Another Week, Another Docket in the Works! Welcome to the week of December 3^rd, 2018 and GOODNESS IT’S A BIG ONE! The first week of December has VCU Men’s and Women’s Basketball sitting at 6-2 overall. Both teams are on the road over the next 7 days and plan on returning to Broad Street with some significant wins. Enough intro sentences…what’s on the Docket this week?

VCU Women’s Basketball: On The Road Again

A pair of wins for VCU Women’s Basketball finished November on a high note while rolling into December. VCU defended the Siegel Center against UNCW in a 58-47 victory that held the Seahawks to 25% shooting from the field.

Defense came up big once again for the Rams on the road at Georgetown. A battle between two of the top 15 defenses in the country, VCU held off the Hoyas 47-45 for their second road victory of the season. VCU locked down Georgetown to 32% from the field and 23% at the three on 3-of-13 shooting.

At this point of the season, VCU Women’s Basketball has held their last 8 opponents to an average of 30% from the field and 23% behind the three-point line. VCU also has the #6 scoring defense in the country! Is HAVOC amongst the women’s basketball ranks? It sure looks like it at 6-2 overall. Only one game for the Rams this week on the docket against some good competition.

At Cincinnati (5-4)

The Bearcats have lost 2 consecutive games and return home for a recollect after a mid-week game at Miami (OH). Cincinnati is led by senior guard Nikira Goings (11.4 PPG) and junior guard Antoinette Miller (10.1). Their defense is not top tier, however, Cincinnati is game for going after rebounds (37.1 RPG). VCU is capable of leaving with the victory but the Bearcats will not make the game an easy one by any stretch.

Besides defense, VCU continues working with their offense sharing the rock. Tera Reed leads the Rams with 11.5 PPG and now VCU is getting more buckets out of other options outside of Reed. Sydnei Archie and Taya Robinson are starting to gel while putting up points and passing the ball around the court. Archie is also seen in the paint alongside Sofya Pashigoreva and Nyra Williams fighting for rebounds.

Head Coach Beth O’Boyle also has a lot of depth that can switch out and keep the productivity at a high level. That’s one of the keys why VCU does has their defense ranked in the top 10 nationally. And that defense looks to take their third road win of the year at Cincinnati on Friday.🏀

Friday, December 7^th: VCU at Cincinnati (7 PM)

VCU Men’s Basketball: Two Games Rams Have Been Waiting For!

Last week started sour but ended well for VCU Men’s Basketball. Old Dominion mustered the 2^ndhalf comeback for their first win over VCU in 3 years at the Ted Center 62-52. Iona felt the wrath of the Rams as VCU reestablished themselves against the Gaels at Siegel. HAVOC was angry and forced 23 Iona turnovers in the 88-59 rout on Saturday night.

That win put some pep back in VCU’s shoes in preparation for this week. The docket has two of VCU’s most anticipated games of the year and the Rams are looking for BIG road wins to give Ram fans more to cheer about.

At Texas (5-2)

Hi Shaka Smart! 👋 Remember us? Oh yes, it’s VCU vs. #17 Texas! Actually, that rank from the Longhorns is long gone after Radford upset Texas 62-59 in Austin. So while some may be salty that Texas dropped the ball, VCU is hopeful that they can make it two consecutive upsets in the Frank Erwin Center.

Texas is kinda sorta similar to VCU in a sense. The Longhorns have a good defense and a shaky offense that is capable of getting hot or freeze over. Sound familiar? Leading Texas is Kerwin Roach II at guard who prefers shooting from mid-range but has three-point shot when working. Texas doesn’t have Mo Bamba (thankfully…) anymore and yet Shaka still has 6’9 senior forward Dylan Osetkowski still rebounding and causing chaos at the basket.

This is not a good three-point shooting Texas team (29% from three) so VCU’s perimeter defense can be an advantage for the Rams with the right amount of pressure. Don’t expect another cold shooting night for Texas like the one they had versus Radford (18.5% from 3, 5-of-27). I mean…if it happens again I’m not going to be mad about it one bit.

VCU’s mental game took a giant leap after the Iona game. In this contest, the Rams must continue holding each other accountable while limiting turnovers once again. Evans and Vann will need to lead the offense while Douglas and Santos-Silva must establish VCU’s paint game early to give the Rams a shot of landing the upset against their former protégé.

At #4 UVA (8-0)

The second-best defense nationally awaits VCU on Sunday in Charlottesville. UVA is looking as elite as the Cavaliers did last season…besides that historical #16 UMBC upset in the NCAA Tournament as the #1 overall seed.

This year head coach Tony Bennett has UVA playing at their pace and giving opponents limited opportunities. Virginia has only 63 turnovers in 8 games and outscoring their opponents by +23.3 points. VCU has fond memories of Ty Jerome (13.6 PPG) and Kyle Guy (13.3 PPG) at the Siegel Center once upon a time.

Speed kills and so can the Rams if their game plan is play quick. VCU’s task will be to make the game uncomfortable for UVA with their high tempo and aggressive defense. If successfully, Virginia could be rattled and that could give the Rams a fighting chance with production from their Ram Army.

It’s no surprise that VCU is the clear underdog in this scenario. Fortunately, VCU did leave John Paul Jones Arena with a 59-56 win back in 2013 thanks to a Treveon Graham 3-pointer with 1.1 seconds left. Can lightning strike twice in Charlottesville? Here’s to hoping on Sunday. 🏀

Wednesday, December 5^th: VCU at Texas (8 PM, TV: ESPNU)

Sunday, December 9^th: VCU at #4 Virginia (1:30 PM, TV: ACC TV)

Andddddd…that’s the Docket! A huge week for the Black & Gold and fingers crossed for 3 road victories. What? We’re Greedy… Good luck Rams and make sure to tune in on the television for cheering purposes. Making a couple of road trips? Safe Travels! Check back into VCUSports.com for updates and hit our Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram! GO RAMS as always! #LetsGoVCU 🐏

Mark Turner

Mark graduated from VCU in 2014 with a major in Criminal Justice and a minor in Psychology. He started as a fan of the Black & Gold in the stands his freshman year. Mark was known as "Kazie" for his charismatic fandom with the VCU's student organization the Rowdy Rams. While at VCU he gained experience in sports media with WVCW on a sports radio show called Rowdy Radio. Following graduation, Mark continued crafting his social media skills with the Richmond Kickers while also handling VCU coverage. He is a true fan of the Rams and vocally passionate on and off camera. After the final whistle, you can probably find him at local RVA bar or brewery enjoying a drink and conversation.