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The fourth seed in the Colonial Athletic Association Tournament, and the first-round bye that is attached to it, seemed like a pipe dream two days ago. That was, of course, until an unlikely series of dominos began falling. First, there was first-place Northeastern’s loss on its home floor to seventh-place Hofstra on Tuesday. On Wednesday, William & Mary fell in Williamsburg, Va. to a 7-20 Towson squad. Suddenly, VCU (20-7, 11-6 CAA) found itself in a fourth-place tie with the Tribe (19-9, 11-6 CAA) with a very real shot at staying there. If the season ended today, the Rams would own the No. 4 seed, based on tiebreakers. But the season doesn’t end today and it’s not nearly that simple. The scenario has painted Saturday’s VCU-Old Dominion game, a contest between arch rivals, with an even greater importance. Here are your tiebreaker scenarios, as they affect the Rams. Saturday, William & Mary will be at UNC Wilmington and Northeastern will be at George Mason (trust us, it’s important): If VCU wins and William & Mary loses, VCU will be the No. 4 seed. If VCU loses and William & Mary wins, William & Mary will be the No. 4 seed. If both VCU and William & Mary lose, VCU will be the No. 4 seed. Here’s where it gets complicated. If VCU, William & Mary and Northeastern all win, William & Mary will receive the No. 4 seed. The Rams and Tribe split their season series. The next tiebreaker is record versus the first place team. If VCU beats Old Dominion and Northeastern wins, the Huskies will win the No. 1 seed and the Tribe will be fourth, based on their victory over Northeastern earlier this season. If VCU and William & Mary win, but Northeastern loses, VCU will be the No. 4 seed. Got all that? The prospect of the No. 4 seed seemed so bleak a week ago that many of the Rams players had put it out of their mind. When asked about the possibility of playing for the seed following Wednesday’s win over James Madison, Joey Rodriguez offered surprise. “Oh really? That’s cool,” Rodriguez said. “It’s nice to get a break, but I’ve been thinking these last couple of weeks that we’re going to have to play four games anyway. Four games is alright with me. It’s less practice.” On Wednesday, Rodriguez came out gunning, scoring 11 of the Rams’ first 13 points on the way to the second-highest scoring night of his career. He hit 8-of-14 field goals, including 3-of-5 3-pointers. “The shoulder was pretty good,” Rodriguez said. “They were going under ball screens, so every time they go under ball screens, I’m going to shoot it. Coach tells me to and that’s what I’m going to do.” GWYNN GETS HIS WIN “There’s been some great players that have come through VCU,” Gwynn, who finished five points and four rebounds, said. “I’m just honored to have it in my name, alone.” That doesn’t mean there aren’t others eyeing the number one spot. Following Gwynn’s comments on the record, Rodriguez quipped, “Anyone know how far off the junior class is?” The Rams’ current juniors can claim 68 victories, leaving them 28 short of Gwynn’s mark. Gwynn and fellow senior Kirill Pishchalnikov were honored in a moving ceremony prior to tip-off. Both players received a deafening ovation from a crowd of nearly 6,900 when they were introduced for what will likely be their final collegiate home game. “It was great, it was one of a kind,” Gwynn said. “It was very emotional for me. I shed a couple of tears before tip-off. I couldn’t help it.” 100,000 IS A CROWD JROD ON THE MOVE UP THE CHARTS Questions or comments? E-mail us at aroundthehorns@yahoo.com or look us up on Facebook. |
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MEN’S BASKETBALL NOTES: FOURTH SEED WITHIN REACH
JOEY MENDSAll rights reserved.
