By CHUCKIE MAGGIO
Virginia Commonwealth has experienced something of an offensive revival recently.
VCU has epitomized “defensive struggle” for most of the season, ranking 14th in the country in opponent points per game and 280th in scoring itself. The Rams did not record 80 points in a single non-conference game for the first time since 1997-98 and have not performed well at the foul line this year, making just 68.6 percent of their free throws. St. Bonaventure thumped Mike Rhodes’s team 73-53 at the Reilly Center on Jan. 14, at that point its fewest points allowed since the season opener.
An 85-point outburst at George Mason on Feb. 12, fueled by 18-point performances from Adrian “Ace” Baldwin Jr. and Vince Williams Jr., started to shift the narrative that the Rams couldn’t score. They shot 55.6 percent from the field and, though long-range shooting is not their specialty, they made nine 3-pointers in 20 attempts. Baldwin dished a season-high 10 assists.
Though VCU has not reached 80 since that afternoon at Eagle Bank Arena, its offense is more potent than it was previously. The Rams are averaging 74.4 points a contest and have compiled seven 40-point halves over their seven-game win streak. They feel they are a better team than they were during that nationally televised rout at the Reilly Center.
“I just think offensive execution, executing the offensive game plan and running some of our stuff just better with emphasis,” Rhoades told the Richmond Times-Dispatch. “I think that’s been huge since the last time we played [St. Bonaventure].”
The Bonnies visit the Siegel Center this time, likely without star center Osun Osunniyi, for an 8:30 p.m. tip on Tuesday. The matchup could serve as a de-facto elimination game for an NCAA Tournament at-large bid, with each March Madness hopeful sitting on the proverbial “bubble.”
VCU, currently standing second in the Atlantic 10, holds a 6-6 record against Quadrant 1 opponents in the NCAA Evaluation Tool and is 9-1 in true road games. The Rams are 16-3 since Baldwin returned from an Achilles injury, their losses coming to the other three teams in the league’s top four- Davidson, Dayton and Bonaventure.
“They’re shooting the ball much better. Their offense is much better,” Bonnies coach Mark Schmidt remarked. “They turn the ball over a little bit but they play so fast. … Like every team, either you get better or you get worse. They’re a team that’s getting better as the season goes along and getting more comfortable, just playing their style. They stay with it and they’re very successful at it.”
The Rams have, as Schmidt noted, experienced turnover trouble. They gave the ball away 17 times against UMass this past Saturday, contributing to a tie for 26th in the nation in most turnovers per game. Bona turned VCU over 13 times in Western New York, including eight steals. VCU is third in the conference in possessions per 40 minutes according to KenPom.com, while the Bonnies rank 10th.
Schmidt termed Osunniyi a “game-time decision.” But a three-day turnaround would surprise everyone, from viewers who watched the injury unfold to Osunniyi’s sister Alex, who wrote on social media after speaking with her brother that he would “definitely be out a few games.”
Williams Jr., VCU’s leading scorer, also left early on Saturday with an ankle injury, but Rhodes downplayed the ailment by calling it a “little sprain” and said he would practice Monday. The 6-foot-6 senior is averaging 15 points and shooting 47.5 percent from 3-point range during the win streak, including a 3-for-5 night from beyond the arc in a 20-point handling of archrival Richmond.
The Bonnies matched the Rams in the paint last meeting, 24-24. Osunniyi played 36 of the 40 minutes that night, with Abdoul Karim Coulibaly seeing just four minutes of action.
While VCU has not had much in-game experience against Bona’s backup big, the Bonnies have experienced the Rams’ defensive pressure plenty. SBU committed just three turnovers in the second half the first go-around, while Jalen Adaway led all scorers with 25 points on just 14 shots.
Adaway has averaged 16.7 points on 48 percent shooting in his career against VCU, with a 3-1 record. Bona has won three of its last four against Rhodes’s charges, falling by just three points in last year’s road game.
“Experience is an important factor in anything you do, no matter what you’re doing,” Schmidt acknowledged. “The more experience you have, the better off you’re gonna be, so we’re lucky we have veteran guys that have played in big games, that understand what’s at stake. They’ve played in pressure situations.”
Playing in enemy territory without Osunniyi ramps the pressure up a little more.
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