Saturday, February 20, 2010

Who's Got Next: Akron


VCU steps outside of conference play to take on the Akron Zips this afternoon as part of the ESPNU Bracketbuster. Gametime is scheduled for 4 pm at the Verizon Wireless Arena at the Stuart C. Seigel Center.


This will be the fourth meeting alltime between the two schools. VCU has won all four meetings, with all four games being decided by five points or less.


This is the second time the two have met have met as BracketBusters opponents. VCU beat the Zips 73-69 last season.


Akron leads the MAC in scoring margin (+7.1) and is listed second in field goal percentage (44.0 percent), assists (13.9 apg), assist/turnover ratio (1.0 a/to) and rebounding margin (+3.1); while also ranking second in scoring defense (allowing 63.3 ppg) and field goal percentage defense (allowing 40.4 percent).\


The Zips have held 11 opponents to 59 or fewer points this season. Akron is 11-0 in those games.


Akron returns four starters back from a 23-13 NCAA tournament team. The Zips are lead by Chris McKnight who averages 8.9 points per game, but two games ago, McKnight scored 25 points.


VCU head coach Shaka Smart served as an assistant for two seasons with the Zips in 2004-2005 and 2005-2006.


The Rams look to exact some revenge for the CAA who has so far performed poorly in this year's addition of the Bracketbusters. Old Dominion and William and Mary each stepped outside of CAA play on Friday night taking on Northern Iowa and Iona, respectively. Both schools got hammered.

Wednesday, February 17, 2010

Game 25: VCU 73, Bruiser 54

VCU Plays Defense as Sanders Dismantles the Dragons
@The Siegel
Box Score

The Rams and this Blog are back on track with a dominating 73-54 victory over the Dragons of Drexel University on Tuesday night at the Siegel Center.

The Dragons (15-13, 10-6) had no answer for Larry Sanders who fell just 2 points shy of a career high with 29 points on 13-of-15 shooting, while grabbing 15 rebounds and blocking five shots.

VCU (18-7, 10-6) dominate from the outset closing the first half with an 11-2 run to take a 33-21 lead to the locker room. The Rams made five three-pointers in the half from four different players. Sanders finished the first frame with 12 points, five boards and three blocks. The junior missed just once from the field hitting 5 of 6 field goals.

The Rams continued their onslaught in the second half opening with an 8-2 run. The Dragons never got closer than 13 the rest of the way.

The VCU Defense was impressive holding Drexel to just 36.2% from the field, while the Rams made 50 percent of their field-goal attempts and were 7 of 15 from long range.

Sophomore Bradford Burgess registered a double-double with 11 points and 10 rebounds. Brandon Rozzell would finish with nine points and three assists, while junior Joey Rodriguez added eight points and seven assists.

Jamie Harris led Drexel with 20 points on 7 of 17 shooting, while Shannon Givens added 12 points for the Dragons off the bench.



The Rams are now locked in a fifth-place tie with Drexel, but the Dragons have the tiebreaker due to their 2-0 record against top seeded Northeastern.

VCU hosts the University of Akron in the ESPNU BracketBusters on Saturday. Game time is set for 4 p.m. The game will be televised nationally on the ESPN family of networks.

Wednesday, February 10, 2010

Game 23: VCU 82, GMU 77

Mason Rallies from 15 to Stun VCU
@ The Patriot Center
Box Score

George Mason (11-3, 16-9) erased a 15-point second half deficit and snapped the Rams' four-game winning streak.with an 82-77 overtime win over Virginia Commonwealth (17-6, 9-5) on Tuesday night.

The Rams took a 41-28 halftime lead after shooting 54 percent from the field in the first half. But the Rams watched it slip away as Cam Long hit a pair of free throws with 4.8 seconds to play to force overtime

Long finished with 19 points finishing 9 of 10 from the free throw line. He also had five boards, five assists and two steals in 44 minutes. Louis Birdsong had a season-high 13 points and five rebounds while Ryan Pearson contributed 12 points to the Patriot victory.

Joey Rodriguez was terrific for VCU leading all scorers with 24 points. The junior hit six 3-pointers and dished out seven assists.

Junior Larry Sanders finished with 13 points, four rebounds and one block on 5 of 12 shooting. He fouled out on Long's overtime forcing drive to the basket with only seconds left in regulation.

Junior Ed Nixon had 11 points while Senior T.J. Gwynn added 10 and 7 boards for the Rams.

With a victory VCU, winners of eight of its past nine games, had a chance to pull even with Mason and into at least a tie for third in the Colonial Athletic Association race.

Instead, the Rams fell out of the top four in the CAA race and are on the outside looking in towards one of the four byes for the conference tournament.

The Rams will be back in action Saturday when they travel to Harrisonburg to take on the Dukes of JMU. Game time is scheduled for 7pm.

Saturday, February 6, 2010

Game 22: VCU 70, ODU 58

Gerald Lee is Soft!
@The Siegel
Box Score

Larry Sanders and Joey Rodriguez combined for 20 points, eight rebounds and five assists in the second half to help Virginia Commonwealth to a 70-58 Colonial Athletic Association game against rival Old Dominion on Saturday in front of a sold out crowd at the Siegel Center.

Old Dominion controlled play for the first eight minutes culminating in a Bazemore dunk off a well designed in-bounds giving the Monarchs an 18-8 lead at the 12:31 mark. VCU would respond with a 16-5 run capped by an Ed Nixon three to give the Rams a 24-23 lead.

The rest of the half remained a back and forth affair as neither team could hold a lead for more then few minutes. The half would end with the Monarchs holding a 33-31 lead.

VCU opened the second half on an 11-2 run erasing a 2 point ODU halftime lead and putting the Rams ahead 44-38 with 12:44 to go in the second half.

Darius James hit a pair of three's that cut the VCU lead down to three-points on two occasions but the Monarchs could get no closer to overcoming the deficit.

The Rams went on a 17-5 run with 8 minutes to go to give the Black & Gold a 15-point advantage and the eventually victory. The Monarchs were only able to muster two field goals over the remaining 7:55 of the game.

In his first start of the season, senior Kirill Pishchalnikov went 5-for-7 from the field and 4-for-4 from the line for a season-high 14 points.

Pishchalnikov replacing Sanders in the starting lineup scored six of the Rams’ first eight points.

Junior Larry Sanders came on late to register his eighth double-double of the season with 14 points and 12 rebounds, while sophomore Bradford Burgess led all scorers with 16 points on 6-of-12 shooting.

Kent Bazemore lead the way for ODU, finishing with 12 points, six rebounds, three assists and one steal, while Frank Hassell was the only other Monarch in double-figures with 10 points and five boards.

ODU entered the contest ranking fifth in the country in rebounding margin with a +8.8 mark. The Black & Gold won the battle of the boards by a tally of 39-37.

The Ram defense was equally impressive forcing 16 turnovers and holding the Monarchs to just 33.3 percent shooting in the second half. ODU has had only six games this season with 16 or more turnovers.


The Monarch’s leading scorer, Gerald Lee, was held to just four shots on the afternoon.

The loss knocks ODU (18-7, 10-3) out of a first-place tie in the Colonial Athletic Association and pulls VCU (17-5, 9-4) within a game of second place with five contests left on the schedule.

The Rams will be heading to Fairfax Tuesday to face George Mason as part of Rivalry Week. Tip is scheduled for 7 p.m. and will be televised nationally on ESPNU.

In other news, Sophomore guard Jay Gavin has left Virginia Commonwealth's basketball team for what the school said was personal reasons.

Gavin sat out last year after transferring. He averaged 12.3 points as a freshman at Marist and was the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference's co-rookie of the year.

He started 7 games for the Rams and averaged 5.6 points for VCU, with 23 assists and 14 turnovers in 17 games.

Who's Got Next: ODU

The Rams (8-4, 16-5) and Monarchs (10-2, 18-6) renew their rivalry today at 4 p.m. at the Verizon Wireless Arena at the Stuart C. Siegel Center.

VCU is currently tied for fourth with Drexel. The Rams need a win to improve their chances of getting one of the four byes in the first round of the CAA tournament.

The Monarchs, in a three-way tie for first-place in the league, are allowing just 55 points per game, the third-best mark in the nation. With big guards and big forwards, ODU averages 15.5 offensive rebounds and ranks eighth in the country in rebounding margin (plus 8.8).

Old Dominion (18-6, 10-2 CAA), which has won nine of its last 10 games

Winners of seven of its last eight, VCU has averaged 80.9 ppg in the last eight contests, while holding opponents to just 63.6 ppg.

VCU leads the head-to-head series 41-38, with the teams alternating wins each meeting for the last six contests.

Last year, VCU defeated ODU 61-44 at VCU and 61-53 in the CAA semi-finals. ODU beat the Rams, 69-65 in the Constant Center. ODU’s only win in the Siegel Center was a 67-66 decision in 2007-08.

ODU has won just once in 10 tries at the Siegel Center.

Thursday, February 4, 2010

Game 21: VCU 73, UNCW 60

Reserves Dominate in Victory Over UNCW
@Wilmington, NC
Box Score

Ed Nixon scored a career high 19 points and Joey Rodriguez added 18 to lead Virginia Commonwealth to a 73-60 victory over UNC Wilmington on Wednesday night.

Nixon scored 14 in the second half sparking an 18-9 run that would that would push a four point VCU lead to double digits.

It was the seventh win in eight games for the Rams (16-5, 8-4), who shot 51.9 percent from the field (14-for-27) in the second half.

Nine different players scored for the Black & Gold. Freshman Troy Daniels contributed 7 and senior Kirill Pishchalnikov added six points to join Nixon in the high-scoring attack off the bench which contributed 42 points.

UNC-Wilmington (7-16, 3-9), which has lost eight of nine, shot 35.8 percent from the field (19-for-53) and was 3-for-17 on 3-point attempts (17.6 percent).

Chad Tomko was the only Seahawk in double-figures with 11 points, while John Fields added nine points and 11 rebounds in the loss.

The Rams take on CAA archrival Old Dominion on Saturday at 4 p.m at the Verizon Wireless Arena at the Stuart C. Siegel Center.

Wednesday, February 3, 2010

Who's Got Next: UNCW

VCU (7-4, 15-5) will be traveling to Wilmington to face off against the Seahawks of UNC Wilmington (3-8, 7-15) in a Colonial Athletic Association game at Trask Coliseum.

The Rams have won six of its last seven outings, including a 78-62 decision over Georgia State last Saturday. The Black & Gold have averaged 81.9 points over the last seven games while holding opponents to a paltry 64.1 ppg.

The Rams took advantage of 28 turnovers by the Seahawks in a 91-57 route on Jan. 2 at the Siegel Center in Richmond.

VCU owns a 20-17 edge in the 37-game series since the two teams first met in 1971. The Rams have won seven of the last 10 games, but UNCW upset the eventual CAA champions, 81-72, almost one year ago to the day at Trask Coliseum. The Rams are 3-11 alltime when traveling to Wilmington.




This will be the second game for Seahawks coach Brooks Lee who took over as interim head coach for the remainder of the season following the reassignment of Benny Moss.

UNCW traditionally has been a powerhouse in the CAA. From 2000-06, the Seahawks went to four NCAA tournaments.

Moss began his four-year stint as Seahawk head coach during the 2006-07 season. He compiled a 41-74 overall record and was 23-45 in Colonial Athletic Association play during that span.

Tip off is scheduled for 7 p.m.

Monday, February 1, 2010

VCU to Face Akron in BracketBuster Rematch

Virginia Commonwealth (7-4, 15-5 CAA) will play Akron (15-6, 5-2 MAC) at the Siegel Center on Feb. 20 as part of ESPN’s eigth annual BracketBusters.

The teams met in the 2007-2008 BracketBusters, with VCU winning on the road 57-52. The Rams won the return game 73-69 last year.

VCU head coach Shaka Smart was an assistant at Akron under Keith Dambrot from 2003-06.

Akron currently is the MAC East Division co-leader along with Kent State. The game time is set for 4 pm and will be televised nationally on ESPNU.

CAA rivals Old Dominion, George Mason and William & Mary will also participate in this year’s event. The Monarch’s will travel to Northern Iowa while Mason will face College of Charleston in D.C. The Tribe will be on the road against MAAC power Iona.

Sunday, January 31, 2010

Game 20: VCU 72, GSU 68

White Out
@The Siegel

VCU (15-5, 7-4) celebrated Homecoming Saturday night by dropped Georgia State (9-14, 3-8), 72-68, in a Colonial Athletic Association game at the Siegel Center in snowy Richmond, Va.

Junior Joey Rodriguez led the way for the Rams with 22 points, nine assists and four rebounds.

Georgia State led early, holding an 18-14 advantage with nine minutes to go in the first half before VCU scored seven straight to take a 21-18 lead.

The diehard crowd who braved the snow would see VCU take a 45-32 halftime lead into the locker room against a team that it has beaten 12 consecutive times since Georgia State joined the CAA.

The Panther defense came of the break energized holding the Rams to just nine points in the first 12 ½ minutes of the second half and forcing 15 second-half turnovers.

VCU had just two turnovers in the first half.

With a 13-point lead reduced to five with 5:30 left, Ed Nixon made a driving layup, was fouled and converted the three-point play. With Georgia State down seven with under 2 minutes remaining, Nixon again came to the rescue hitting a long 3-pointer to closeout the game for VCU.

Nixon was one of five Rams in double figures. Joey Rodriguez had 22 points, Larry Sanders 13 points and 13 rebounds, Brandon Rozzell 12 points, and freshman Darius Theus a career-high 10, all in the first half. Rodriguez, who went into the game eighth in the country with an average of 6.1 assists per game, had nine assists and three turnovers. He was 12 of 13 from the foul line as VCU hit 30 of 35 foul shots.

Sanders tallied his sixth double-double of the year and third straight

Joe Dukes led the Panthers with 17 points on 6-of-20 shooting, while grabbing six rebounds and dishing out four assists. Dukes was held to just 1-of-11 shooting in the final 20 minutes.

With the win, the Black & Gold move into fifth place in the CAA standings with seven conference games remaining. In order to claim one of the first-round byes in the CAA tournament the Rams need to be in the top four regular-season finishers.

VCU will try to continue its climb from Wednesday when they travel to the Trask Coliseum for a 7 p.m. matchup with the Seahawks of UNC Wilmington.

Saturday, January 30, 2010

Snowmageddon: VCU vs. Georgia State

Weather permitting, the Rams (6-4, 14-5) will take their 10-1 home mark into tonight’s homecoming game against Georgia State (3-7, 9-13), at 8 p.m. at Verizon Wireless Arena at the Siegel Center.

VCU is coming off a 112-53 thrashing of Towson and now sits at 14-5 overall, 6-4 in the CAA. The Rams will be looking for their 12th straight victory over the Panthers after defeating Georgia State, 82-69, two weeks ago in Atlanta.

Joey Rodriguez scored 21-points for VCU, which shot 61 percent from the field. He was 8 of 12 from the field and had seven assists, three rebounds and just two turnovers.

Jamie Skeen added 16 points on 8 of 10 shooting and Bradford Burgess added 14 points, including 4-for-5 from three-point range, and Easy Ed Nixon hit three treys off the bench.

Larry Sanders, hampered by a foot injury, contributed 8 points and 11 boards.



The Panthers feature 5 transfers from BCS schools headlined by the backcourt tandem of Joe Dukes and Trae Goldston.

Dukes, a 6-1 senior from Cuthbert, Ga., is a preseason selection to the All-CAA second team after earning third-team honors a year ago. The dynamic guard averages 13.5 points per game, along with 5.5 rebounds, 3.2 assists and 1.7 steals per game. He ranks 12th in the CAA in scoring as well as fourth in steals, 14th in assists, 14th in field goal percentage (.423) and 20th in rebounding.

Goldstean averages 11.4 ppg (19th CAA), including 2.0 treys per game (sixth CAA) and a 41-percent accuracy rate from long range (fifth CAA). He has moved into second place in GSU history with 182 career three-pointers.

Georgia State has never beaten VCU since joining the CAA.

VCU is currently in the midst of a 14 game win streak on Homecoming. The Rams have not lost a homecoming game dating back to the 1994-95 season.

The Black & Gold are also 1-0 when a Winter Weather Advisory is in effect this season. The Rams defeated Tulane 78-77 on December 19. Granted the game was played in New Orleans, there was a foot of snow blanketing Richmond.

Wednesday, January 27, 2010

Game 19: Rams 115, Towson 53

Heat Check!
@The Siegel

The Virginia Commonwealth University men’s basketball team absolutely dismantled the Tigers of Towson University (4-16, 1-9 CAA) 112-53 Wednesday night at the Verizon Wireless Arena at the Stuart C. Siegel Center.

The Rams (14-5, 6-4 CAA) set school records for most points scored in the 10-year history of the Siegel Center and most three-pointers in a single game, tying a single-game CAA record with 20 threes and fourth-most assists in a game with 30.

The 115-point outburst was the most points scored by the Rams since the 1978-79 season.

Sophomore Bradford Burgess led all scorers with 22 points on 8-of-10 shooting in just 22 minutes of action. Junior Larry Sanders registered his sixth double-double of the season in the first half and finished with 17 points and 14 boards in 19 minutes and junior Joey Rodriguez came up three assists shy of a single-game record with 13, 10 of those coming in the first-half.

The Rams connected on its first seven field goals and jumped out to a 21-9 lead with 15:53 showing on the first-half clock. VCU went into halftime with a commanding 23-point lead. Sanders had combined for 27 points.

VCU opened the second half on a 24-6 run while Towson missed nine of its first 10 shots. Freshman Jay Gavin continued the onslaught from behind the arc going a perfect 4-of-4 in second half finishing with 14 points, while senior T.J. Gwynn added 11 points off the bench. Junior Brandon Rozzell continued his hot shooting at the Siegel going 4-of-5 from beyond the arc for 16 points.

The Ram defense stifled Towson holding the Tigers to 8-of-27 shooting in the second half and just 21 points as the Black & Gold cruised to a 59 point victory.

Josh Thornton and Jarrel Smith led Towson with 12 points, while Isaiah Philmore added 11 points and five rebounds for the Tigers.

Homecoming week continues Saturday with an 8 p.m. showdown with Panthers of Georgia State.

Who’s Got Next: Towson

VCU (13-5 overall, 5-4 CAA) looks to right the ship tonight when they take on the Tigers of Towson (4-15 overall, 1-8 CAA) at the Verizon Wireless Arena at the Stuart C. Siegel Center.

The Rams are 15-1 against Towson since the Tigers joined the league in the 2001-02 season. VCU is averaging 79.1 points per game against the Tigers who are averaging just 62.6 points per game in the series.

Towson has dropped 10 of its last 11 games, the lone victory coming against the team with which it shares last place in the CAA, Delaware.

Junior Robert Nwankwo has been one of the few bright spots for the Tigers. He leads the CAA in rebounding, blocked shots, field goal percentage and is the only player in the league averaging a double-double with 10.4 points per game and 10.3 rebounds a game. Senior guard Josh Thornton is averaging 12.1 points per game and has made 51 three-pointers. The Tigers have not had a winning season under sixth-year Coach Pat Kennedy, who has averaged 19 losses per season.

The Rams are coming off a tough week in the CAA having rolled past William & Mary 81-59 Wednesday, then having a four-game win streak snapped at Northeastern Saturday. Junior Larry Sanders averaged 20.0 points per game and 9.0 rebounds per game for the week, including his fifth double-double of the year at NU. Sanders ranks among the top five in the CAA in scoring, rebounding, FG percentage and blocked shots.

Junior Joey Rodriguez posted his first career double-double against W&M with 18 points, 10 assists and just one turnover. Rodriguez, who tops the CAA in assists with 5.7 apg and steals at 2.1 spg, is averaging 17.3 ppg over his last four games.

The Rams are 9-1 this season at the Siegel Center. Tip-off is scheduled for a 7:30 p.m.

Monday, January 25, 2010

Game 18: VCU 62, NU 74

Northeastern Owns VCU
@ Matthews Arena, Boston
Box Score

The Huskies tied the third-longest winning streak in school history with a 74-62 victory over Virginia Commonwealth at Matthews Arena on Saturday afternoon.

The Huskies controlled a 35-31 halftime lead and extended it to 49-41 on an Ojougboh jumper with 12:53 to go, VCU rallied to pull within 53-50 on a putback by Sanders with 9:38 left but Chaison Allen answered for the Huskies, knocking down a 3-pointer that sparked a decisive 11-2 run.

NU (13-7, 8-1 Colonial Athletic Association) remained in a first-place tie with George Mason in the league standings, getting double-digit production from four of its starters.

Nkem Ojougboh led the Huskies with 18 points. He also had seven rebounds. Junior guard Chaisson Allen had 16 points to go with six boards, while senior Matt Janning had 15 points and eight boards and Manny Adako contributing 12 points.

Larry Sanders lead the way for the Rams with 22 points and 10 rebounds. Six of his rebounds came at the offensive end, and the Rams led the Huskies 15-4 in offensive rebounds, but they could not convert those extra chances into meaningful points.

Northeastern shot 58.5 percent (24-for-41) from the field and held Virginia Commonwealth's to just 37.9 percent (22-for-58).

Sophmore Jamie Skeen was just 2 of 8 from field with 6 points and junior Joey Rodriguez was 3 of 13 from the field with 9 points.

Northeastern has won 11 consecutive games overall, the third longest active streak in the country. With a 62-57 victory three weeks ago, the Huskies became the first team to sweep VCU in the regular season since 2005-06.

The Rams have dropped three straight to Northeastern and there bid for a fourth consecutive regular-season CAA title has most likely ended.

At the halfway point of the CAA schedule, VCU (5-4, 13-5) is three games behind Northeastern (8-1, 13-7), and fell to sixth in the league behind Drexel.

The Rams will have to refocus and look to finish in the top four so they can get a first-round bye in the CAA tournament.

The Rams the next game will be at home against the Tigers of Towson University on Wednesday evening for a 7:30 p.m. contest.

Saturday, January 23, 2010

Who's Got Next: Northeastern Round 2

The Rams (13-4 overall, 5-3 in CAA) travel to Boston to take on the Huskies of Northeastern (12-7 overall, 7-1 in CAA), holders of the third-longest active winning streak in the nation, Saturday in a critical CAA contest at Matthews Arena at 2 p.m.

The Huskies have won 10 straight games for the first time since 1987. At 7-1 in the CAA, NU needs a win to keep its share of first place in the league with Old Dominion and George Mason.

This is the 10th all-time meeting between these two teams, and the Rams lead the series 5-4, but the Huskies have won two straight. In their last meeting NU knocked off the Rams 62-57 on their home floor for the second consecutive season. NU is the only team to beat VCU at the Siegel Center in its last 25 games.

In eight conference games this season, the Huskies are shooting 39.3 percent (46-for-117) from three-point range, leading the league in that category. NU is also tops in the CAA in field goal percentage, ranking first at 45.8 percent.

Chaisson Allen is shooting 55.0 percent (22-for-40) from behind the arc in CAA contests. He hit 4-of-6 treys and scored a team-high 16 points in win at Towson on Wednesday, which was his 10th double-figure effort in the last 11 games.

NU is allowing a league-low 53.2 ppg in CAA play and hasn’t given up more than 61 points in a conference contest.

Since NU’s last meeting with VCU, the Rams have gone 4-1, the lone loss coming at Drexel. The Rams have taken down Delaware, Hofstra, Georgia State and William & Mary by an average of 15 points, including a 22-point drubbing of the Tribe just three days ago. The Rams are averaging over 80 points per game (80.2 ppg) during the streak and are connecting on 50.2% from the field. Defensively, VCU is holding opponents to 65.0 ppg, while forcing 15 turnovers a game.

Since the Christmas Break Joey Rodriguez averaging 14.5 points, 6.5 assists and is shooting 48.3% from the field. Even more impressive is the fact that his assist-to-turnover ratio is nearly 4-to-1 (3.7-to-1, 52 assists,14 turnovers). The junior tops the CAA in assists with 5.8 apg and steals at 2.2 spg.

Junior Larry Sanders has been equally impressive for the Black & Gold, averaging 19 points and eight rebounds in the three games since his suspension for a flagrant foul against Drexel. He is shooting an impressive 76.7% (23-30) from the field over that three game span.

Thursday, January 21, 2010

Game 17: VCU 81, William & Larry 59

Retribution: VCU Dominates William and Mary in Rematch
@the Seigel
Box Score

Joey Rodriguez scored 18 points and dished out 10 assists as the Rams ended William & Mary’s school-record seven-game road winning streak in an 81-59 drubbing Wednesday night in front of a sold out Verizon Wireless Arena.

The Tribe entered the game winners of 14 of their last 15 and off to a program-best 6-1 in CAA play. They were also looking for their first regular-season win at VCU since the 1999-00 season. But VCU's full-court press and man-to-man defense caused problems for William & Mary shooters most of the night as the Rams avenged a December defeat in Williamsburg.

The Rams jumped out to a 15-4 lead early behind six points from big man Larry Sanders, before the Tribe worked their way back into the game. The Tribe’s Danny Sumner hit a three-pointer with less than 30 seconds remaining in the half to send VCU into the locker room with a 31-26 advantage.

William & Mary came out of the half inspired quickly cutting the VCU lead to 33-31 on a Sumner fast break dunk forcing a the Rams into a timeout.

The Black & Gold came out of the time out and got a three-point play from Jamie Skeen and a 3-pointer from Brandon Rozzell to push the VCU lead back to eight.

The lead reached 15 behind a trio of Terrance Saintil buckets culminating in a steal and one-handed slam by the sophomore.

“I really thought Terrance was a difference maker tonight,” VCU head coach Shaka Smart said after the game. “He had three huge steals and caused a lot of problems for them at the top of the key defensively.”

Back-to-back 3-pointers from Bradford Burgess and Ed Nixon, sandwiched in between a Burgess block of a David Schneider layup, put the Rams up 57-38 with 9:35 to play and brought the crowd at the Siegel Center to its feet.

VCU closed out the game going a perfect 8-for-8 from the free throw line down the stretch to seal the 22-point victory.

"We talked about having an urgency to close out on them, because they have five guys that can shoot," said VCU guard Joey Rodriguez

William and Mary, leading the Colonial Athletic Association with a 38.8 shooting percentage from 3-point range and second in the league with 74.4 points per game, shot just 7-of-27 from long range.

William & Mary’s Danny Sumner led all scorers with 20 points on 8-of-12 shooting, while Markus Kitts added16 points and 11 rebounds for the Tribe.

Larry Sanders finished with 18 points and eight rebounds, while Rozzell added 15 points for the Rams.

VCU, winners of four straight, improves to 13-4 overall and 5-3 in CAA play while William & Mary falls to 14-4 on the season and 6-2 in the conference.

The Rams travel to Boston Saturday to take on Northeastern. The Huskies beat the Rams 62-57 at the Siegel Center on Jan. 4. The game is scheduled for 2 p.m.

Wednesday, January 20, 2010

VCU-W&M Live Blog!

Wow, I have been racking my brain all day and I have come up with nothing. When was the last time VCU played a “relevant” regular season game against William & Larry?

Go ahead, take a second I can wait…

That’s what I thought. I don’t think we have ever had one. But, with four one loss teams atop the CAA looking to distance themselves from the pack tonight’s game against the Tribe has become a must win for VCU. At 4-3 the Rams are sitting in 5th place behind Mason, W&L, ODU and Northeastern and looking at the wrong side of a first round bye in the CAA Tournament.

Now, enter one of the hottest teams in college basketball, William and Larry winners of 14 of their last 15 games and a program-best 6-1 in CAA play. They own key wins over Richmond, Wake Forrest and Maryland this season and are currently tied with Vermont for longest road winning streak in the country.

But not everything is stacked up against the Rams. The Black & Gold are 9-1 all-time against the Tribe at the Verizon Wireless Arena at the Stuart C. Siegel Center.

In their last meeting the Rams saw the Tribe erase a 15 point second half lead with unstoppable back-door cuts and clutch 3-point shooting. The Rams had a last second three-pointer fall short from Ed Nixon giving the Tribe of William & Mary a 75-74 victory.

William & Mary ranks fifth nationally in 3-pointers per game (9.5). The Tribe also ranks among the top 10 in the nation in fewest turnovers at 10.5 tpg and assist/turnover ratio at 1.5. The Rams will need to control the pace of the game and force W&M out of their comfort zone.

Stay tuned for live action!

85 min before tip: Rams are taking in a relaxed shooting session. W&M's bus just pulled in and the Tribe is filing in from the parking lot. That has got to affect them.

70 min before tip: mascot at sporting events for nearly 15 years? Well, hat is about to change. William and Larry is in the midst of a mascot search. They will still be know has the Tribe but here are the 5 mascot finalists…

The mythical griffin, a King and Queen, another mythical beast the phoenix and a native bird species found in Virginia the wren. But I have saved the best for last! A pug! Apparently, Queen Larry and King William were both the proud owners of pugs.

Here is ESPN’s take on the whole thing.

68 min to tip: VCU assistants have broken out huge body pads to simulate contact in the post. VCU looks dialed in. I think we are going to dominate tonight!

62 min to tip: TJ, Larry and David Hinton are sporting all white Jordan 10's.

55 min to tip: I want to give a quick shout out to my main man Marc Cheatham. He wont be able to make the game tonight because he is D.C. attending to the needs of his boss former Virginia Governor and current DNC Chairman Tim Kaine.

Today was his first day on the job. Hopefully, things will settle down for the Dems in the next couple of weeks and Marc will be able to keep that new whip.

If not, we need to go pro in racquetball. I am telling you, we will dominate the league. American Family Fitness wont know what hit them!

49 mins to tip: The Tribe are out for their pre-game warm-ups. The student section is mostly full. This is going to be a good one.

43 mins to tip: W&M's David Schneider reminds me of a smaller Travis Deiner. Marquette legend!

32 mins to tip: Student sections are full and the band is doing their thing. William & Larry are still going through their pre-game warm-ups. Interesting, they don't practice lay-ups. Just mid-range jumpers and threes.

Then again they are the CAA equivalent of the Indiana Pacers. There I said it.

24 mins to tip: The Rams come out for their final warm-ups.

19 mins to tip: The Tribe prance out onto the court to a choirs of boos.

9 mins to tip: The National Anthem was just completed and now we are just waiting for the teams to return to the court for introductions.

1:30 mins to tip: This sellout crowd is bringing the volume. They are all over the Tribe as they make their final preparations.

Its standing room only in the student section. The VCU chant is drowning out the arena announcer.

Here we go. W&M controls the tip.

18:40 The Tribe draw first blood and a McDowell put back. VCU counters with a Rozzell jumper to tit it up. VCU 2 - WM 2.

16:00 Both teams are fighting for every possession. Rozzell just nailed a three to give the Rams a 9-4 advantage.

15:00 Larry Sanders Dunk!!! The crowd is on its feet has Tony Shaver is forced to take the Tribe's first timeout. VCU 11 - W&M 4.

14:30 Another Larry Sanders Dunk!!!! The crowd continues to go crazy. VCU 13 - W&M 4.

13:15 That's three Larry Sanders buckets in a row. He is a man on fire tonight! VCU 15 - W&M 6.

12:18 Luke Walton, I mean David Schneider is on the board with a jumper for the Tribe. J-Rod answers with his first bucket a jumper just inside the three point line. Another TV Timeout. VCU 17 - W&M 11.

10:26 Darius Theus is getting early minutes for the Rams. Easy Ed Nixon delivers a three from the wing. VCU 20 – W&M 13.

9:45 Darius Theus hits a running jumper to extend the VCU lead to 9. VCU 22 – W&M 13.

8:05 VCU head coach Shaka Smart is going to his freshmen early in this game. Troy Daniels is seeing some early action relieving Darius Theus.

7:00 The pace is furious. Shaka Smart is going deep in his bench to try and wear out the Tribe. So far W&M have shown they can hang. VCU 23 – W&M 20.

6:09 Another jumper for J-Rod. Pushes the VCU lead to 5, 25-20.

5:30 TJ Gwynn gets an easy lay-up. No word yet if he is out of the dog house yet. VCU 27 – W&M 20.

4:00 Larry Sander’s is showing his range. The big man just drained a 17 foot from the side line. He has 9 points. VCU 29 – W&M 20.

2:53 John Stockton, I mean David Schneider hits another three to cut the VCU lead to 6. Schneider has 8.

1:36 J-Rod is trying to slow it down and pound it inside. Neither team is close to the bonus at this point. VCU has 5 teams fouls and W&M has 4. VCU 29 – W&M 23.

0:45 J-Rod gets inside for a layup. He has 6 points and VCU is up 31-23.

0:23 Danny Sumner hits a three and VCU takes a 5 point lead into the locker room at the half.

VCU 31 – W&M 26

Half Time Stats: The Tribe's Danny Sumner leads all scorers with 12. Danny Ainge, I mean David Schneider has 8 for William & Larry. Larry Sanders is the high man for VCU with 9 points on 4 of 6 shooting to go with his 5 boards. Joey is filling up the stat sheet with 6 points, 5 assists and 2 steals.

W&M shot 31.4%. VCU shot 48.3%.

19:35 Bobby Hurley, I mean David Schneider is fouled while shooting by Rozzell. He hits 1 of 2 from the line and with that W&M opens up scoring in the second half. VCU 31 – W&M 27.

18:42 Larry Sanders answers with an awkward turn around jumper from the key. The Tribe answer with a Kitts dunks. VCU 22 – W&M 29.

17:19 Sumner gets an open dunk and Shaka Smart motions for a quick timeout. The Tribe have come out motivated and have quickly erased the VCU half time advantage. VCU 33 – W&M 31.

17:07 Skeen gets a bucket and is fouled. He hits the free throw and puts VCU back up by 5. Shaka Smart is looking like a genius out of the timeout.

16:19 Brandon Rozzell knocks down a three pointer to a deafening applause. VCU 39 – W&M 31.

15:43 Skeen is fouled in the act of shooting. He hits both free throws to extend the Ram’s lead to 10.

15:27 Skeen swipes and inbounds and gets to Joey for an easy lay up. The crowd noise is incredible. The Tribe quiet the crowd with a three. VCU 43 – W&M 34.

14:04 Rozzell gets a steal and another lay-up. He has 10 points and gives a fist pumped under the basket to celebrate.

12:37 Santil tips in a Thrus miss to give the Rams a 47-34 advantage. Timeout William & Larry.

11:31 TJ Gwynn feeds Santil underneath the basket for another easy bucket.

11:05 Santil pokes the ball away from a W&M guard and gets a fast break dunk. He is a one man wrecking crew. VCU 51-38.

10:02 Bradford Burgess nails a three out of the TV timeout and gets a block on Bobby Hurley, I mean David Schneider. Easy Ed Nixon hits a three pointer on the ensuing break. VCU 57 – W&M 28.

8:54 VCU is dictating the pace of the game. W&M is on the verge of falling to far behind. Larry Sanders gets another inside bucket. The Rams are up 16.

7:50 Steve Wojciechowski, I mean David Schneider drives the baseline and his fouled as the ball falls threw the cylinder for 2. Wojo hits the free throw VCU 59, W&M 46. Schneider has 15.

7:17 J-Rod hits a three. The Tribe try to answer with a Sumner long distance try which rims out to Joey who takes it down the court and is fouled has he goes to the rim. He hits 1 of 2 from the line. VCU 63 – W&M 47.

6:17 Larry Sanders continues to impress with his made range jumper. He now has 15 and the Rams lead is 15.

5:39 Shaka Smart continues to send wave after wave of fresh bodies to the court. Its starting to ware on the Tribe who have stuck to an 8 man rotation most of the night.

4:40 Easy Ed misses on a three has the VCU possession expires but freshman Darius Theus gets the rebound to extend the possession. Rozzell cans a wide-open three for the Rams. VCU 70 – W&M 52.

3:21 Marcus Kitts is carrying the load for the Tribe. The big man has scored on William & Larry’s last three possessions. He has 16 points.

3:05 Jeff Hornicek, I mean David Schneider is clearly frustrated trying to keep up with Ed Nixon who is dribbling all over the court. The frustrated Tribe star hacks Larry has he goes up for a shot. Sanders hits 1 of 2. VCU 71 – W&M 54.

2:42 The sounds of keys jingling is starting to circle the arena. The Tribe hit a quick three and go into a full court press. J-Rod cuts through the press and dribbles it down until he is fouled with 2 seconds on the shot clock. He hits both freebies. VCU is now up 15, 73-57.

1:49 Rozzell hits 2 more from the line as chants of Overrated echo throughout the Seigel. VCU 75 - W&M 59.

1:18 J-Rod hits Larry Sanders on an ally-oop to punctuate.

1:03 Scott Skiles, I mean David Schneider takes down Bradford Burgess hard and says a few choice words that got Burgess’s attention. Schneider fouls out. Burgess hits both free throws. VCU 79 – W&M 59.

30.5 Two more free throws for Joey to cap a 18 point night for the junior.

The Stadium is sounding off to the Florida State/Atlanta Braves chop chant as VCU dribbles out the clock. VCU has now won 4 in a row in the CAA and improves to 13-4 overall and 5-3 in CAA play.

Final: VCU 81 – W&M 59.