Game-two between VCU and Mason this year, the Rams having won the previous meeting in Fairfax, 72-59. It's an absolute must-win for a VCU team looking to keep pace in the A-10's top-4 to secure the crucial double-bye that comes with that. For Mason the Patriots are staring down a Wednesday A-10 tourney game in Brooklyn and tonight could be one extra step toward solidifying that. Here's the preview!
VCU (17-6, 7-3)
VCU (17-6, 7-3)
GEORGE MASON (13-10, 2-8)[/HEADING=3]
A QUICK LOOK AT GEORGE MASON[/HEADING=3]
Have the wheels comes off for the Patriots or has the schedule simply gotten respectable? You be the judge.
After an 11-1 non-conference start against a who's who of who's nobody, it's been a miserable two months for Mason fans. Just two wins since the calendar flipped to 2020, GMU having won at La Salle and defeated a struggling young UMass team at home. Five of their eight A-10 losses have been by double-digits, four of which came in front of a supportive home crowd.
Mason ranks 10th in A-10 offensive efficiency in conference-only games and 12th on D and are without star senior, Justin Kier, who went down with a season-ending (career-ending?) injury.
Mason runs a relatively short bench with some inexperienced players getting a decent chunk of the minutes, perhaps the most impressive of which as been 6'6 sophomore, Jordan Miller. The Middleberg native has been a threat from distance both seasons at Mason, but can get it done down low as well. He's struggled inside the arc in A-10 play this season (36.5%), but had an efficient freshman campaign that saw him finish 67.4% of his A-10 deuces.
Miller joins Javone Greene as two key players to watch. Greene leads the Patriots this season at 14.5 ppg and put together two 30-plus nights in A-10 play already this season. The 6'2 guard is decent from three (where he shoots most of his shots), does a nice job drawing fouls and has been a defensive pest, ranking 4th in the A-10 with a 4.2% conference steals percentage.
Mason has struggled down low. They start 6'7 210 shot-blocker AJ Wilson and 6'9 very raw freshman, Josh Oduro, the duo combining to shoot under 50% inside. They were bullied in the last meeting against VCU, watching Marcus Santos-Silva dominate with a 26-point, 10-rebound double-double.
A QUICK LOOK AT VCU[/HEADING=3]
VCU picked up a solid win over Davidson and takes on Mason prior to entering a very challenging stretch that may essentially define the Rams season. If VCU can hold serve at home tonight against a team they had little trouble with earlier on the road, they would take an 8-3 conference record into a stretch of games at Richmond, versus No.6 Dayton and at SLU, two of which (UofR and SLU) are somewhat direct competition for one of those top-4 seeds needed for the double-bye in  Brooklyn.
VCU can simply not afford any slip-ups on their remaining schedule, which is exactly what tonight's opponent in George Mason brings to the Stu this evening.
The Rams rank fifth in A-10 offensive efficiency and second on the defensive side of the ball and have only lost to the A-10's current top-2 teams, both of whom reside within the kenpom top-40 like VCU.
Key stat: Free throw rate
The Rams have had two main weaknesses in A-10 play, both involving fouls. Offensively, despite a pretty consistent attack on the basket, VCU ranks just 10 among the A-10's 14 teams in offensive free throw rate and are the third-most fouling team on the defensive side of the ball. That really decreases the degree of difficulty for their Atlantic 10 opponents.
VCU's ability to avoid fouls and get back to last season's top-3 offensive A-10 free throw rate would really make things easier down the stretch against a pretty challenging remaining schedule.
TALE OF THE TAPE[/HEADING=3]
Scoring Offense: <span style="color: #339966;">VCU 72.8, GMU 68</span>
Scoring Defense: <span style="color: #339966;">VCU 63.4, GMU 68</span>
Effective Field Goal% Offense: <span style="color: #339966;">VCU 50.5%, GMU 47.1%</span>
Effective Field Goal% Defense: <span style="color: #339966;">VCU 46.3%, GMU 49.1%</span>
3-Point Field Goal%: <span style="color: #339966;">VCU 35.6%, GMU 30.9%</span>
3-Point Field Goal% Defense: <span style="color: #999999;">VCU 32.1%, GMU 32.1%</span>
2-Point Field Goal%: <span style="color: #339966;">VCU 48.7%, GMU 47.5%</span>
2-Point Field Goal% Defense: <span style="color: #339966;">VCU 45.2%, GMU 49.6%</span>
Rebounds per game: <span style="color: #ff0000;">GMU 37.3, VCU 34.2</span>
Turnover% Offense: <span style="color: #339966;">VCU 18%, GMU 18.9%</span>
Turnover% Defense: <span style="color: #339966;">VCU 25.4%, GMU 19.4%</span>
VCU WINS IF[/HEADING=3]
If they play hard as heck and treat Mason like a team standing in their way for a top-4 seed, which is exactly what they are.
The Rams led the Patriots by as many as 21 points in Fairfax earlier this season, so it could be easy to overlook them at home tonight. If VCU avoids looking past Mason and really challenges themselves, they not only win, but do so in impressive fashion.
Kenpom: 75-61 VCU win with a 90% chance of a Rams victory.
Game tips at 7PM at the Stuart C. Siegel Center in Richmond, VA
<strong style="font-family: -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, 'Segoe UI', Roboto, Oxygen-Sans, Ubuntu, Cantarell, 'Helvetica Neue', sans-serif;">Watch: ESPNU[/B]
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>
Have the wheels comes off for the Patriots or has the schedule simply gotten respectable? You be the judge.
After an 11-1 non-conference start against a who's who of who's nobody, it's been a miserable two months for Mason fans. Just two wins since the calendar flipped to 2020, GMU having won at La Salle and defeated a struggling young UMass team at home. Five of their eight A-10 losses have been by double-digits, four of which came in front of a supportive home crowd.
Mason ranks 10th in A-10 offensive efficiency in conference-only games and 12th on D and are without star senior, Justin Kier, who went down with a season-ending (career-ending?) injury.
Mason runs a relatively short bench with some inexperienced players getting a decent chunk of the minutes, perhaps the most impressive of which as been 6'6 sophomore, Jordan Miller. The Middleberg native has been a threat from distance both seasons at Mason, but can get it done down low as well. He's struggled inside the arc in A-10 play this season (36.5%), but had an efficient freshman campaign that saw him finish 67.4% of his A-10 deuces.
Miller joins Javone Greene as two key players to watch. Greene leads the Patriots this season at 14.5 ppg and put together two 30-plus nights in A-10 play already this season. The 6'2 guard is decent from three (where he shoots most of his shots), does a nice job drawing fouls and has been a defensive pest, ranking 4th in the A-10 with a 4.2% conference steals percentage.
Mason has struggled down low. They start 6'7 210 shot-blocker AJ Wilson and 6'9 very raw freshman, Josh Oduro, the duo combining to shoot under 50% inside. They were bullied in the last meeting against VCU, watching Marcus Santos-Silva dominate with a 26-point, 10-rebound double-double.
A QUICK LOOK AT VCU[/HEADING=3]
VCU picked up a solid win over Davidson and takes on Mason prior to entering a very challenging stretch that may essentially define the Rams season. If VCU can hold serve at home tonight against a team they had little trouble with earlier on the road, they would take an 8-3 conference record into a stretch of games at Richmond, versus No.6 Dayton and at SLU, two of which (UofR and SLU) are somewhat direct competition for one of those top-4 seeds needed for the double-bye in  Brooklyn.
VCU can simply not afford any slip-ups on their remaining schedule, which is exactly what tonight's opponent in George Mason brings to the Stu this evening.
The Rams rank fifth in A-10 offensive efficiency and second on the defensive side of the ball and have only lost to the A-10's current top-2 teams, both of whom reside within the kenpom top-40 like VCU.
Key stat: Free throw rate
The Rams have had two main weaknesses in A-10 play, both involving fouls. Offensively, despite a pretty consistent attack on the basket, VCU ranks just 10 among the A-10's 14 teams in offensive free throw rate and are the third-most fouling team on the defensive side of the ball. That really decreases the degree of difficulty for their Atlantic 10 opponents.
VCU's ability to avoid fouls and get back to last season's top-3 offensive A-10 free throw rate would really make things easier down the stretch against a pretty challenging remaining schedule.
TALE OF THE TAPE[/HEADING=3]
Scoring Offense: <span style="color: #339966;">VCU 72.8, GMU 68</span>
Scoring Defense: <span style="color: #339966;">VCU 63.4, GMU 68</span>
Effective Field Goal% Offense: <span style="color: #339966;">VCU 50.5%, GMU 47.1%</span>
Effective Field Goal% Defense: <span style="color: #339966;">VCU 46.3%, GMU 49.1%</span>
3-Point Field Goal%: <span style="color: #339966;">VCU 35.6%, GMU 30.9%</span>
3-Point Field Goal% Defense: <span style="color: #999999;">VCU 32.1%, GMU 32.1%</span>
2-Point Field Goal%: <span style="color: #339966;">VCU 48.7%, GMU 47.5%</span>
2-Point Field Goal% Defense: <span style="color: #339966;">VCU 45.2%, GMU 49.6%</span>
Rebounds per game: <span style="color: #ff0000;">GMU 37.3, VCU 34.2</span>
Turnover% Offense: <span style="color: #339966;">VCU 18%, GMU 18.9%</span>
Turnover% Defense: <span style="color: #339966;">VCU 25.4%, GMU 19.4%</span>
VCU WINS IF[/HEADING=3]
If they play hard as heck and treat Mason like a team standing in their way for a top-4 seed, which is exactly what they are.
The Rams led the Patriots by as many as 21 points in Fairfax earlier this season, so it could be easy to overlook them at home tonight. If VCU avoids looking past Mason and really challenges themselves, they not only win, but do so in impressive fashion.
Kenpom: 75-61 VCU win with a 90% chance of a Rams victory.
Game tips at 7PM at the Stuart C. Siegel Center in Richmond, VA
<strong style="font-family: -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, 'Segoe UI', Roboto, Oxygen-Sans, Ubuntu, Cantarell, 'Helvetica Neue', sans-serif;">Watch: ESPNU[/B]
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 72.8, GMU 68</span>
Scoring Defense: <span style="color: #339966;">VCU 63.4, GMU 68</span>
Effective Field Goal% Offense: <span style="color: #339966;">VCU 50.5%, GMU 47.1%</span>
Effective Field Goal% Defense: <span style="color: #339966;">VCU 46.3%, GMU 49.1%</span>
3-Point Field Goal%: <span style="color: #339966;">VCU 35.6%, GMU 30.9%</span>
3-Point Field Goal% Defense: <span style="color: #999999;">VCU 32.1%, GMU 32.1%</span>
2-Point Field Goal%: <span style="color: #339966;">VCU 48.7%, GMU 47.5%</span>
2-Point Field Goal% Defense: <span style="color: #339966;">VCU 45.2%, GMU 49.6%</span>
Rebounds per game: <span style="color: #ff0000;">GMU 37.3, VCU 34.2</span>
Turnover% Offense: <span style="color: #339966;">VCU 18%, GMU 18.9%</span>
Turnover% Defense: <span style="color: #339966;">VCU 25.4%, GMU 19.4%</span>
