Preseason tournaments have been a wild ride for the Rams these past few seasons, typically competing, but not winning against higher ranked "power conference" opponents. This week the black and gold find themselves in the rare position of being the TOP seed in their preseason tournament, a tourney that starts tonight against the Pirates of Seton Hall. VCU enters the tourney with a 4-0 record and having not been challenged thus far, winning their first four contests by an average margin of victory of 22.8 points per game WITHOUT star guard, Zeb Jackson. The rebuilt Pirates out of the Big East on the other hand sit at just 2-2 on the season and own heartbreaking 1-point losses to both Hofstra and Fordham.
Both squads feature experienced rosters, but the Rams return a greater level of continuity, ranking 90th nationally in minutes returned from the previous year's roster. The two key pieces VCU has added who have garnered 20+ minutes per contest, Phillip Russell and Jack Clark, have blended in seamlessly, both posting over 12.8 ppg for the black and gold with 67%+ true shooting percentages. Not much more you can ask for from a pair of new guys.
The Pirates on the other hand are still trying to put the pieces together. ODU transfer, Chaunce Jenkins, leads the team with an efficient 14.8 points per game, but the Shaheen Holloway-coached squad hasn't had enough consistency in their depth to avoid early losses. Like VCU, the Pirates defense has been top-15 so far on the year, but unlike VCU, their offense has struggled early, particularly in the paint where they are finishing just 39.4% of their attempts, good for a 345th national ranking their and contributing to their 44.5% (301st-ranked) effective field goal percentage.
The Pirates return just two starters from last season's NIT Championship squad.
PLAYERS TO WATCH
Chaunce Jenkins - The Newport News native started his career at Wichita State before heading home for two seasons with the Monarchs where he starred for a bad team. Jenkins hit the portal this past offseason and was even in contact with VCU during that time before heading further north. He's shooting a blazing hot 52.9% from three on the year and has a two-to-one assist to turnover ratio. He's been the most consistent piece for the Pirates so far and will be a key piece to stop in tonight's matchup.
Dylan Addae-Wusu - The 6'4 point guard has been one of Hall's other most effective weapons in their 2-2 start. He's dishing out a team-best 4.3 assists on offense and a team-high 2.5 steals on defense while averaging eight points per game, making him a tough two-way player for Holloway & Co.
Yacine Toumi - The Evansville transfer stands 6'10, but has hit four of his five threes attempted this season. He's not a huge volume guy, but a potentially dangerous piece that can stretch the VCU defense.
Scotty Middleton - A 6'7 Ohio State transfer, Middleton is off to a slow start, BUT...he did shoot 45.2% from distance for the Buckeyes last season, meaning a three-point breakout could be due soon...just hopefully not tonight against the Rams.
MATCHUPS TO WATCH
Three-point battle - Both of these teams tend to live or die by the three, so whoever has the hotter hand in on the Charleston rims will certainly feel a lot more comfortable in the first leg of each's quest for a Charleston Classic title. VCU hit over 50% from deep in their first game of the season, but have shot under 31% (not good) in all three of their other contests. Will the good three-point version of VCU make an appearance tonight or will the struggles continue? Seton Hall currently has a top-100 three-point shooting offense, but take on VCU's eighth-ranked three-point defense and have struggled to hit shots inside the arc, putting...in theory...a huge amount of pressure on the Pirates to connect from deep tonight.
VCU's big versus the numbers - The Rams lost Tobi Lawal to the portal this past offseason and in his absence have struggled to find any offensive consistency in the paint. Starting center, Christian Fermin, has an uninspiring 46% true shooting percentage (compare that to 68% from Lawal this past season) and a -3.3 box plus/minus using sports-reference.com's formula, while backup freshman big, Luke Bamgboye, checks in at 40%, both with -5.3 or worse offense plus/minus ratings due to their shooting struggles. Clemson transfer, Jack Clark, has been on fire since becoming a Ram, but plays more of a stretch forward role, while sophomore Michael Belle has at times manned the frontcourt with Clark, but has struggled offensively himself with a 39% true shooting percentage. Can anyone currently playing the 5 put the ball through the hoop consistently?
Kenpom: 65-58 VCU win with a 74% chance of a Rams victory.
Game tips at 5PM at TD Arena in Charleston, SC
Watch: ESPN2
Listen: Fox Sports 910 AM & 98.5 FM
Live Tweets/BlueSky coverage: @VCURamNation
Both squads feature experienced rosters, but the Rams return a greater level of continuity, ranking 90th nationally in minutes returned from the previous year's roster. The two key pieces VCU has added who have garnered 20+ minutes per contest, Phillip Russell and Jack Clark, have blended in seamlessly, both posting over 12.8 ppg for the black and gold with 67%+ true shooting percentages. Not much more you can ask for from a pair of new guys.
The Pirates on the other hand are still trying to put the pieces together. ODU transfer, Chaunce Jenkins, leads the team with an efficient 14.8 points per game, but the Shaheen Holloway-coached squad hasn't had enough consistency in their depth to avoid early losses. Like VCU, the Pirates defense has been top-15 so far on the year, but unlike VCU, their offense has struggled early, particularly in the paint where they are finishing just 39.4% of their attempts, good for a 345th national ranking their and contributing to their 44.5% (301st-ranked) effective field goal percentage.
The Pirates return just two starters from last season's NIT Championship squad.
PLAYERS TO WATCH
Chaunce Jenkins - The Newport News native started his career at Wichita State before heading home for two seasons with the Monarchs where he starred for a bad team. Jenkins hit the portal this past offseason and was even in contact with VCU during that time before heading further north. He's shooting a blazing hot 52.9% from three on the year and has a two-to-one assist to turnover ratio. He's been the most consistent piece for the Pirates so far and will be a key piece to stop in tonight's matchup.
Dylan Addae-Wusu - The 6'4 point guard has been one of Hall's other most effective weapons in their 2-2 start. He's dishing out a team-best 4.3 assists on offense and a team-high 2.5 steals on defense while averaging eight points per game, making him a tough two-way player for Holloway & Co.
Yacine Toumi - The Evansville transfer stands 6'10, but has hit four of his five threes attempted this season. He's not a huge volume guy, but a potentially dangerous piece that can stretch the VCU defense.
Scotty Middleton - A 6'7 Ohio State transfer, Middleton is off to a slow start, BUT...he did shoot 45.2% from distance for the Buckeyes last season, meaning a three-point breakout could be due soon...just hopefully not tonight against the Rams.
MATCHUPS TO WATCH
Three-point battle - Both of these teams tend to live or die by the three, so whoever has the hotter hand in on the Charleston rims will certainly feel a lot more comfortable in the first leg of each's quest for a Charleston Classic title. VCU hit over 50% from deep in their first game of the season, but have shot under 31% (not good) in all three of their other contests. Will the good three-point version of VCU make an appearance tonight or will the struggles continue? Seton Hall currently has a top-100 three-point shooting offense, but take on VCU's eighth-ranked three-point defense and have struggled to hit shots inside the arc, putting...in theory...a huge amount of pressure on the Pirates to connect from deep tonight.
VCU's big versus the numbers - The Rams lost Tobi Lawal to the portal this past offseason and in his absence have struggled to find any offensive consistency in the paint. Starting center, Christian Fermin, has an uninspiring 46% true shooting percentage (compare that to 68% from Lawal this past season) and a -3.3 box plus/minus using sports-reference.com's formula, while backup freshman big, Luke Bamgboye, checks in at 40%, both with -5.3 or worse offense plus/minus ratings due to their shooting struggles. Clemson transfer, Jack Clark, has been on fire since becoming a Ram, but plays more of a stretch forward role, while sophomore Michael Belle has at times manned the frontcourt with Clark, but has struggled offensively himself with a 39% true shooting percentage. Can anyone currently playing the 5 put the ball through the hoop consistently?
Kenpom: 65-58 VCU win with a 74% chance of a Rams victory.
Game tips at 5PM at TD Arena in Charleston, SC
Watch: ESPN2
Listen: Fox Sports 910 AM & 98.5 FM
Live Tweets/BlueSky coverage: @VCURamNation
