VCU avoided disaster in their home opener against a Saint Peter's team thirsty for an upset, narrowly surviving the Peacocks thanks to some late game Hason Ward heroics. They'll hope to look much better today against a Wagner team coming off a dominating regular season-opening performance themselves, a team coached by Bashir Mason, a former player who is no stranger to success at the Siegel Center via his time as a Drexel Dragon player.
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VCU (1-0)
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VCU (1-0)
WAGNER (1-0)[/HEADING=3]
A QUICK LOOK AT WAGNER[/HEADING=3]
The Seahawks out of the Northeastern Conference are coming off a decent 2020-21 season (13-7) after an abysmal 8-21 finish their last full season of college hoops before COVID changed the world. They played just one non-conference game however this past year, a lopsided 78-45 defeat at the hands of Seton Hall, the only top-100 team Wagner faced up against, one of their three total losses against the three games they played against kenpom top-200 competition. While their season-opening 77-59 win over Hartford won't get them top-25 votes anytime soon, it was a promising start for Mason's experienced club that features six seniors, four of which are graduate students.
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The Seahawks were an extremely efficient shooting team in the win, finishing the game with a 62.1% effective field goal percentage, an early improvement (or a one-game improvement) over last season's 209th-placed finish in the stat at 49.1%. Experience perhaps not surprisingly led the way in that one, with Wagner's seniors combining for 57 of those points including a game-high 18 from 6'5 guard/forward Will Martinez. Martinez leads the team early in both points and rebounds (8), but is one of four returning scorers to average double-digit points this past season, a group highlighted by Elijah Ford and Alex Morales, a duo of wings that averaged around 17 points and 7 rebound per game each this past season.
Those averages also point out that last year's Seahawks were a relatively shallow group, seeing three players average over 30 minutes per contest. Wagner ranked 323rd in the country this past season in bench minutes played, but perhaps lessened potential player fatigue by running one of the slowest tempos in all of college hoops this past year, an extreme contrast from how VCU likes to play in what could be a battle of styles today at the Siegel Center.
A QUICK LOOK AT VCU[/HEADING=3]
The Rams very much looked like a team missing their starting point guard and star shooting guard from last year's second place A-10 finisher in their regular season opener against Saint Peter's. Without the services of Ace Baldwin (injury) or Bones Hyland (NBA), VCU thrust freshman Jayden Nunn and transfer Marcus Tsohonis into the spotlight, but both saw some form of early growing pains wearing the black and gold.
[caption id="attachment_30635" align="alignleft" width="300"]<a href="https://www.vcuramnation.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/11/D0B1C079-BA97-44B0-A2DE-FA39C2839835.jpeg"><img class="size-medium wp-image-30635" src="https://www.vcuramnation.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/11/D0B1C079-BA97-44B0-A2DE-FA39C2839835-300x200.jpeg" alt="" width="300" height="200" /></a> Turnovers were the only flaw in Jayden Nunn's career-opening performance that saw him lead his team with a game-high +9 box plus/minus.[/caption]
Nunn finished with an impressive nine points and four steals, but perhaps some freshman jitters helped in contributing to his six turnovers (to one assist) on the night, a part of VCU's 19 total team TOs in the win. Despite his turnover issues however he still managed to impress, leading VCU with a +12 box plus-minus, by far the team's highest number in the win.
Tsohonis found himself on the unfortunate other side of that spectrum however, finishing with a game-low -9 plus/minus. The former Husky is a career 37.8% three-point shooter, but was blanked at 0-3 in his first official game as a Ram, that coming off an exhibition performance where the Portland native finished 2-10 from the field. Ram fans hope to see him catch fire soon enough, as three-point shooting was even an issue on last season's Bones-led team, but look to be an early major area of concern for this year's group.
Those struggles were a part of a team effort 14.3% three-point performance that sees VCU ranked 313th in the country after one game in three-point percentage. The Rams were fairly efficient inside the arc however, finishing 55.2% of their deuces and got to the stripe for 27 attempts where they connected on 19 of them (70.4%) including two late Vince Williams makes to effectively ice the game.
While the Rams struggled offensively, they bailed themselves out on the other side of a ball (expect that to become a reoccurring theme season), limiting Saint Peter's to just 54 points on 31% shooting. That effort was unsurprisingly led by 2021 A-10 All-Defensive selection, Hason Ward. Ward led the Rams with four blocks in the win as well as a team-high 14 points and nine rebounds. Fellow backcourt starter Levi Stockard chipped in two blocks himself with freshman big, Jalen Deloach, blocking two shots in just eight minutes of action himself.
TALE OF THE TAPE[/HEADING=3]
Scoring Offense: <span style="color: #ff0000;">WAG 77, VCU 57</span>
Scoring Defense: <span style="color: #339966;">VCU 54, WAG 59</span>
Effective Field Goal% Offense: <span style="color: #ff0000;">WAG 61.2%, VCU 44.2%</span>
Effective Field Goal% Defense: <span style="color: #339966;">VCU 37.1%, WAG 43.6%</span>
3-Point Field Goal%: <span style="color: #ff0000;">WAG 38.9%, VCU 14.3%</span>
3-Point Field Goal% Defense: <span style="color: #ff0000;">WAG 26.9%, VCU 33.3%</span>
2-Point Field Goal%: <span style="color: #ff0000;">WAG 62.5%, VCU 55.2%</span>
2-Point Field Goal% Defense: <span style="color: #339966;">VCU 29.7%, WAG 47.6%</span>
Rebounds per game: <span style="color: #ff0000;">WAG 36, VCU 31</span>
Turnover% Offense: <span style="color: #ff0000;">WAG 22.2%, VCU 26.5%</span>
Turnover% Defense: <span style="color: #339966;">VCU 29.3%, WAG 26.6%</span>
VCU WINS IF[/HEADING=3]
[caption id="attachment_30646" align="alignright" width="300"]<a href="https://www.vcuramnation.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/11/33A0667F-1C9D-4932-9C55-2302F4C810B8.jpeg"><img class="size-medium wp-image-30646" src="https://www.vcuramnation.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/11/33A0667F-1C9D-4932-9C55-2302F4C810B8-300x200.jpeg" alt="" width="300" height="200" /></a> Freshman, Jalen Deloach, was limited in his first game via a hand injury, but managed to block two shots in just eight minutes of action for a team-leading 27% blocks percentage[/caption]
Any sign of life whatsoever from beyond the three-point arc would be a welcome addition to this black and gold group. The Rams shot a solid 34.8% from deep in their exhibition win over Virginia State and again, Tsohonis has two seasons of stats proving he can stroke it from distance, but VCU fans would love to see this Rams team get hot from deep against a DI opponent this November. VCU Head Coach, Mike Rhoades, commented that "the ball stuck" as a part of the Rams offensive issues against Saint Peter's, meaning a lack of ball movement allowed the Peacocks defense to reset, thus making VCU's offense look like the struggling unit it was in their home opening win. VCU doesn't seem to lack offensive weapons, so a little more smart "team ball" might just do the trick. Defensively the Rams actually match up well agains the Wagner offense. Last season's Seahawks were the 19th-most two-point dependent team in the country. That is not a necessarily great stat for Wagner coming into a game against a VCU defense that ranked 37th nationally in two-point D this past season (5th in blocks percentage) and one that looks even tougher in the paint to start this season.
Kenpom: 74-65 VCU win with an 84% chance of a Rams victory.
Game tips at 7PM at the Stuart C. Siegel Center in Richmond, VA
Watch: MASON2/ESPN+
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>
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The Seahawks out of the Northeastern Conference are coming off a decent 2020-21 season (13-7) after an abysmal 8-21 finish their last full season of college hoops before COVID changed the world. They played just one non-conference game however this past year, a lopsided 78-45 defeat at the hands of Seton Hall, the only top-100 team Wagner faced up against, one of their three total losses against the three games they played against kenpom top-200 competition. While their season-opening 77-59 win over Hartford won't get them top-25 votes anytime soon, it was a promising start for Mason's experienced club that features six seniors, four of which are graduate students.
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The Seahawks were an extremely efficient shooting team in the win, finishing the game with a 62.1% effective field goal percentage, an early improvement (or a one-game improvement) over last season's 209th-placed finish in the stat at 49.1%. Experience perhaps not surprisingly led the way in that one, with Wagner's seniors combining for 57 of those points including a game-high 18 from 6'5 guard/forward Will Martinez. Martinez leads the team early in both points and rebounds (8), but is one of four returning scorers to average double-digit points this past season, a group highlighted by Elijah Ford and Alex Morales, a duo of wings that averaged around 17 points and 7 rebound per game each this past season.
Those averages also point out that last year's Seahawks were a relatively shallow group, seeing three players average over 30 minutes per contest. Wagner ranked 323rd in the country this past season in bench minutes played, but perhaps lessened potential player fatigue by running one of the slowest tempos in all of college hoops this past year, an extreme contrast from how VCU likes to play in what could be a battle of styles today at the Siegel Center.
A QUICK LOOK AT VCU[/HEADING=3]
The Rams very much looked like a team missing their starting point guard and star shooting guard from last year's second place A-10 finisher in their regular season opener against Saint Peter's. Without the services of Ace Baldwin (injury) or Bones Hyland (NBA), VCU thrust freshman Jayden Nunn and transfer Marcus Tsohonis into the spotlight, but both saw some form of early growing pains wearing the black and gold.
[caption id="attachment_30635" align="alignleft" width="300"]<a href="https://www.vcuramnation.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/11/D0B1C079-BA97-44B0-A2DE-FA39C2839835.jpeg"><img class="size-medium wp-image-30635" src="https://www.vcuramnation.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/11/D0B1C079-BA97-44B0-A2DE-FA39C2839835-300x200.jpeg" alt="" width="300" height="200" /></a> Turnovers were the only flaw in Jayden Nunn's career-opening performance that saw him lead his team with a game-high +9 box plus/minus.[/caption]
Nunn finished with an impressive nine points and four steals, but perhaps some freshman jitters helped in contributing to his six turnovers (to one assist) on the night, a part of VCU's 19 total team TOs in the win. Despite his turnover issues however he still managed to impress, leading VCU with a +12 box plus-minus, by far the team's highest number in the win.
Tsohonis found himself on the unfortunate other side of that spectrum however, finishing with a game-low -9 plus/minus. The former Husky is a career 37.8% three-point shooter, but was blanked at 0-3 in his first official game as a Ram, that coming off an exhibition performance where the Portland native finished 2-10 from the field. Ram fans hope to see him catch fire soon enough, as three-point shooting was even an issue on last season's Bones-led team, but look to be an early major area of concern for this year's group.
Those struggles were a part of a team effort 14.3% three-point performance that sees VCU ranked 313th in the country after one game in three-point percentage. The Rams were fairly efficient inside the arc however, finishing 55.2% of their deuces and got to the stripe for 27 attempts where they connected on 19 of them (70.4%) including two late Vince Williams makes to effectively ice the game.
While the Rams struggled offensively, they bailed themselves out on the other side of a ball (expect that to become a reoccurring theme season), limiting Saint Peter's to just 54 points on 31% shooting. That effort was unsurprisingly led by 2021 A-10 All-Defensive selection, Hason Ward. Ward led the Rams with four blocks in the win as well as a team-high 14 points and nine rebounds. Fellow backcourt starter Levi Stockard chipped in two blocks himself with freshman big, Jalen Deloach, blocking two shots in just eight minutes of action himself.
TALE OF THE TAPE[/HEADING=3]
Scoring Offense: <span style="color: #ff0000;">WAG 77, VCU 57</span>
Scoring Defense: <span style="color: #339966;">VCU 54, WAG 59</span>
Effective Field Goal% Offense: <span style="color: #ff0000;">WAG 61.2%, VCU 44.2%</span>
Effective Field Goal% Defense: <span style="color: #339966;">VCU 37.1%, WAG 43.6%</span>
3-Point Field Goal%: <span style="color: #ff0000;">WAG 38.9%, VCU 14.3%</span>
3-Point Field Goal% Defense: <span style="color: #ff0000;">WAG 26.9%, VCU 33.3%</span>
2-Point Field Goal%: <span style="color: #ff0000;">WAG 62.5%, VCU 55.2%</span>
2-Point Field Goal% Defense: <span style="color: #339966;">VCU 29.7%, WAG 47.6%</span>
Rebounds per game: <span style="color: #ff0000;">WAG 36, VCU 31</span>
Turnover% Offense: <span style="color: #ff0000;">WAG 22.2%, VCU 26.5%</span>
Turnover% Defense: <span style="color: #339966;">VCU 29.3%, WAG 26.6%</span>
VCU WINS IF[/HEADING=3]
[caption id="attachment_30646" align="alignright" width="300"]<a href="https://www.vcuramnation.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/11/33A0667F-1C9D-4932-9C55-2302F4C810B8.jpeg"><img class="size-medium wp-image-30646" src="https://www.vcuramnation.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/11/33A0667F-1C9D-4932-9C55-2302F4C810B8-300x200.jpeg" alt="" width="300" height="200" /></a> Freshman, Jalen Deloach, was limited in his first game via a hand injury, but managed to block two shots in just eight minutes of action for a team-leading 27% blocks percentage[/caption]
Any sign of life whatsoever from beyond the three-point arc would be a welcome addition to this black and gold group. The Rams shot a solid 34.8% from deep in their exhibition win over Virginia State and again, Tsohonis has two seasons of stats proving he can stroke it from distance, but VCU fans would love to see this Rams team get hot from deep against a DI opponent this November. VCU Head Coach, Mike Rhoades, commented that "the ball stuck" as a part of the Rams offensive issues against Saint Peter's, meaning a lack of ball movement allowed the Peacocks defense to reset, thus making VCU's offense look like the struggling unit it was in their home opening win. VCU doesn't seem to lack offensive weapons, so a little more smart "team ball" might just do the trick. Defensively the Rams actually match up well agains the Wagner offense. Last season's Seahawks were the 19th-most two-point dependent team in the country. That is not a necessarily great stat for Wagner coming into a game against a VCU defense that ranked 37th nationally in two-point D this past season (5th in blocks percentage) and one that looks even tougher in the paint to start this season.
Kenpom: 74-65 VCU win with an 84% chance of a Rams victory.
Game tips at 7PM at the Stuart C. Siegel Center in Richmond, VA
Watch: MASON2/ESPN+
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>
[/am4show]
Scoring Offense: <span style="color: #ff0000;">WAG 77, VCU 57</span>
Scoring Defense: <span style="color: #339966;">VCU 54, WAG 59</span>
Effective Field Goal% Offense: <span style="color: #ff0000;">WAG 61.2%, VCU 44.2%</span>
Effective Field Goal% Defense: <span style="color: #339966;">VCU 37.1%, WAG 43.6%</span>
3-Point Field Goal%: <span style="color: #ff0000;">WAG 38.9%, VCU 14.3%</span>
3-Point Field Goal% Defense: <span style="color: #ff0000;">WAG 26.9%, VCU 33.3%</span>
2-Point Field Goal%: <span style="color: #ff0000;">WAG 62.5%, VCU 55.2%</span>
2-Point Field Goal% Defense: <span style="color: #339966;">VCU 29.7%, WAG 47.6%</span>
Rebounds per game: <span style="color: #ff0000;">WAG 36, VCU 31</span>
Turnover% Offense: <span style="color: #ff0000;">WAG 22.2%, VCU 26.5%</span>
Turnover% Defense: <span style="color: #339966;">VCU 29.3%, WAG 26.6%</span>
