two Rams in double-figures via an incredibly deep VCU bench where 10 players are averaging double-digit minutes.
Sophomore, Bones Hyland, leads the team at 17.8 points per contest, a number of which come via freshman Ace Baldwin's team-leading 5.2 assists per contest. Baldwin is one of two A-10 freshman staring down a date with this year's A10 All-Rookie team, joined by Jamir Watkins, a 6'7 wing who is averaging 11.3 points per contest of VCU's last three.
The Rams ride a six-game winning streak into tonight's contest, their longest since they began last season 6-0.
TALE OF THE TAPE[/HEADING=3]
Scoring Offense: <span style="color: #339966;">VCU 77.7, GMU 72.3</span>
Scoring Defense: <span style="color: #339966;">VCU 64.6, GMU 72.1</span>
Effective Field Goal% Offense: <span style="color: #339966;">VCU 54.3%, GMU 50%</span>
Effective Field Goal% Defense: <span style="color: #339966;">VCU 44.8%, GMU 51.4%</span>
3-Point Field Goal%: <span style="color: #339966;">VCU 34.9%, GMU 32.1%</span>
3-Point Field Goal% Defense: <span style="color: #339966;">VCU 27.5%, GMU 34.2%</span>
2-Point Field Goal%: <span style="color: #339966;">VCU 55.4%, GMU 51.4%</span>
2-Point Field Goal% Defense: <span style="color: #339966;">VCU 45.9%, GMU 46.8%</span>
Rebounds per game: <span style="color: #ff0000;">GMU 36.5, VCU 34.4</span>
Turnover% Offense: <span style="color: #ff0000;">GMU 18.1%, VCU 20.3%</span>
Turnover% Defense: <span style="color: #339966;">VCU 25.8%, GMU 19.7%</span>
VCU WINS IF[/HEADING=3]
Let's start with the obvious from the last meeting: VCU simply can't get out-rebounded by 21 boards again. The black and gold must play with a sense of urgency and know that wins at this level within this conference aren't given to you via your ranking heading into a game. The Rams showed up to their last meeting between these two, but almost never REALLY...showed up. So playing George Mason like they have "Memphis" written on their chest is where you start. After that this is a Patriots squad who will get shots up from deep. They hit 40% of those in their last win against VCU. Last night Fordham upset Dayton by hitting 50% of theirs. The three-ball is the great equalizer in this sports, so VCU simply can not allow Mason room to breathe beyond the arc. After that the Rams need to ride teamball to a victory, passing up good shots for great ones and doing what they've done to get to the level of promise the rest of this season holds.
Kenpom: 72-66 VCU win with a 71% chance of a Rams victory.
Game tips at 7PM at EagleBank Arena in Fairfax, VA
Watch: ESPN+, MASN
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 Patriots are off to a decent start in terms of record, but it has been far from pretty. Two of GMU's losses are to kenpom top-100 squads, falling first to No.99 Belmont 77-67, as well as a 9-point conference-opening loss to the No.76 Dayton Flyers (who just lost to Fordham), a game the Patriots actually led late. But thrown into their batch of losses is a bad home L to No.233 Norfolk State, as well as close wins over Division II Queens (66-65), No.245 VMI (68-66), No.220 Towson (70-65) and a double-overtime 1-point defeat of a UMass team that has two sub-160 kenpom losses so far this season.
Things have not gone as smoothly as Patriot fans might have hoped for during Dave Pauslen's sixth season in Fairfax, a tenure in NOVA that could be described as mediocre at best. This year's Pats are rank a very mediocre 152nd nationally on the offensive side of the ball and 131st on D, both entirely underwhelming, but also potentially dangerously capable of an upset. Still, Mason's close calls against bad teams and 9.5-point average margin of defeat against top-100 squads has the Rams heading into tonight's contest as a decent road favorite.
The key pieces for this edition of GMU are once again shot-blocking machine, AJ Wilson, a bouncy senior forward who has been a defensive pest, but has struggled to finish efficiently on offense, checking in with a fairly miserable 44.1% true shooting percentage. He's joined in the paint by the team's best player, 6'6 versatile junior, Jordan Miller, the team-leader at 17.8 points and 6 rebounds per contest to go with a 122.1 offensive rating and team-high 63.3% true shooting percentage. Miller has hit a blistering 47.8% of his threes on a team that has struggled beyond the arc overall. He has gotten some help however from freshman shooter, Tyler Kolek, a 6'3 guard who has averaged 18 points per game over his last three contests.
Like typical Dave Paulsen teams, the Patriots biggest strength comes on the defensive glass, limiting second-chance points when they do manage to put together a stop. Mason ranks 230th nationally in effective field goal percentage D, but 29th in defensive rebound percentage when the ball doesn't manage to go through the hoop.
A QUICK LOOK AT VCU[/HEADING=3]
Seven of the Rams' eight wins this season have come by double-digits including two neutral court top-100 wins and a recent 16-point road win against Saint Joseph's, albeit in an empty Hagan Arena. Outside of a terrible second half against JMU, a game the Rams still managed to win (...by 1), VCU has been on a serious roll, no doubt the early surprise of this year's A-10 after being picked ninth in the preseason poll. Still, their 8-2 start simply matches last season's 8-2 start. This year's team's story, like last year's, won't be told by how they started, but by how they finish.
On the optimistic side of that, this is a very young team. In theory and usually statistically, young players tend to get better as the game slows down and things start to click. Five of VCU's nine Rams averaging double-digit minutes are underclassmen, two are freshmen. Yet somehow with all that youth figuring things out, the black and gold boast the nation's No.16 defense and on the season have a 54.3% effective field goal offense that is the most efficient of the kenpom era (dates back to 2002).
A huge part of that offensive efficiency has been junior Vince Williams' hot start. After dealing with injuries to start his career, the Toledo native is in the best shape of his life and connecting on a team-best 67% true shooting percentage. Williams is averaging 11.2 points, one of just two Rams in double-figures via an incredibly deep VCU bench where 10 players are averaging double-digit minutes.
Sophomore, Bones Hyland, leads the team at 17.8 points per contest, a number of which come via freshman Ace Baldwin's team-leading 5.2 assists per contest. Baldwin is one of two A-10 freshman staring down a date with this year's A10 All-Rookie team, joined by Jamir Watkins, a 6'7 wing who is averaging 11.3 points per contest of VCU's last three.
The Rams ride a six-game winning streak into tonight's contest, their longest since they began last season 6-0.
TALE OF THE TAPE[/HEADING=3]
Scoring Offense: <span style="color: #339966;">VCU 77.7, GMU 72.3</span>
Scoring Defense: <span style="color: #339966;">VCU 64.6, GMU 72.1</span>
Effective Field Goal% Offense: <span style="color: #339966;">VCU 54.3%, GMU 50%</span>
Effective Field Goal% Defense: <span style="color: #339966;">VCU 44.8%, GMU 51.4%</span>
3-Point Field Goal%: <span style="color: #339966;">VCU 34.9%, GMU 32.1%</span>
3-Point Field Goal% Defense: <span style="color: #339966;">VCU 27.5%, GMU 34.2%</span>
2-Point Field Goal%: <span style="color: #339966;">VCU 55.4%, GMU 51.4%</span>
2-Point Field Goal% Defense: <span style="color: #339966;">VCU 45.9%, GMU 46.8%</span>
Rebounds per game: <span style="color: #ff0000;">GMU 36.5, VCU 34.4</span>
Turnover% Offense: <span style="color: #ff0000;">GMU 18.1%, VCU 20.3%</span>
Turnover% Defense: <span style="color: #339966;">VCU 25.8%, GMU 19.7%</span>
VCU WINS IF[/HEADING=3]
Let's start with the obvious from the last meeting: VCU simply can't get out-rebounded by 21 boards again. The black and gold must play with a sense of urgency and know that wins at this level within this conference aren't given to you via your ranking heading into a game. The Rams showed up to their last meeting between these two, but almost never REALLY...showed up. So playing George Mason like they have "Memphis" written on their chest is where you start. After that this is a Patriots squad who will get shots up from deep. They hit 40% of those in their last win against VCU. Last night Fordham upset Dayton by hitting 50% of theirs. The three-ball is the great equalizer in this sports, so VCU simply can not allow Mason room to breathe beyond the arc. After that the Rams need to ride teamball to a victory, passing up good shots for great ones and doing what they've done to get to the level of promise the rest of this season holds.
Kenpom: 72-66 VCU win with a 71% chance of a Rams victory.
Game tips at 7PM at EagleBank Arena in Fairfax, VA
Watch: ESPN+, MASN
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 77.7, GMU 72.3</span>
Scoring Defense: <span style="color: #339966;">VCU 64.6, GMU 72.1</span>
Effective Field Goal% Offense: <span style="color: #339966;">VCU 54.3%, GMU 50%</span>
Effective Field Goal% Defense: <span style="color: #339966;">VCU 44.8%, GMU 51.4%</span>
3-Point Field Goal%: <span style="color: #339966;">VCU 34.9%, GMU 32.1%</span>
3-Point Field Goal% Defense: <span style="color: #339966;">VCU 27.5%, GMU 34.2%</span>
2-Point Field Goal%: <span style="color: #339966;">VCU 55.4%, GMU 51.4%</span>
2-Point Field Goal% Defense: <span style="color: #339966;">VCU 45.9%, GMU 46.8%</span>
Rebounds per game: <span style="color: #ff0000;">GMU 36.5, VCU 34.4</span>
Turnover% Offense: <span style="color: #ff0000;">GMU 18.1%, VCU 20.3%</span>
Turnover% Defense: <span style="color: #339966;">VCU 25.8%, GMU 19.7%</span>
