Past performance is no guarantee of future success in men’s college basketball, although it often seems that way.
VCU has made the NCAA Tournament 13 times under five different head coaches since 2003, making one wonder what went wrong during the Mack McCarthy era. Meanwhile, Ryan Odom rose through the coaching ranks to lead both UMBC and Utah State to the Big Dance early in his tenures at both schools.
When Mike Rhoades left VCU for Penn State last offseason, Odom and the Rams seemed like a perfect match.
But it’s been a rocky start. The Rams lost their season opener to McNeese, had a stretch in nonconference play when they dropped four of five (they did exact revenge against former Coach Rhoades and his new team Penn State) and then lost their first two Atlantic 10 games — both at home on the Siegel Center floor.
The defending A-10 Tournament Champions could ill afford an 0-3 start in league play and it looked as if they were on their way Tuesday at George Mason. But somehow, despite shooting 6-26 with six turnovers in the second half, VCU ended the game on a 9-2 run to scrape its way past the Patriots 54-50.
Quite a contrast from the Rams’ previous game, when George Washington made its final nine shots over the last eight minutes of regulation in an 84-82 VCU loss.
“We had showed our guys a lot of film of times where we didn’t [defend well] — we didn’t make the other team beat us,” Odom said. “I think sometimes just being solid is best.”
Max Shulga’s free throws with 1:14 left in regulation put the Rams ahead to stay.
“It means a lot — especially because our defense hasn’t been up to standard in our last couple of games,” Shulga said. “So that was the main focus coming into this game. It means a lot having a grit and grind type of game and winning a game like this — especially away.”
Shulga is one of three players who followed Odom from Utah State to VCU. Four other transfers plus one freshman join the five players from last year’s roster who stayed with the Rams. The “getting to know you” part of the new coach’s first year is far from over.
“We’re only three games into the conference season and we’re still beginning to figure out our rotations, and who’s playing when and who’s playing with whom,” Odom said. “It’s unfortunate that that’s where we’re at but that is where we’re at. All we can control is our response to the circumstances that we’ve been dealt right now. And I think tonight was a good example of our guys doing that.”
The Rams are on the road for three of their next five games before hosting Richmond on Feb. 3, and thanks to this clutch win, they head into that stretch armed with the confidence that their efforts can and do provide positive tangible results.
“There’s no question about that,” Odom said. “I mean, once you see yourself winning at the end and you’re able to get it done, that can breed confidence in the next time you’re in those situations.”
Starting Five:
Up Top (Thoughts about this week’s AP Top 25 and my ballot): Purdue remains No. 1 in the nation (and on my ballot), with Houston moving past Kansas into the No. 2 spot this week. I still have the Jayhawks No. 2, but don’t worry, those two schools will play twice over the next two months.
Brace yourself for a ballot shake-up as the Boilermakers, Cougars, Jayhawks and No. 5 Tennessee have all lost since Monday. My biggest variances? I’ve got No. 25 Texas 15th and do not have No. 16 Auburn ranked this week.
The Tigers lead off my difficult omissions list, with Clemson, Creighton and FAU also landing just on the outside. Small school shout-outs: Utah State, Colorado State, Dayton and James Madison.
Going Inside (The Beltway to focus one of the schools that plays inside Interstate 495): George Washington finished 16-16 in Coach Chris Caputo’s first season at the helm. GW is well on its way to improving on that this winter.
GW’s 12-3 (1-1 Atlantic 10) start has been sparked by returning guards James Bishop IV and Maximus Edwards, and that duo has been helped by transfers Darren Buchanan Jr. (Virginia Tech) and Garrett Johnson (Princeton). Bishop is the reigning A-10 Player of the Week while Buchanan and Johnson have each been named Rookie of the Week this season.
GW leads the conference in scoring (83.2 points per game) and even though GW allows the most points per game in the A-10 (75.8), the Revolutionaries rank 3rd in opponents FG% while they’re 6th best at defending the three.
Next up? Offensively challenged Davidson (15th in the conference in scoring, 12th in shooting, 13th from three) stops by the Smith Center on Saturday at 2 p.m.
On the Perimeter (What’s happening in the Commonwealth? Annapolis?): Virginia Tech (10-5, 2-2 ACC) beat No. 21 Clemson 87-72 on Wednesday behind 32 points from Sean Pedulla and some torrid three-point shooting (Pedulla made 6-10 shots from outside the arc while UNC transfer Tyler Nickel sunk 5-7 shots from downtown).
While this year’s team can make noise from outside, center Lynn Kidd (15 points and 7 rebounds per game) leads the ACC by making 65% of his shots (and like an old school big man, the senior has yet to attempt a three — in his career).
Almost halfway through the regular season, the Hokies’ five losses thus far look better by the day: Wake Forest and Florida State are a combined 6-2 in the ACC while Auburn and Florida Atlantic are both ranked this week (South Carolina is also receiving votes). The next week has three games against conference contenders Miami, NC State and Virginia.
Who’s Open (Spotlighting a team/teams/player/matchup/oddity to keep your eye on): Maryland (9-6, 1-3 Big Ten) reaches the midway point of its season Thursday evening when the Terps host Michigan. What gives Coach Kevin Willard confidence they’ll bounce back from a subpar start in conference play?
“That just every day in practice they’ve brought a great attitude and a great work ethic,” Willard said earlier this week. “We’ve struggled at times but they’ve brought a great attitude and they continue to work every day, so that’s where I get my belief in them.”
While quite a bit has been made about the Terps’ offensive issues (348th nationally in three-point shooting, 15 first half turnovers this past Sunday at Minnesota), the D is earning a B+, if not better.
“We haven’t been able to press. We haven’t been able to set up our defense as much as we probably would like to,” Willard said. “The fact that we’ve continued to make it hard for teams to score, I think is something I’m really excited that if we can ever start scoring on a consistent basis … that would be really good for us.”
After meeting Michigan, a gauntlet awaits: trips to No. 10 Illinois and Northwestern (the Wildcats have beaten No. 1 Purdue and Michigan State at home this winter), plus a Sunday matinee with Michigan State.
Last Shot (Game to watch — even if I can’t make it courtside on WTOP): Saturday at 6 p.m., George Mason (13-3, 2-1 Atlantic 10) completes its January double-dip of teams from the Commonwealth’s capital by visiting Richmond (10-5, 2-0).
A few days after shooting 0-15 from three and staggering to 50 points against VCU, the Patriots try to score against the Atlantic 10’s stingiest defense (64.3 points allowed per game) while attempting to slow down Jordan King (18 points per game and 40% from three-point range). And that’s after driving down I-95 to get to the Robins Center.
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