The moment VCU joined the Atlantic 10 Conference, the Rams immediately made their mark on the league. In their first five years, they made five straight appearances in the conference tournament championship game and five consecutive trips to the NCAA Tournament. So last year when the Rams finished 18-15 (most losses since the 1998-99 season) and 9-9 in the A-10 (first nonwinning conference season since 2000), head coach Mike Rhoades realized he needed to go back to basics.
“The summer, we just went old school,” said Rhodes. “(I told them) We have to get back to increasing our workload and how hard we work.”
And while the summer conditioning program made his players stronger physically, Rhoades said “the best thing about it is we got mentally tougher. Period.
“We got mentally tougher and they did all the work together. So they’re playing together, and they’re fighting through it together.”
Together, the second-year head coach and his team have risen to the top of the Atlantic 10.
Tuesday’s 71-36 dismemberment of George Mason was the team’s 24th win. If the Rams can beat Saint Joseph’s at home Friday night, they’ll notch their highest regular season total since 2011-12 (their final winter in the CAA).
Tuesday’s result was the rule, not the exception, as the difference this year has been defense. Rhoades’ Rams allow the fewest points per game in the A-10, while also allowing the lowest percentage of shots made and three-pointers. They’re also second in turnover margin and, according to KenPom.com’s efficiency ratings, have the fourth-best defense … in the entire country.
“I wanted to press, I wanted these guys to have freedom going for steals and the freedom to make plays on the ball,” Rhoades said. “But if you want to win a championship, there’s times where you just have to sit down five guys in half-court … and get stops.”
The team’s 11th straight win clinches the top seed in the Atlantic Ten Tournament and also delivers something previous coaches Shaka Smart and Will Wade never did: the school’s first regular season conference title.
“Everybody picked us seventh — some people picked us ninth. Nobody gave us a shot. And I told these guys if they stick together and work really hard that stuff doesn’t matter, we can do this,” Rhoades said after Tuesday’s clinching win. “It wasn’t our only goal. We’ve got a lot ahead of us.”
Friday’s Games
No. 24 Maryland (21-9, 12-7 Big Ten) vs. Minnesota (19-11, 9-10), 7 p.m. (FS1)
The Terps can ill afford to enter the Big Ten Tournament with three straight losses. Meanwhile, the Golden Gophers have won two straight behind the scoring of Amir Coffey (32 points in wins over Northwestern and No. 11 Purdue). They also boast the conference’s leading rebounder in Jordan Murphy (11.7 per game). The Terps were somehow able to neutralize the senior in their January win over Gophers, holding Murphy to 9 points and 5 rebounds in an 82-67 win. Two other notables from that night: Maryland closed the game on a 21-6 run and Anthony Cowan Jr. scored a season-high 27 points. Cowan’s coming off a rough effort against Michigan (he started the day shooting 1-for-11) and can use all the positive reinforcement he can get.
No. 15 Virginia Tech (22-7, 11-6 ACC) vs. Miami (13-16, 5-12), 7 p.m. (ESPN2)
So much for the major momentum of last week’s upset of then-No. 1 Duke. So much for getting a double-bye in the upcoming ACC Tournament. The Hokies let a 14-point halftime lead dissolve into a 73-64 overtime defeat at No. 14 Florida State Tuesday. Don’t expect any sympathy from the Hurricanes, who were virtually locked in to playing in the first round of the conference tournament since beginning league play 1-8. In those early stumbles was an 82-70 loss to Tech Jan. 30, in which head coach Buzz Williams’ team shot 59 percent and Nickeil Alexander-Walker scored a season-high 25 points. Miami senior Anthony Lawrence scored a career-high 27 points in a Senior Night victory over Pitt; the Canes have needed his production recently with leading scorer Chris Lykes netting just 12 points on 4-of-23 shooting over his last two games.
VCU (24-6, 15-2 Atlantic 10) vs. St. Joseph’s (13-17, 6-11), 9 p.m. (ESPN2)
Do not overlook Phil Martelli’s team. The Hawks have won two of their last four with each of the two losses coming by one point. He also has the A-10’s top scorer in Charlie Brown Jr. But while the sophomore forward averages 19 points per game, he’s not getting a ton of help: the team ranks 12th in the league in shooting and is last at defending the three. But shooting from beyond the arc is one of the few things VCU does not do well this year (13th, 30.4 percent). But St. Joe’s home/road splits in the A-10 are brutal: They’re just 1-7 away from Philly. And the Siegel Center is not an easy place to play.
Saturday’s Games
George Mason (16-14, 10-7 Atlantic 10) at George Washington (8-22, 4-13), 2 p.m.
The Orange Line Rivalry is renewed with the Patriots making the trek into Foggy Bottom. When GW has been good, there’s no place inside the beltway that rocks like the Smith Center: the fans are right on top of the court (and media row) and it’s a great vibe. This year’s Colonials have not been good, having lost eight of nine. Can Mason rebound from getting blasted to bits at home on Senior Night?
“Twenty-five years as a head coach I’d like to say I’ve never had a game like this, but I have,” said Patriots head coach Dave Paulsen. “I’ve had teams have this game: a rivalry game, at home, get embarrassed … and I’ve had that team bounce back and win a conference championship. I’ve also had teams that get embarrassed like that kind of put their head down and have a ‘Woe is me’ attitude.”
Otis Livingston II needs to find a way out of his recent slump (averaging six points on 5-of-24 shooting over the last three games) for GMU to find its way back.
Georgetown (18-12, 8-9 Big East) at No. 16 Marquette (23-7, 12-5), 2:30 p.m. (FOX)
Whatever vibe the Hoyas had after last weekend’s thrilling, double-overtime win over Seton Hall, it’s gone, likely along with any hope of an at-large bid. Losses to DePaul are not ideal; a 101-69 thumping is beyond disastrous. A win would have kept head coach Patrick Ewing’s team in third place — instead they begin the weekend in seventh. Now they face a Golden Eagles team that has lost three straight, handing first place to Villanova. Marquette took the matchup in D.C. 74-71 thanks to 31 points from Sam Hauser, as the conference’s leading scorer Markus Howard left the game with lower back tightness after three scoreless minutes. As Jessie Govan goes, so go the Hoyas: The senior averages 20 points and 9 rebounds in the team’s Big East wins, while netting 15 points with 7 assists in their conference defeats.
No. 2 Virginia (27-2, 15-2 ACC) vs. Louisville (19-11, 10-7), 4 p.m. (ESPN)
The Cavaliers are coming off a 79-53 thumping of Syracuse, in which they used a 27-3 run in the second half to take the lead for good, blow the game open and, lastly, give the Orange a major inferiority complex. U.Va. still needs a need a win to wrap up the top seed in the ACC Tournament, as they’d lose the tiebreaker with Duke and North Carolina in the case of a three-way tie. The Cardinals haven’t won consecutive games since Jan. 30, and those consecutive wins were against Pitt and Wake Forest. Just to show that stifling defense isn’t just a VCU thing, head coach Tony Bennett’s team leads the ACC in scoring defense, field goal defense and stopping the three. U.Va. won the previous matchup this winter 64-52 after holding Louisville to 15 second-half points. They also got 26 points from De’Andre Hunter that day.
Richmond (12-18, 6-11 Atlantic 10) vs. Davidson (22-8, 13-4), 6 p.m. (ESPN+)
The Spiders take a three-game losing streak into the final weekend, needing a victory or a St. Joseph’s loss to avoid playing in the dreaded first round of the A-10 Tournament. A less-than-effective defense is a major reason why they’re going to finish under .500 for the second straight year. Richmond ranks last in defensive field goal percentage and are 11th in stopping the three-pointer. The Wildcats are led by Kellan Grady and Jon Axel Gudmundsson who rank second and third in the conference in scoring; while Richmond held both in check earlier this winter it was freshman Luke Frampton who came alive with 24 points in a 75-62 Davidson triumph. Frampton leads the A-10 in threes per game and the Wildcats are the league’s best three-point shooting team.
