With a little help from a former coach, VCU enters the day with a shot at this year's regular season title and the No.1 seed in next week's A-10 tournament. For that to happen however, the black and gold will need Anthony Grant's Dayton Flyers to dish out an assist with a home win over Davidson early afternoon. That would then put the ball in VCU's court, needing a road win against a tough Saint Louis squad to claim the title. Is today VCU's lucky day?
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VCU (21-7, 14-3)
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VCU (21-7, 14-3)
SAINT LOUIS (20-10, 11-6)[/HEADING=3]
A QUICK LOOK AT SAINT LOUIS[/HEADING=3]
The Billikens are locked in as the No.5 seed for next week's Atlantic 10 tournament, but still looking to play spoiler today when the Rams come to the Gateway City. Led by Richmond native, Gibson Jimerson (16.1 ppg, 41% 3p%), SLU has one of the more balanced teams in the conference and would've no doubt been competing for an A-10 title had star wing, Javonte Perkins, not seen his season end due to injury before it began. Still, the Billikens have the toils to make a run through next week's event, if not win it outright, and Ram fans will get to see what I mean by that today.
SLU ranks second in the conference in offensive efficiency thanks to an efficient group of scorers and one of the conference's best rebounding big men in Oregon transfer, Francis Okoro (10.8 ppg, 7.9 rebs). They are guided by an all-conference quality point guard in Yuri Collins (11 ppg, 8 apg, 38.2%) who has dished out double-digit assists on eight separate occasions this season including a ridiculous 19-assist night against Boston College earlier in the year. A lot of Collins assists find their way to the aforementioned Jimerson and Okoro, with many more making their way to versatile wings in Fred Thatch Jr. and Jordon Nesbitt. The Billikens have great big man depth as well, with the hyper-efficient (and extremely underrated) Marten Linssen giving some of the conference's best bench minutes (certainly the most efficient) for the Bills.
Defensively SLU isn't the lockdown squad they were with guys like Jordon Goodwin and Hasahn French bullying opposing offenses (top-50 D for two seasons with that duo and No.65 last season in adjusted defensive efficiency), but they are a top-100 D just the same thanks to strong interior defense and Okoro's almost automatic rebounding on that side of the ball, making them one of the more balanced teams in the A-10. One issue they've had in A-10 play however, is fouling. The Billikens rank just behind VCU's high-foul D as the second most foul-prone defense in the A-10. They also don't force many turnovers or block a ton of shots, simply do a nice job of defending in the half court while limiting second-chance opportunities.
One promising stat for the black and gold is SLU's record against top-100 squad this year. The Billikens are just 4-9 against such opponents including four home losses and nearly dropped one to No.91 Iona as well, surviving a scare from Rick Pitino's squad by one point back in January.
A QUICK LOOK AT VCU[/HEADING=3]
The Rams are chasing the right side of the bubble after winning eight consecutive games and 11 of their last 12 and with a win today would add one more quality W to their resume to make their case even stronger. A huge part of that success has come from a more balanced attack. VCU's defense carried the squad earlier in the season, but with the return of Ace Baldwin and some gelling of the Rams' offense, VCU has scored over 70 points in seven of their last eight contests, something they managed to do just once during their first 12 games of the season.
The black and gold rank fourth nationally in adjusted defensive efficiency and have boasted the top effective field goal percentage D in the A-10. The only real major blemish for the Rams on that side of the ball has been in the number of fouls they commit. VCU has still struggled with that, ranking 14th in A-10 play in defensive free throw rate and with a reasonably smaller number there might've just found themselves as statistically the top defense in all of college hoops.
TALE OF THE TAPE[/HEADING=3]
Scoring Offense: <span style="color: #ff0000;">SLU 77.7, VCU 66.2</span>
Scoring Defense: <span style="color: #339966;">VCU 60.5, SLU 68</span>
Effective Field Goal% Offense: <span style="color: #ff0000;">SLU 51.1%, VCU 50.9%</span>
Effective Field Goal% Defense: <span style="color: #339966;">VCU 43.3%, SLU 48%</span>
3-Point Field Goal%: <span style="color: #ff0000;">SLU 36.2%, VCU 34.8%</span>
3-Point Field Goal% Defense: <span style="color: #339966;">VCU 26.4%, SLU 32.2%</span>
2-Point Field Goal%: <span style="color: #339966;">VCU 50.4%, SLU 49.6%</span>
2-Point Field Goal% Defense: <span style="color: #339966;">VCU 45.3%, SLU 47.8%</span>
Rebounds per game: <span style="color: #ff0000;">SLU 38.8, VCU 32.8</span>
Turnover% Offense:<span style="color: #ff0000;"> SLU 18.6%, VCU 22%</span>
Turnover% Defense: <span style="color: #339966;">VCU 25.5%, SLU 17.9%</span>
VCU WINS IF[/HEADING=3]
There is quite literally a championship on the line in this game (I know this because Dayton is about to beat Davidson as I finished this post), so the Rams are gonna have to play like it. I think the key, with SLU being SUCH a strong rebounding team, is VCU's ability to limit turnovers on offense (and create them on D). You can't turn the ball over against a team this balanced who can rebound like they do and expect to win on the road. After that VCU's ability to defend without fouling is gonna play a big role in today's outcome. The Rams are one of the worst fouling defenses in the Atlantic 10 and are taking on a SLU team that does a good job of drawing fouls, so again, you just can't help the other team win the easy way. After that a little bounce-back effort from deep wouldn't hurt. The Rams have been red hot from deep in conference games this season, but are coming off a 23.5% performance in the blowout win against Bona. When those threes are falling this VCU team is scary and today, that happening would likely scare some fellow bubble teams as well hoping to finish ahead of the black and gold in the eyes of the selection committee.
Kenpom: 68-64 VCU loss with a 39% chance of a Rams victory.
Game tips at 4PM at Chaifetz Arena in St. Louis, MO
Watch: ESPN2
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 Billikens are locked in as the No.5 seed for next week's Atlantic 10 tournament, but still looking to play spoiler today when the Rams come to the Gateway City. Led by Richmond native, Gibson Jimerson (16.1 ppg, 41% 3p%), SLU has one of the more balanced teams in the conference and would've no doubt been competing for an A-10 title had star wing, Javonte Perkins, not seen his season end due to injury before it began. Still, the Billikens have the toils to make a run through next week's event, if not win it outright, and Ram fans will get to see what I mean by that today.
SLU ranks second in the conference in offensive efficiency thanks to an efficient group of scorers and one of the conference's best rebounding big men in Oregon transfer, Francis Okoro (10.8 ppg, 7.9 rebs). They are guided by an all-conference quality point guard in Yuri Collins (11 ppg, 8 apg, 38.2%) who has dished out double-digit assists on eight separate occasions this season including a ridiculous 19-assist night against Boston College earlier in the year. A lot of Collins assists find their way to the aforementioned Jimerson and Okoro, with many more making their way to versatile wings in Fred Thatch Jr. and Jordon Nesbitt. The Billikens have great big man depth as well, with the hyper-efficient (and extremely underrated) Marten Linssen giving some of the conference's best bench minutes (certainly the most efficient) for the Bills.
Defensively SLU isn't the lockdown squad they were with guys like Jordon Goodwin and Hasahn French bullying opposing offenses (top-50 D for two seasons with that duo and No.65 last season in adjusted defensive efficiency), but they are a top-100 D just the same thanks to strong interior defense and Okoro's almost automatic rebounding on that side of the ball, making them one of the more balanced teams in the A-10. One issue they've had in A-10 play however, is fouling. The Billikens rank just behind VCU's high-foul D as the second most foul-prone defense in the A-10. They also don't force many turnovers or block a ton of shots, simply do a nice job of defending in the half court while limiting second-chance opportunities.
One promising stat for the black and gold is SLU's record against top-100 squad this year. The Billikens are just 4-9 against such opponents including four home losses and nearly dropped one to No.91 Iona as well, surviving a scare from Rick Pitino's squad by one point back in January.
A QUICK LOOK AT VCU[/HEADING=3]
The Rams are chasing the right side of the bubble after winning eight consecutive games and 11 of their last 12 and with a win today would add one more quality W to their resume to make their case even stronger. A huge part of that success has come from a more balanced attack. VCU's defense carried the squad earlier in the season, but with the return of Ace Baldwin and some gelling of the Rams' offense, VCU has scored over 70 points in seven of their last eight contests, something they managed to do just once during their first 12 games of the season.
The black and gold rank fourth nationally in adjusted defensive efficiency and have boasted the top effective field goal percentage D in the A-10. The only real major blemish for the Rams on that side of the ball has been in the number of fouls they commit. VCU has still struggled with that, ranking 14th in A-10 play in defensive free throw rate and with a reasonably smaller number there might've just found themselves as statistically the top defense in all of college hoops.
TALE OF THE TAPE[/HEADING=3]
Scoring Offense: <span style="color: #ff0000;">SLU 77.7, VCU 66.2</span>
Scoring Defense: <span style="color: #339966;">VCU 60.5, SLU 68</span>
Effective Field Goal% Offense: <span style="color: #ff0000;">SLU 51.1%, VCU 50.9%</span>
Effective Field Goal% Defense: <span style="color: #339966;">VCU 43.3%, SLU 48%</span>
3-Point Field Goal%: <span style="color: #ff0000;">SLU 36.2%, VCU 34.8%</span>
3-Point Field Goal% Defense: <span style="color: #339966;">VCU 26.4%, SLU 32.2%</span>
2-Point Field Goal%: <span style="color: #339966;">VCU 50.4%, SLU 49.6%</span>
2-Point Field Goal% Defense: <span style="color: #339966;">VCU 45.3%, SLU 47.8%</span>
Rebounds per game: <span style="color: #ff0000;">SLU 38.8, VCU 32.8</span>
Turnover% Offense:<span style="color: #ff0000;"> SLU 18.6%, VCU 22%</span>
Turnover% Defense: <span style="color: #339966;">VCU 25.5%, SLU 17.9%</span>
VCU WINS IF[/HEADING=3]
There is quite literally a championship on the line in this game (I know this because Dayton is about to beat Davidson as I finished this post), so the Rams are gonna have to play like it. I think the key, with SLU being SUCH a strong rebounding team, is VCU's ability to limit turnovers on offense (and create them on D). You can't turn the ball over against a team this balanced who can rebound like they do and expect to win on the road. After that VCU's ability to defend without fouling is gonna play a big role in today's outcome. The Rams are one of the worst fouling defenses in the Atlantic 10 and are taking on a SLU team that does a good job of drawing fouls, so again, you just can't help the other team win the easy way. After that a little bounce-back effort from deep wouldn't hurt. The Rams have been red hot from deep in conference games this season, but are coming off a 23.5% performance in the blowout win against Bona. When those threes are falling this VCU team is scary and today, that happening would likely scare some fellow bubble teams as well hoping to finish ahead of the black and gold in the eyes of the selection committee.
Kenpom: 68-64 VCU loss with a 39% chance of a Rams victory.
Game tips at 4PM at Chaifetz Arena in St. Louis, MO
Watch: ESPN2
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 77.7, VCU 66.2</span>
Scoring Defense: <span style="color: #339966;">VCU 60.5, SLU 68</span>
Effective Field Goal% Offense: <span style="color: #ff0000;">SLU 51.1%, VCU 50.9%</span>
Effective Field Goal% Defense: <span style="color: #339966;">VCU 43.3%, SLU 48%</span>
3-Point Field Goal%: <span style="color: #ff0000;">SLU 36.2%, VCU 34.8%</span>
3-Point Field Goal% Defense: <span style="color: #339966;">VCU 26.4%, SLU 32.2%</span>
2-Point Field Goal%: <span style="color: #339966;">VCU 50.4%, SLU 49.6%</span>
2-Point Field Goal% Defense: <span style="color: #339966;">VCU 45.3%, SLU 47.8%</span>
Rebounds per game: <span style="color: #ff0000;">SLU 38.8, VCU 32.8</span>
Turnover% Offense:<span style="color: #ff0000;"> SLU 18.6%, VCU 22%</span>
Turnover% Defense: <span style="color: #339966;">VCU 25.5%, SLU 17.9%</span>
