VCU Rams 2012-2013 Season

[VCURamFan]

A little change of pace:

So I took my daughter to a VCU game…

I’ve been wanting to bring my daughter to a VCU game for some time now, but for one reason or another, it just hadn’t happened. Until tonight.

My daughter is three, but is the height of a five year old, so maybe she’s the next Quanitra Hollingsworth, who knows.

That said, all be it early, she currently has about zero interest in doing anything for a living that isn’t being a princess. Chalk that up to gramma, or society, cause she certainly didn’t get it from her parents, but we love it, and we love her, and damn it if she wants to be a princess then I will start saving to get her in whatever that college was that Kate Middleton was enrolled in when she met Prince William.

However, that gives me another 15 years to present her with as many other options as possible, and tonight she got a chance to be inspired by some some new princess, or as she calls them “basketball girls”.
I shot some crummy video of the trip, and it looks like this…

http://www.vcuramnation.com/2012/11/...to-a-vcu-game/

And parents, especially those of young girls like myself, I highly recommend you take your kids to see the women’s hoops team sometime this season. It’s an extremely affordable and family friendly experience with a great chance to see some real role models for your kids.

Oh and by the way, VCU won tonight by 24 points. Their star freshman, Jessica Pellechio scored 30…yes, 30 points! It was the Rams first win of the season.

I like to think a lot of that success had to do with their new good luck charm.

[VCURamFan]

VCU defeats No.19 Memphis, gets ready for No.5 Duke

VCU defeated No.19 Memphis in tonight’s opening round of the Battle 4 Atlantis tournament, a game that saw the Rams’ fast-paced havoc system and a youth movement lead them to the big 78-65 upset win.

The Rams came out firing on all cylinders, out-running and wreaking havoc on the Tigers to the tune of a 14-point halftime advantage.

After watching their lead cut to just two with 4:06 left on the clock, VCU went on a 12-0 run behind junior Rob Brandenberg and sophomore Treveon Graham, and punched their ticket to a semi-final matchup against the 5th-ranked Duke Blue Devils.

Graham lead all players with 26 points on the evening, a career high.

The sophomore expected to fill much of the void left by the graduation of senior Bradford Burgess, hit a layup to give the Rams a four-point lead with 3:49 to play, then put the nail in the coffin with a rare four-point play, giving the Rams a 14-point lead with just 1:25 left on the game clock.

Rob Brandenberg was huge during that stretch as well, hitting two threes in a matter of 44 seconds, giving the junior guard 15 points on a perfect 5-5 from long range for the evening.

The Rams once again lead the turnover battle, getting 22 out of Memphis, 14 coming from VCU steals.

The black and gold turned the ball over 17 times themselves in tonight’s track meet, but blasted Memphis from long range, hitting 13-of-22 three balls, a ridiculous 59.1% clip, good for 11 more makes than the Tigers who hit just 2-of-7 on the night.

VCU sharpshooter Troy Daniels accounted for the threes Graham and Brandenberg weren’t hitting, taking all of his eight shots from behind the line and hitting four of those attempts, good for 12 points in the win.

The Rams will advance to take on an undefeated Duke (4-0) squad who dispatched Minnesota earlier today 89-71.

Game tips Friday at 7PM on NBC Sports Network.

GRAHAM, RAMS TAKE DOWN 19TH-RANKED MEMPHIS, 78-65

The Basics
Score: VCU 78, #19 Memphis 65
Record: VCU (3-1), Memphis (2-1)
Location: Imperial Arena - Atlantis Resorts - Nassau, Bahamas
The Short Story: Behind a career-high 26 points from Treveon Graham and 13 three-pointers, the Rams took down 19th-ranked Memphis, 78-65, in the first round of the Battle 4 Atlantis tournament. HAVOC reigned supreme on the resort island, forcing the Tigers into 22 turnovers and notching 14 more steals. Sophomore Rob Brandenberg drilled a career-high five three-pointers in the victory.
VCU STARTERS: #10 Darius Theus, #15 Juvonte Reddic, #21 Treveon Graham, #30 Troy Daniels, #33 DJ Haley
MEMPHIS STARTERS: #0 Ferrakohn Hall, #1 Joe Jackson, #3 Chris Crawford, #4 Adonis Thomas, #10 Tarik Black

How It Happened

• From the tip, Havoc was on display, forcing turnovers from Memphis on four of their first six possessions as the Rams ran out 12-4 lead on back-to-back three-pointers from Graham and senior Troy Daniels.
• More turnovers and more three-pointers, this time from Graham and Brandenberg, helped the Black & Gold claim its largest lead of the game at 16, 35-19, with 6:15 remaining in the first half.
• Back-and-forth buckets sent the teams into the halftime break with VCU leading 42-28.
• As expected, the Tigers didn't go away quietly, fighting back in the start of the second half to get within three at 50-47 with 12:12 left.
• That's when Graham stepped up and hit a huge three-pointer and was fouled to push VCU's lead back to seven at 54-47.
• Once again, Memphis would respond, going inside and getting three straight buckets, including a jumper from Tarik Black that brought the Tigers within two at 63-61 with just over four minutes to play.
• But once again, VCU answered with a huge layup from Graham and two back-breaking three-pointers from Brandenberg that ultimately sealed the deal and secured the 78-65 upset for the Black & Gold.

Beyond the Box Score

• The Rams are now 5-3 against top-25 teams under Coach Smart and company.
• VCU has now taken down a top-25 in each of Coach Smart's four seasons at VCU.
• For the first time in school history, the Rams hit 13 or more three-pointers in back-to-back games.
• VCU is now shooting 55.3% from beyond the arc in the two games outside of the Siegel Center.
• The Rams have now record 14 or more steals in three of their four games this season.

COMING UP NEXT:

• VCU takes on fifth-ranked Duke in the second round of the Battle 4 Atlantis. Game time in Nassau is set for 7 p.m. on NBC Sports Network.

http://espn.go.com/video/clip?id=espn:8664251

[kevint13]

Good luck with Duke tonight!

[VCURamFan]

Cold Rams fall to Duke

The Rams had a very un-VCU like start to tonight’s second round Battle 4 Atlantis game against the 5th-ranked Duke Blue Devils, and behind an offense that struggled to hit shots, came up short in tonight’s 67-58 loss.

VCU has made a living under Shaka Smart with a fast-paced havoc system that turns teams over on the regular, but saw just eight turnovers on the evening from the mature Blue Devil squad.

To make things worse, VCU struggled to make baskets in the half court, connecting on just 33% of their attempts, 4-of-20 from long range just a night after the Rams shot 59% from three to defeat Memphis.

With all of their offensive struggles however, the Rams kept things close, watching a one-point halftime deficit balloon to that of a 12 point disadvantage with just over 14 minutes to play.

VCU fought back over the following five minutes, cutting the Duke lead to just four with 9:21 on the clock.

Down six with 7:56 left to play, VCU reverted to the poor free throw shooting team we last saw against Wichita State, missing six straight attempts, including the front end of two one-and-ones, a devastating portion of a scoreless 5:17 for the Rams.

The Coach K led squad outshot VCU 9-2 from the free throw stripe over the final 5 minutes of the game.

Juvonte Reddic led the Rams with 16 points and 13 rebounds, his second double-double of this young season.

Treveon Graham kicked in 16 as well. The sophomore added eight rebounds, five of which coming on the offensive end of the court.

Rob Brandenberg had nine points and five rebounds for the Rams. Brandenberg was a bright for for VCU at the free throw stripe, hitting all of his five attempts, but went 0-5 from long range after hitting a perfect 5-5 the previous night.

The Rams will take on the loser of #13 Missouri and #2 Louisville at 7PM tomorrow on NBC Sports Network in the battle for third place of this season’s stacked Battle 4 Atlantis tournament.

[VCURamFan]

Rams drop close one to No.13 Missouri

VCU dropped their second-straight loss to a ranked opponent, this time falling to No.13 Missouri in a tight 68-65 battle in the Bahamas.

Like the previous night’s matchup against No.5 Duke, the Rams struggled to hit shots, but behind a tight defensive effort remained within reach of knocking of their SEC opponent.

VCU trailed most of the evening, but took the lead late behind two made Darius Theus free throws.

The teams traded leads five times within the next two minutes, including big threes hit by Briante Weber with 1:36 to play, quickly followed by a Phil Pressey three that gave Missouri the lead for good with 1:18 on the clock.

Down just one, the Rams had a chance for a game winner, but Pressey again came up big for the Tigers, hitting an acrobatic jumper with just 15 ticks on the clock, a shot that increased the Mizzou lead to 3.

The Rams moved to 3-3 on the season after their 1-2 Bahamas showing.

VCU didn’t pick up as many wins as desired, but gained national respect from major analysts for their ability to play with two of the top ranked teams in the country.

The Rams head back to Richmond for a home tip against Stetson this Wednesday at 7:30PM.

[VCURamFan]

Rams and Reddic handle the Hatters

First things first. There is no post game interview footage in this one, strictly highlights. I don’t know what was going on with the post game sound tonight but it was all over the place, so we opted to scrap that portion and give you just the flash.

Now to the game…

After playing three ranked teams in three days, let’s be honest, this one was over before Stetson got off the airplane.

VCU dominated the paint into tonight’s 92-56 win over Stetson, getting a double-double (17 points and 10 rebounds) out of sophomore Jared Guest in just 16 minutes of play. Juvonte Reddic added a game-high 20 points of his own in just 21 minutes himself.

The Rams outrebounded the Hatters 41-31 in the win, and out outscored Stetson by 28 in the paint.

Havoc also made an appearance at tonight’s win, as the black and gold forced 22 turnovers, including a game-high four steals from both Briante Weber and Rob Brandenberg, VCU’s two other double-digit scorers on the evening.

Brandenberg dropped 17 points on 7-13 shooting, good for his fourth double-digit night in his past four games (he had nine points against Duke).

Weber added 11 of his own, and added five rebounds and four assists in the win.

VCU moves to 4-3 heading into a tough Saturday battle against the always underrated Belmont Bruins.

The Bruins come to the Siegel Center looking to to stay perfect on the road this season, having their last D1 road W at Stanford, 70-62.

(Highlight video of the game at the end of the article: http://www.vcuramnation.com/2012/11/...vcu-v-stetson/)

[VCURamFan]

Theus-less Rams best Belmont

For the first time ever the Rams welcomed The Belmont Bruins to the Stuart C. Siegel Center. The two teams both have a recent history of winning but it was the Rams that would get the win tonight, 75-65. The Rams would be without starting point guard Darius Theus due to injury.

Sophomore Treveon Graham led all Rams in scoring with 19 and Junior Juvonte Reddic followed behind with 17 points, marking the 7th time in 8 games that has reached double digits.

The Bruins actually have a higher rate of forcing turnovers which proves to be a crucial stat for the Rams. Luckily, tonight the Rams also won that battle.

Both teams struggled from the behind the arc in the first half, going a collective 0-16 until Belmont snuck in a half court buzzer beater to end the break. Senior Troy Daniels, who usually lights it up from downtown went 1-6 on the night scoring just 3 points not hitting his first bucket until 5:30 left in the game.

The Rams Havoc defensive was all but too much for the Bruins to handle as VCU ended the first half on a 18-3 run and with their largest lead, 39-21. The Shaka Smart led squad forced 24 turnovers compared to Belmont’s 15.

Belmont would not stay quiet for long as they were able to cut it to just a 6 point VCU lead with in the first 7 minutes of the second half.

Belmont would get it as close as just a 5 point VCU lead with 4:30 remaining. Junior Rob Brandenberg would hit a huge three pointer with just 3 minutes to give the Rams a 71-63 lead.

Belmont guard, Ian Clark, had a perfect night shooting 10 for 10 from the field and hitting his one and only free throw, chipping in 22 for his Bruins.
The Rams will go on the road down to Norfolk on Friday to play rivals, Old Dominion and then will return to the Siegel Center on Saturday, December 15th to welcome back former coach Anthony Grant as they take on the University of Alabama.

(Highlight video of the game at the end of the article: http://www.vcuramnation.com/2012/12/...feats-belmont/)

[VCURamFan]

Daniels dominates as Rams defeat Monarchs

Troy Daniels tied Bo Jones’ single-game three point record by hitting eight of his 13 attempts tonight as VCU dropped the struggling Old Dominion Monarchs (1-8) 83-70 in Norfolk.

Daniels hit double digits for the first time in five games, scoring 18 of his 24 points in the first half including a three pointer just 15 seconds into tonight’s game.

The Rams went 50% as a team from long range on the evening, and after a 13-point halftime lead, were able to keep their former CAA rival at a comfortable distance all evening.

Sophomore Treveon Graham added 23 points for VCU. Graham accounted for nine rebounds, seven of the offensive variety and hit eight of his 12 free throw attempts in the win.

Briante Weber handled the majority of the point guard duties for VCU as Darius Theus was worked in slowly while still recovering from a knee injury.

Weber lead all players with a career-high 10 assists to go with his nine rebounds, five steals and eight points for VCU.

The Rams move to 6-3 heading into a 4PM home matchup against former coach Anthony Grant and his Alabama Crimson Tide next Saturday.

VCU has won three straight heading into a four-game home stand.

[rearnakedchoke]

Where you at Max!!!

Not a good weekend for max .. ODU and BJ Penn getting owned .. eeek!!!

[VCURamFan]

Originally Posted by rearnakedchoke

Where you at Max!!!

Not a good weekend for max .. ODU and BJ Penn getting owned .. eeek!!!

coughcough coughcough