VCU Rams 2012-2013 Season

[County Mike]

They're going to be a favorite in the brackets this year.

At least in my bracket.

[Max]

Originally Posted by County Mike

They're going to be a favorite in the brackets this year.

At least in my bracket.

I could see that. As of March 1st they were a projected 7th seed in Joe Lunardi's bracket and they would play UVA in the first round. That is a game VCU shoudl win easily, if ODU can beat UVA then VCU is going to crush them. After that they would prob get Mich State and if they get past them I def think they will make it to the Elite 8.

[VCURamFan]

Originally Posted by Max

I could see that. As of March 1st they were a projected 7th seed in Joe Lunardi's bracket and they would play UVA in the first round. That is a game VCU shoudl win easily, if ODU can beat UVA then VCU is going to crush them. After that they would prob get Mich State and if they get past them I def think they will make it to the Elite 8.

Ah, but here comes MMA Math (I mean, NCAA Math) to bite us!

VCU beat ODU
ODU beat UVA
UVA beat Duke
Duke beat VCU



I love bracketology!!

[VCURamFan]

VCU’s late push helps knock off the Spiders, 93-82

Tonight marked the final time Ram Nation would get to see Seniors Darius Theus, Troy Daniels and David Hinton suit up at home as they hosted cross town rival, Richmond. After suffering an exhausting overtime loss about 5 weeks ago, at Richmond, VCU looked to build their momentum after getting a statement win against Butler on Saturday.

This night may have been for the Seniors but it was Sophomore Treveon Graham who would lead the team in scoring with 21 points. He would help lead a final 6-0 run with under two minutes that would solidify a Rams win, 93-82.

After giving the seniors the spotlight before tip off, both teams got off to a slow start with two minutes going off the clock before the game would see it’s first field goal. The Spiders, once again, would try to control the pace, this time with speed as they would push the ball, rendering Havoc useless at first, which led to a 9 point lead 10 minutes into the game.

With help from a few powerful put backs from Sophomore Jarred Guest, not even four minutes later the Rams would go on a run that would put themselves up by one, 26-25. Later, Junior Rob Brandenberg would nail a three as time would expire in the first half that found the Rams up by two, 43-41.

Both sides came out fighting to start the second half, exchanging leads for the first 11 minutes. Theus would nail a three to tie it up at 65 a piece with 10 minutes remaining. Freshman Melvin Johnson would put the Rams ahead by a pair while drawing a foul in the paint.

Richmond would once again find the open wingman, this time Terry Allen, for a corner shot to knot it up at 79 a piece with just 3 minutes left to go.
But that was almost the last bucket for the Spiders as the Rams would dominate the remaining 2 minutes, getting help from Junior Juvonte Reddic with 16 points and 9 rebounds. Theus also would hit the double digit mark in scoring with 13 along with Brandenberg’s 12.

Tonight’s game would see a lot of inside presence offensively for both teams. Both the Spiders and the Rams would get almost half their points from within the paint. Defensively, it was a different story around the basket as the Spiders would out rebound VCU 33-26. VCU and Richmond would shoot 55% and 54% respectively (59 shots to UR’s 55)

The won moved VCU to 24-6 (12-3 in A10 play). The Rams have one more stop before they head for Brooklyn for the Atlantic 10 tournament as they will travel to Philadelphia to play Temple on Saturday.

They haven't posted the HL Video yet, but I'll link that tomorrow.


The win's not the only big news of the night, though...

[VCURamFan]

VCU Wins Naismith Student Section of the Year Award

Atlanta, Ga., (March 6, 2013) – As the 2013 NCAA Division I Men's Basketball Championship® approaches, VCU has already earned one national title this season. The Collegiate Licensing Company (CLC), an affiliate of IMG College, and the Atlanta Tipoff Club today announced Virginia Commonwealth University (VCU) as the winner of the second annual Naismith Student Section of the Year Award.

A total of 158 schools representing 25 conferences submitted entries for the award, which was launched nationally on Jan. 17. The VCU basketball student section was selected after two rounds of public Facebook votes, combined with a scoring of finalists by the Naismith Awards Board of Selectors. Selection criteria for the top eight finalists included the student section's name and attendance, photos, video, a write-up submitted by the nominating school, a weighted score based on the public vote. VCU led the way into the final round of scoring with the highest vote tally throughout the first and second rounds of the public vote.

The Rowdy Rams outlasted the remaining candidates including Gonzaga, Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, Pitt, Purdue, and Saint Bonaventure, the Board of Selectors said, noting the 2,000-seat student section's unique traditions, including a the Rowdy Rams student section membership, screaming for the black and gold alert, the "Let's Go VCU" chant, and students waiting in line all day prior to tip-off.

"We have the best students and fans in the country, and we are thrilled to now have national recognition of what we have always known," said VCU Head Coach Shaka Smart. "Our student section stands by our team and is loud the entire game, giving us an unbelievable home-court advantage. We thank the Naismith Awards organization and CLC for establishing this unique award and selecting our VCU students."

The Naismith Student Section of the Year Award is dedicated to celebrating fans who love college hoops and provide support to their college basketball team with devotion and passion.

"In just the second year of the award, we are thrilled to have doubled the number of basketball schools that nominated their student section to be named the best fans in college basketball," said Eric Oberman, Executive Director of the Atlanta Tipoff Club. "We applaud VCU fans for displaying such passion, and we look forward to adding VCU Basketball to our storied Naismith Awards family."

"College basketball student sections love college hoops and bring the emotion, energy, and spirit that define the home court advantage, and we want to celebrate that," said Catherine Gammon, Senior Vice President of Brand Development for CLC. "We are proud to recognize the VCU Rowdy Rams as the winner of the Naismith Student Section of the Year Award and congratulate them on a tremendous effort to rally their fans to vote in this competition."

The award comes with a $10,000 cash prize, which VCU will donate to the University's general scholarship fund. A formal presentation of the award will take place at a home men's basketball game at the beginning of the 2013-14 season.

[VCURamFan]

Here's the HL video: http://www.vcuramnation.com/2013/03/...ival-richmond/

[VCURamFan]

VCU in NYC: HAVOC on the TODAY Show

At about 7:30 a.m. Friday, the Virginia Commonwealth University Pep Band, The Peppas, drove around Manhattan in New York City in a double-decker bus and even did this, from twitter:

@VCUathleticBand WE'RE ON THE TODAY SHOW RIGHT NOW!

Yes, HAVOC crashed the TODAY show (no, not the bus). Weatherman and NBC Network TV personality extraordinaire Al Roker even rode on the bus with the band during the Today Show appearance.

VCU plays today at 6:30 p.m. in the Atlantic-10 Men's Basketball Conference Tournament. The channel lineup in for today's game: Comcast (10), DirecTV (643), Dish Network (9515) & Verizon FiOS (575).

Boom:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=12yPmpAC76k

The play by play radio voice of the VCU Rams, Robby Robinson tweeted:
@RobbyVCU While your band was sleeping, @VCUathleticBand got up before the sun and provided about $500k worth of pub for #VCU. #thanks #LetsGoVCU

More Great Tweets about the appearance:

@hardlyworkin950: People literally dancing in the streets as @VCUathleticBand rocks Manhattan

@RobbyVCU: Are you kidding me???? America, meet @VCUathleticBand on #NBCTodayShow #LetsGoVCU

@VectorMedia: Yea that's right @alroker spread the #HAVOC this morning on @thetodayshow #LetsGoVCU

@AndrewFreiden: #vcu just took over the todayshow!!! #letsgovcu but @alroker got the conference wrong :-) . AWESOME

@jeffkelleyrva: OH MY GOD @VCU JUST TOOK OVER THE @todayshow! AL ROKER ON THE BUS! pic.twitter.com/4dc8HBRu34 #letsgovcu

@todayshow: Thanks for stopping by! RT @VCUathleticBand WE'RE ON THE TODAY SHOW RIGHT NOW!

MORE PICS HERE

[VCURamFan]

VCU destroys short-handed Akron by 46 points

AUBURN HILLS, Mich. -- VCU was at its best, pressing, running -- and winning with ease.

The fifth-seeded Rams set an NCAA tournament record that stood for about an hour Thursday night, throttling 12th-seeded Akron 88-42 for the most lopsided victory by a team seeded third or lower in the NCAA tournament.

By the end of the night, No. 4 seed Syracuse had broken the mark by routing 13th-seeded Montana 81-34.

Troy Daniels had 23 points and Juvonte Reddic scored 21 for the Rams. They broke a margin-of-defeat record by a team seeded third or lower set by No. 3 Arizona in 1996, when it beat 14th-seeded Valparaiso by 39 points, according to STATS.

The previous mark by a fifth-seeded team against a 12th-seeded squad was set by Wyoming in a 35-point win over Howard in 1981 and matched by Tennessee against Long Beach State in 2007, according to STATS.

"It's a great accomplishment," Daniels said. "We'll take it, but we've got to get ready to play Saturday."

The Rams (27-8) will play fourth-seeded Michigan for a spot in the round of 16.

"That's what we live for," VCU coach Shaka Smart said.

Akron (26-7) was seriously short-handed, and it showed.

In addition to playing without suspended point guard Alex Abreu, the Zips had other problems. Starting guard Brian Walsh and reserve center Pat Forsythe were limited by the flu, and reserve guard Deji Ibitayo wasn't even in uniform because of back spasms.

"On top of everything else, we have one guy hurt his back and two guys with the flu," Akron forward Nick Harney said. "But we weren't the only team that had to deal with adversity. There were other teams here that overcame things and won. You have to play the hand you are dealt. We didn't get the job done, and I hate that for the seniors.

"We'll have more chances to get wins in the tournament, but those guys won't."

The way VCU played, though, Akron might have had a lot of trouble even if it had been at full strength.

VCU looks as though it might have what it takes to make another run in the NCAA tournament. But unlike its 2011 trip to the Final Four, hardly anyone would be shocked if the Rams win three more games to reach the national semifinals.

Smart wants his players to wreak havoc with a full-court press and a fast-paced offense, and they did just that against the Zips.

Without Abreu, who was arrested on drug trafficking charges two weeks ago, Akron struggled to simply get the ball to the other end of the court.

"We definitely thought we could use that to our advantage and go after them and exploit that," said VCU guard Rob Brandenberg, who scored 14 points and had one of his team's 11 steals.

VCU forced the Zips into 10-second violations twice in less than a minute early in the game after they led 6-4, and the Rams scored 10 straight points to take control for good.

"We used so much energy trying to get the ball up the court, we couldn't guard them," Akron coach Keith Dambrot said.

The Atlantic 10 team sealed the victory by closing the first half with a 16-3 run.

The only question after halftime was how large the winning margin would be, and Smart wasn't going to be satisfied with his reserves cruising to an easy victory.

With his team up by 40 midway through the second half, Smart didn't show any mercy on his former boss and close friend, Dambrot. Smart left his starters in the game until there were about seven minutes left.

"We're not going to fall back and play zone," Smart said. "That's not what we do."

The Rams kept pressing, making behind-the-back passes, hitting layups and draining 3-pointers along with an alley-oop dunk in a relentlessly dominating performance.

"If you're up, you can't let up," VCU guard Darius Theus said. "We made up our minds at halftime that we weren't stopping."

Smart didn't stop coaching even when his team was leading 65-34 with 15:04 left.

Before addressing his players in a huddle, he started the timeout with a face-to-face conversation with Daniels -- their noses inches apart -- perhaps pointing him toward improving for his next test against the previously top-ranked Wolverines.

"He was telling me to box out," Daniels recalled. "I said, 'OK, Coach, I got you.'"

Demetrius Treadwell scored 15 and Zeke Marshall had 11 points for the Mid-American Conference champion Zips, who shot less than 35 percent.

While forcing turnovers, VCU took good care of the basketball when it was on offense.

VCU forced 22 turnovers and gave up the ball just seven times -- at least once at the end of the game on purpose -- to narrowly miss another feat. Since 1990, the largest turnover differential when one team had seven or fewer turnovers was 16 set by Syracuse in 1996 against Mississippi State and matched by Utah State against Ohio State in 2001, according to STATS.

[County Mike]

I think the VCU guys should have protested the Akron dudes with the flu even being on the floor. Who wants to catch the flu in the first round of the tournament? If a bleeding player isn't allowed on the floor then someone with a contagious virus shouldn't be allowed to breathe all over the competitors either.

[VCURamFan]

Originally Posted by County Mike

I think the VCU guys should have protested the Akron dudes with the flu even being on the floor. Who wants to catch the flu in the first round of the tournament? If a bleeding player isn't allowed on the floor then someone with a contagious virus shouldn't be allowed to breathe all over the competitors either.

That's not a bad point, I hadn't thought of that.