VCU looks to snap a two-game losing streak when welcoming St. Bonaventure to the Siegel Center today. The Mark Schmidt-led group from Olean rides a four-game win streak into Richmond, but one built on the backs of some of the conference's current worst teams. Can the Rams start a winning streak of their own or will St. Bonaventure be the second consecutive team to knock off the black and gold in the Siegel Center?
VCU (12-5, 2-2)
VCU (12-5, 2-2)
ST. BONAVENTURE (12-5, 4-0)[/HEADING=3]
A QUICK LOOK AT ST. BONAVENTURE[/HEADING=3]
The Bonnies are looking to establish themselves as a legitimate threat in this years Atlantic 10 after some early season loses that raise questions. Boasting one surprisingly good victory over Steve Pikiell's Scarlet Knights of Rutgers (currently a top-30 squad), the Bonnies almost almost tanked any at-large chances they hope for early with a number of severely frowned-up losses to the likes of Ohio, Siena, Canisius and Buffalo. Three of those losses however, came without the services of star sophomore center, Osun Osunniyi, one of the conference's most dominant bigs who currently leads the Atlantic 10 in blocks percentage in-conference, swatting nearly one of every five shots that's thrown up while he's on the floor. But so did the win against Rutgers.
Bona is currently 11-1 with the services of Ossuniyi, but against a schedule that has yet to see any top-150 teams. They have dominated their last three opponents (UMass, Fordham and George Mason), but were also pushed to the brink at George Washington a game after falling to kenpom No.159 Buffalo. The Baffalo loss game just nine days after surviving their previous opponent, kenpom No.297 Middle Tennessee, barely defeating the Blue Raiders, 66-65 on the road.
And then there's last season's one-game record against the Rams.
VCU flew into Olean and torched St. Bonaventure during homecoming, 85-55. The Rams hit just 27% of their threes that night, but couldn't miss inside, going 25-39 inside the arc while adding another 17 points at the free throw stripe. The Rams fouled Ossuniyi out in just 16 minutes of action in that one and put the pedal to the metal in the win. That was with three Bona seniors averaging over 20 minutes including Courtney Stockard and LaDarrian Griffin who combined for 25 of their 55 points.
But getting back to this season, Bona has been improved overall ever-so-slightly statistically, seeing slight bumps in both their overall offensive and defensive efficiency. The question will be how or if they can keep that pace with one of the nation's least experienced teams (they start five sophomores) as their schedule goes from cupcake city to one that is somewhat challenging, even if they do boast one of the Atlantic 10's easiest schedules -- home-and-home pairings with the likes of Fordham, Mason, GW and Saint Joseph's, four teams with a combined win total against the top half of the conference of zero wins.
A QUICK LOOK AT VCU[/HEADING=3]
VCU has been a tough, but ultimately "average" team when it comes to comparing the Rams to the nation's 100 best opponents, sitting smack dab in the middle at No.51 according to kenpom as of this very moment. That is down from last season's No.42 final ranking and a drop of 28 ranking points from where VCU started the season on kenpom.
The Rams are undefeated against teams outside of the top-100, but picked up just one win in their six top-100 matchups this season, their first one of the year, a two-point home victory over Will Wade's LSU Tigers.
VCU's defense overall has been one of the 25 best in the country, but it has once again been paired with an offense that tends to disappear. Mike Rhoades' squad currently ranks ninth in in-conference offensive efficiency thanks to an ice-cold 25.3% three-point mark, currently good for last in the league.
VCU's ability to find some offensive consistency will ultimately write the ending to what this senior-heavy group is capable of, be it the Rams' second consecutive NCAA tourney bid under Mike Rhoades and staff, or a relegation to a potential high seed in this year's NIT.
Sad stat of affairs: Marcus Evans (94.1), Issac Vann (54), KeShawn Curry (43.6), Vince Williams (63.8) and Corey Douglas (76.5) are all posting career-worst in-conference offensive ratings.
Scoring Offense: <span style="color: #339966;">VCU 70.6, BONA 68.3</span>
Scoring Defense: <span style="color: #ff0000;">BONA 61.7, VCU 62</span>
Effective Field Goal% Offense: <span style="color: #339966;">VCU 49.2%, BONA 49.1%</span>
Effective Field Goal% Defense: <span style="color: #ff0000;">BONA 45.8%, VCU 46.6%</span>
3-Point Field Goal%: <span style="color: #ff0000;">BONA 34.7%, VCU 33.8%</span>
3-Point Field Goal% Defense: <span style="color: #339966;">VCU 32.6%, BONA 31.1%</span>
2-Point Field Goal%: <span style="color: #339966;">VCU 48.2%, BONA 47.5%</span>
2-Point Field Goal% Defense: <span style="color: #ff0000;">BONA 45.1%, VCU 45.4%</span>
Rebounds per game: <span style="color: #ff0000;">BONA 36.5, VCU 34.1</span>
Turnover% Offense: <span style="color: #ff0000;">BONA 18.4%, VCU 19%</span>
Turnover% Defense: <span style="color: #339966;">VCU 26.6%, BONA 20.3%</span>
VCU WINS IF[/HEADING=3]
VCU shredded Bona inside the arc last season and that would certainly be another very welcome site today, but the star in last season's victory was a Rams defense that limited St. Bonaventure to 34.8% shooting inside the arc and just 1-18 from long range for a 55-point total (20 of which came at the stripe). VCU won the rebounding battle in that one by a surprising 13 additional rebounds, but surprisingly lost the turnover battle by two. Either way, with VCU's offense being so inconsistent/unreliable, I think the black and gold need to control what they can control, which today means putting maximum defensive effort on the floor.
It's been two months since Bona played a top-100 team and considerably longer (Dec 22, 2017) since they beat one on the road. Let's hope they look like a squad out of practice against those today.
Kenpom: 78-60 VCU win with a 78% chance of a Rams victory.
Game tips at 2PM at the Stuart C. Siegel Center in Richmond, VA
Watch: CBS Sports Network
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 Bonnies are looking to establish themselves as a legitimate threat in this years Atlantic 10 after some early season loses that raise questions. Boasting one surprisingly good victory over Steve Pikiell's Scarlet Knights of Rutgers (currently a top-30 squad), the Bonnies almost almost tanked any at-large chances they hope for early with a number of severely frowned-up losses to the likes of Ohio, Siena, Canisius and Buffalo. Three of those losses however, came without the services of star sophomore center, Osun Osunniyi, one of the conference's most dominant bigs who currently leads the Atlantic 10 in blocks percentage in-conference, swatting nearly one of every five shots that's thrown up while he's on the floor. But so did the win against Rutgers.
Bona is currently 11-1 with the services of Ossuniyi, but against a schedule that has yet to see any top-150 teams. They have dominated their last three opponents (UMass, Fordham and George Mason), but were also pushed to the brink at George Washington a game after falling to kenpom No.159 Buffalo. The Baffalo loss game just nine days after surviving their previous opponent, kenpom No.297 Middle Tennessee, barely defeating the Blue Raiders, 66-65 on the road.
And then there's last season's one-game record against the Rams.
VCU flew into Olean and torched St. Bonaventure during homecoming, 85-55. The Rams hit just 27% of their threes that night, but couldn't miss inside, going 25-39 inside the arc while adding another 17 points at the free throw stripe. The Rams fouled Ossuniyi out in just 16 minutes of action in that one and put the pedal to the metal in the win. That was with three Bona seniors averaging over 20 minutes including Courtney Stockard and LaDarrian Griffin who combined for 25 of their 55 points.
But getting back to this season, Bona has been improved overall ever-so-slightly statistically, seeing slight bumps in both their overall offensive and defensive efficiency. The question will be how or if they can keep that pace with one of the nation's least experienced teams (they start five sophomores) as their schedule goes from cupcake city to one that is somewhat challenging, even if they do boast one of the Atlantic 10's easiest schedules -- home-and-home pairings with the likes of Fordham, Mason, GW and Saint Joseph's, four teams with a combined win total against the top half of the conference of zero wins.
A QUICK LOOK AT VCU[/HEADING=3]
VCU has been a tough, but ultimately "average" team when it comes to comparing the Rams to the nation's 100 best opponents, sitting smack dab in the middle at No.51 according to kenpom as of this very moment. That is down from last season's No.42 final ranking and a drop of 28 ranking points from where VCU started the season on kenpom.
The Rams are undefeated against teams outside of the top-100, but picked up just one win in their six top-100 matchups this season, their first one of the year, a two-point home victory over Will Wade's LSU Tigers.
VCU's defense overall has been one of the 25 best in the country, but it has once again been paired with an offense that tends to disappear. Mike Rhoades' squad currently ranks ninth in in-conference offensive efficiency thanks to an ice-cold 25.3% three-point mark, currently good for last in the league.
VCU's ability to find some offensive consistency will ultimately write the ending to what this senior-heavy group is capable of, be it the Rams' second consecutive NCAA tourney bid under Mike Rhoades and staff, or a relegation to a potential high seed in this year's NIT.
Sad stat of affairs: Marcus Evans (94.1), Issac Vann (54), KeShawn Curry (43.6), Vince Williams (63.8) and Corey Douglas (76.5) are all posting career-worst in-conference offensive ratings.
Scoring Offense: <span style="color: #339966;">VCU 70.6, BONA 68.3</span>
Scoring Defense: <span style="color: #ff0000;">BONA 61.7, VCU 62</span>
Effective Field Goal% Offense: <span style="color: #339966;">VCU 49.2%, BONA 49.1%</span>
Effective Field Goal% Defense: <span style="color: #ff0000;">BONA 45.8%, VCU 46.6%</span>
3-Point Field Goal%: <span style="color: #ff0000;">BONA 34.7%, VCU 33.8%</span>
3-Point Field Goal% Defense: <span style="color: #339966;">VCU 32.6%, BONA 31.1%</span>
2-Point Field Goal%: <span style="color: #339966;">VCU 48.2%, BONA 47.5%</span>
2-Point Field Goal% Defense: <span style="color: #ff0000;">BONA 45.1%, VCU 45.4%</span>
Rebounds per game: <span style="color: #ff0000;">BONA 36.5, VCU 34.1</span>
Turnover% Offense: <span style="color: #ff0000;">BONA 18.4%, VCU 19%</span>
Turnover% Defense: <span style="color: #339966;">VCU 26.6%, BONA 20.3%</span>
VCU WINS IF[/HEADING=3]
VCU shredded Bona inside the arc last season and that would certainly be another very welcome site today, but the star in last season's victory was a Rams defense that limited St. Bonaventure to 34.8% shooting inside the arc and just 1-18 from long range for a 55-point total (20 of which came at the stripe). VCU won the rebounding battle in that one by a surprising 13 additional rebounds, but surprisingly lost the turnover battle by two. Either way, with VCU's offense being so inconsistent/unreliable, I think the black and gold need to control what they can control, which today means putting maximum defensive effort on the floor.
It's been two months since Bona played a top-100 team and considerably longer (Dec 22, 2017) since they beat one on the road. Let's hope they look like a squad out of practice against those today.
Kenpom: 78-60 VCU win with a 78% chance of a Rams victory.
Game tips at 2PM at the Stuart C. Siegel Center in Richmond, VA
Watch: CBS Sports Network
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>
VCU shredded Bona inside the arc last season and that would certainly be another very welcome site today, but the star in last season's victory was a Rams defense that limited St. Bonaventure to 34.8% shooting inside the arc and just 1-18 from long range for a 55-point total (20 of which came at the stripe). VCU won the rebounding battle in that one by a surprising 13 additional rebounds, but surprisingly lost the turnover battle by two. Either way, with VCU's offense being so inconsistent/unreliable, I think the black and gold need to control what they can control, which today means putting maximum defensive effort on the floor.
It's been two months since Bona played a top-100 team and considerably longer (Dec 22, 2017) since they beat one on the road. Let's hope they look like a squad out of practice against those today.
Kenpom: 78-60 VCU win with a 78% chance of a Rams victory.
Game tips at 2PM at the Stuart C. Siegel Center in Richmond, VA
Watch: CBS Sports Network
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>
