VCU survived a tough road contest at Davidson Saturday night, limiting the Wildcats to just 69 points in the win, the fewest this VCU team has allowed since a 58-point home defense agains Niagara.
But believe it or not, it was not their best defensive effort of the A-10 season. The Rams surrendered 1.12 points per possession to the Wildcats, up from their 0.99 surrendered to St. Joe's the previous game, up just a smidge from the 1.11 surrendered at Rhode Island the game prior to that and up significantly from the 0.92 surrendered against Saint Louis, this year's A-10 frontrunner that has found themselves nationally ranked for the first time in years.
Over their seven Atlantic 10 games, VCU is surrendering 1.105 ppp, good for ninth in the conference above only Fordham, Richmond, Loyola Chicago and St. Bonaventure. Two teams are holding opponents under one point per possession, Saint Louis leading the league at 0.967, just ahead of Dayton's 0.976. Last year's A-10 Champ Rams ranked first in that stat at 0.97.
VCU PPP SURRENDERED IN A-10 PLAY (conference rank)
This year: 1.105 (9th)
Last year: 0.97 (1st)
2024: 1.027 (5th)
2023: 0.926 (1st)
2022: 0.918 (1st)
2021: 0.941 (2nd)
2020: 0.98 (6th)
2019: 0.872 (1st)
2018: 1.045 (7th)
2017: 0.956 (2nd)
2016: 0.957 (2nd)
2015: 0.944 (3rd)
2014: 0.919 (1st)
2013: 1.012 (6th)
As things currently sit, this year's VCU squad is the least efficient defense the Atlantic 10 has seen from a VCU team since joining the conference for the 2012-13 season. But why and how?
VCU's current glaring weakness in conference games is their two-point defense. Through seven conference games, the black and gold are allowing opposing teams to shoot an abysmal 56% inside the arc, currently good for 13th in the conference and a far cry from the VCU-caliber defenses the Atlantic 10 is used to seeing on Broad St. That's up over 11% from last season's team and only the third time VCU has allowed 50% or worse since joining the league. The Rams' inaugural A-10 group gave up 51.8% shooting inside the arc and Mike Rhoades' first team surrendered 50% shooting inside back during the 2017-18 campaign.
All of this has to be equally as maddening to Head Coach Phil Martelli Jr, as it is to Ram fans used to watching elite level defense. Martelli led his Bryant Bulldogs team to the NCAA tournament this past season largely on the back of it's strong defense, a defense that ranked first in the American East conference in both conference defensive efficiency (0.966 ppp surrendered) and two-point percentage defense (46.2%), his second consecutive season limiting American East foes under one point per possession and under 47% shooting inside the arc.
So what's the fix? Likely a plethora of things, but one particular contributing factor I have observed this season is VCU's preference on switching screens versus hedging them. This on MANY occasions has resulted in the Rams' smaller guards caught in mismatch situations with opposing teams larger centers and forwards (predominantly coming via high ball screen from opposing team's center).
Observe one such situation last night at Davidson that perfectly demonstrates this. Matt McKillop draws up a sidelines out of bounds play to take advantage of this very scenario, using 6'10 240 big, Sean Logan, and 6'4 shooting guard, Parker Friedrichsen, to put Brandon Jennings alone on an island against his 6'10 opponent. Even as a preseason All-Defensive selection, you see Jennings is no match for his opponent and the 6' advantage he possesses. The result being an easy two early in last night's contest. That scenario gets no easier when you swap out Jennings -- VCU's statistically most efficient defender -- for the likes of Terrence Hill and Ahmad Nowell.
It's a situation I have observed over and over with this year's team, opting out of a hard hedge option and going for the switch. Is it the only issue? Certainly not, but one I'm convinced is worth at least six-eight points surrendered per contest (stay tuned for a future article where I find the exact value there).
How VCU chooses to diagnose and cure their defensive ailments remains to be seen (is it effort?...is it strategy?), but in order for this team to reach it's utmost potential, the Rams find themselves in the rare position of desperately needing to improve the one thing they seem to always be good at: defense.
But believe it or not, it was not their best defensive effort of the A-10 season. The Rams surrendered 1.12 points per possession to the Wildcats, up from their 0.99 surrendered to St. Joe's the previous game, up just a smidge from the 1.11 surrendered at Rhode Island the game prior to that and up significantly from the 0.92 surrendered against Saint Louis, this year's A-10 frontrunner that has found themselves nationally ranked for the first time in years.
Over their seven Atlantic 10 games, VCU is surrendering 1.105 ppp, good for ninth in the conference above only Fordham, Richmond, Loyola Chicago and St. Bonaventure. Two teams are holding opponents under one point per possession, Saint Louis leading the league at 0.967, just ahead of Dayton's 0.976. Last year's A-10 Champ Rams ranked first in that stat at 0.97.
VCU PPP SURRENDERED IN A-10 PLAY (conference rank)
This year: 1.105 (9th)
Last year: 0.97 (1st)
2024: 1.027 (5th)
2023: 0.926 (1st)
2022: 0.918 (1st)
2021: 0.941 (2nd)
2020: 0.98 (6th)
2019: 0.872 (1st)
2018: 1.045 (7th)
2017: 0.956 (2nd)
2016: 0.957 (2nd)
2015: 0.944 (3rd)
2014: 0.919 (1st)
2013: 1.012 (6th)
As things currently sit, this year's VCU squad is the least efficient defense the Atlantic 10 has seen from a VCU team since joining the conference for the 2012-13 season. But why and how?
VCU's current glaring weakness in conference games is their two-point defense. Through seven conference games, the black and gold are allowing opposing teams to shoot an abysmal 56% inside the arc, currently good for 13th in the conference and a far cry from the VCU-caliber defenses the Atlantic 10 is used to seeing on Broad St. That's up over 11% from last season's team and only the third time VCU has allowed 50% or worse since joining the league. The Rams' inaugural A-10 group gave up 51.8% shooting inside the arc and Mike Rhoades' first team surrendered 50% shooting inside back during the 2017-18 campaign.
All of this has to be equally as maddening to Head Coach Phil Martelli Jr, as it is to Ram fans used to watching elite level defense. Martelli led his Bryant Bulldogs team to the NCAA tournament this past season largely on the back of it's strong defense, a defense that ranked first in the American East conference in both conference defensive efficiency (0.966 ppp surrendered) and two-point percentage defense (46.2%), his second consecutive season limiting American East foes under one point per possession and under 47% shooting inside the arc.
So what's the fix? Likely a plethora of things, but one particular contributing factor I have observed this season is VCU's preference on switching screens versus hedging them. This on MANY occasions has resulted in the Rams' smaller guards caught in mismatch situations with opposing teams larger centers and forwards (predominantly coming via high ball screen from opposing team's center).
Observe one such situation last night at Davidson that perfectly demonstrates this. Matt McKillop draws up a sidelines out of bounds play to take advantage of this very scenario, using 6'10 240 big, Sean Logan, and 6'4 shooting guard, Parker Friedrichsen, to put Brandon Jennings alone on an island against his 6'10 opponent. Even as a preseason All-Defensive selection, you see Jennings is no match for his opponent and the 6' advantage he possesses. The result being an easy two early in last night's contest. That scenario gets no easier when you swap out Jennings -- VCU's statistically most efficient defender -- for the likes of Terrence Hill and Ahmad Nowell.
It's a situation I have observed over and over with this year's team, opting out of a hard hedge option and going for the switch. Is it the only issue? Certainly not, but one I'm convinced is worth at least six-eight points surrendered per contest (stay tuned for a future article where I find the exact value there).
How VCU chooses to diagnose and cure their defensive ailments remains to be seen (is it effort?...is it strategy?), but in order for this team to reach it's utmost potential, the Rams find themselves in the rare position of desperately needing to improve the one thing they seem to always be good at: defense.
