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It was the most stunning loss of an otherwise sensational season, and the Rams haven’t forgotten it. On Feb. 4 of last year, VCU delivered an uninspired performance at Trask Coliseum and left with a puzzling, 81-72 loss to a dreadful UNC Wilmington team. Nearly a year later to the day, the defeat still feels fresh. Much like last year, the Rams routed the Seahawks at the Siegel Center earlier this season, 91-57. In addition, UNCW (7-16, 3-8 CAA) has lost seven of eight and recently parted ways with Coach Benny Moss. Twenty-nine year old Assistant Brooks Lee has been named interim head coach and will lead the Seahawks on Wednesday. All signs point to a VCU victory, but that’s what the Rams thought last year before UNC Wilmington landed a haymaker. “We’re going to be bringing it up all week,” Junior Joey Rodriguez said. “We went down there last year with a poor attitude and we got it handed to us.” The Rams (15-5, 7-4 CAA) are tied for fourth place in the CAA and are coming off an 82-69 victory over Georgia State on Saturday. If they want one of the CAA’s top four seeds, winning Wednesday’s game is a must. Looming on the horizon is arch-rival Old Dominion, which visits the Siegel Center on Saturday. However, the Rams were quick to shoot down any premature ODU talk. “At this point, with us being 7-4, every game from now on is that ODU game,” said Larry Sanders. “That’s how I’m going to see it. We’ve lost four games already. We can’t drop anymore.” Tip-off in Wilmington, N.C. is scheduled for 7 p.m. Fans can listen to the game on 107.3 WBBT or at VCUAthletics.com.
However, Skeen has been practicing and is expected to play Wednesday at UNC Wilmington. “I think he’s okay,” VCU Coach Shaka Smart said after Saturday’s win. “Somebody came down on his thumb, but he should be fine.” THE GSU GRIND The Rams took a 13-point lead into the locker room, but saw the Panthers shrink that cushion to three late in the second half. An 18-5 burst in the closing minutes secured the VCU victory, but it’s clear that there’s room for improvement. “We’re happy about the win and all, but that little spurt we had where we started getting a lot of turnovers, we’ve got to play like that for 40 minutes if we want to beat some of the top-ranked teams in the league,” Rodriguez said. “We’ve got a lot of work to do.” In the second half, Georgia State began denying the ball to point guards Joey Rodriguez and Darius Theus, forcing post players T.J. Gwynn and Larry Sanders to handle it. Coupled with physical defense from the Panthers, VCU committed 15 second-half turnovers and managed just 11 points during the first 13:30 of the period. “We just made some sloppy, sluggish plays,” Smart said. “Usually, I’m fine with throwing the ball back to T.J. Gwynn and him bringing it up against a four-man. He’s pretty good with the ball. Larry handled it a little more than we’d like, but he’s usually pretty good there too. I think he’s just got to keep it simple once he gets across halfcourt. Our perimeter guys need to do a better job of getting open in those spots.” All told, it’s still a win for the Rams, who got a physical test a week before meeting Old Dominion, a bruising, defensive-minded squad. Smart hopes that Saturday’s experience pays dividends down the road. “If we learn from it, it can be a valuable experience,” Smart said. “I told the guys in the locker room that the best learning experience is when you don’t play your best, but you still win. I’d much rather learn from a 16-point win than an ‘L’, but it takes a mature group and mature individual to do that.” BIG DAY FOR DARIUS In the last four games, Theus has averaged 14.3 minutes, a nod to his increased productivity and maturity. “Darius was terrific,” Smart said. “He continues to grow as a player. He is learning when to really attack and when to pull the ball back and get us into offense. I think he’s learning that he can impact the game as much, or more, on the defensive end…he’s quietly become one of our better perimeter defenders.” WINTER WARRIORS Although the crowd was about 2,000 short of VCU’s season average, it was still the second largest CAA crowd of the weekend. The drop-off didn’t hurt the Siegel Center atmosphere much. “I came in expecting nothing spectacular. I thought it was pretty loud in there,” Rodriguez said. “I give our crowd respect, because I heard them. Coach [Mike] Rhoades told us before the game that there were students that walked three miles to the game and it took them an hour to get there. That pumped us up. I would’ve watched the game on TV.” Questions or comments? E-mail us at aroundthehorns@yahoo.com or look us up on Facebook. |
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CLEAN SKEEN
Freshman Darius Theus scored all of his career-high 10 points in the first half and sparked the Rams to a 45-32 halftime lead against Georgia State. Theus finished with 10 points, two assist and three critical steals. All rights reserved.
