Once Upon A Time In Las Vegas – Divisional Round
A pair of teams from the Old Dominion meet on the hardwood in an Atlantic 10 matchup looking to earn a victory. The VCU Rams are on the road as they make the short, in-state trip to take on the Richmond Spiders Friday night. VCU rolled past UMass by an 83-55 margin in their previous game Tuesday night in their previous game, easily covering the line as a 10.5-point favorite. Richmond knocked off Rhode Island 64-57 at home Tuesday night in their last game though they failed to cover as an eight-point underdog. In the all-time series between the programs, the Rams own a 57-32 advantage but it was the Spiders who earned a 75-64 home win in the Atlantic 10 Tournament quarterfinals in the most recent meeting on March 11, 2022.
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VCU won their fourth straight and ninth in the last 10 games as they took down UMass at home in their previous game Tuesday night. The Rams improved to 14-5 overall and 5-1 in the Atlantic 10, leaving them tied with Dayton and Saint Louis for the top spot in the conference standings. Against UMass, VCU found themselves tied with 3:26 to play in the first half before reeling off nine unanswered points spanning both halves to take the lead. That was part of a 33-10 spurt that gave the Rams a 66-43 advantage with 8:27 to go en route to the blowout win. VCU shot 52.5% from the field, including eight of 16 from beyond the arc, and held UMass to 29.2% shooting. Jalen DeLoach paced the Rams with 19 points and 12 rebounds in the victory.
For the year, VCU is putting up an average of 71.3 points per game so far this season, putting them 188th in the nation in scoring offense. The Rams are collecti ng an average of 32 rebounds per contest while dishing out 12.6 assists a night this year. VCU has given up an average of 64.2 points a game this season, putting them 52nd in the nation in scoring defense. Brandon Johns Jr. is one of three players averaging in double figures for the Rams as he averages 12.5 points per game this season. Adrian Baldwin Jr. (11.9 points, six assists) and Jamir Watkins (10.2 points, five rebonds) are also putting up double figures in points. Jalen DeLoach, Jayden Nunn, David Shriver, Zeb Jackson, Nick Kern, Josh Banks and Toibu Lawal are all key contributors being looked to for solid minutes for Mike Rhoades. As a team, VCU is shooting 45.8% from the floor on the year. The Rams are connecting on an average of 6.5 three-pointers per game while shooting 35.8% from beyond the arc. VCU is sinking a mediocre 70.5% of their attempts from the charity stripe on the season.