URI vs. VCU Preview: A Battle of the Rams, A Battle for National Relevancy
In the away corner, you have the 23-5 VCU Rams, a team that currently sits at 13-2 in conference, which is good for a tie with Dayton for first place in the Atlantic 10. I don't care what anyone thinks about VCU's luck with 0.4 seconds remaining left in two of their wins in the A-10 this season. At the end of the day, a win is a win so go cry somewhere else. If you are really still mad about VCU's wins at Saint Bonaventure or at George Washington, then go complain to the Bonnies security and student section as well as GW's Colin Goss. Neither the Bonnies security/student section or Colin Goss had any sensible foresight with their respective teams' pending wins over VCU already in the palm of their hands.
These VCU Rams are a well-coached team that will almost certainly make the NCAA tournament for their seventh straight season. As a fan of Shaka Smart, I never imagined the team that dons black and gold from Richmond, Virginia would ever have paralleled success under the direction of Will Wade. "HAVOC" may not be in full effect but they still play an intense style of defense, which fuels their offense. The reason why the impending game between VCU and Dayton at UD Arena on March 1st has everyone lying in wait is because both teams actually play as true teams on offense and defense. In this particular matchup, Rhode Island must run a concentrated offense that spreads the ball efficiently and gets many offensive rebounds. If Rhody can find and hit open 3's throughout this contest, that can go a long way towards their much-needed home win over VCU.
Now, hailing as the home team, you have the 18-9 URI Rams, which hold a 10-5 conference record, good for 3rd in the A-10 standings (Richmond hold the tiebreaker advantage after winning head-to-head earlier this season). Before Rhode Island travels to Pittsburgh, PA for the Atlantic 10 tournament during March 8-12, they have 3 final games remaining in their conference schedule, with none bigger than this home contest. The Rhody Rams with a home win against the Virginia Commonwealth Rams will not be setting the world on fire or be the headline story anywhere, by any means. With that said, they will be adding a top 50 win to a lacking NCAA resume and they will be aiding their efforts in trying to secure a top 4 seed and a double-bye in the Atlantic 10 tournament. Not to mention, Dan Hurley can show his worth to all to the people that believe he cannot win the big games with a win in this one.
To highlight some of the central keys to a Rhode Island home victory over URI, look no further than what all of America will be focused in on, Mo-Ali Cox vs. Hassan Martin. These two defensive juggernauts are going to be patrolling the paint for each of their teams all afternoon. If either big man gets into foul trouble, that immediately spells trouble for their team because both Ram teams have an assortment of guards and wing players who can drive and slash to the hoop at a moment's notice. In this major matchup of two NFL-ready players, it is not all about how many shots that either man blocks but it is important to see how many shots each of them alter. Meanwhile, on the offensive end, Cox and Martin are more than capable of doing damage in the post.
Another key matchup will be URI's point guard situation with freshman Jeff Dowtin taking the majority of the time and recovering Jarvis Garrett surely getting time in this one against VCU's JeQuan Lewis. Lewis is the orchestrator of VCU's offense and is not just crafty when attacking the goal but he does a solid job of controlling the tempo of the game. Therefore, the promising freshman point guard, Jeff "Jefe" Dowtin must prove his worth once more against one of the A-10's finest. On the road at Belk Arena, Dowtin shut down Davidson's Jack Gibbs, who previously drew comparisons to a guy named Stephen Curry. Seeing as how "Jefe" dominated his matchup against Gibbs, he needs to do the same against a smaller JeQuan Lewis. If Lewis is comfortable throughout this game, URI will have major trouble on defense. On the flip side, Lewis is good for a couple of steals that can flip the game in VCU's favor in a moment's notice.
Finally, a battle that I think will ultimately decide this game is the bench play of both teams. By and large, VCU has had more consistent production from their bench throughout this season. While the Rhode Island bench prominently comes into the game and provides plenty of energy and hard-nosed defense, they will also need to produce points in this one. In a game where points are expected to come at a premium, Rhody cannot expect to win with all or most of their scoring production coming from their starting five. After Stan Robinson single-handedly shouldering the load in a close win at George Mason and Cyril Langevine's double-digit scoring performance at La Salle, the Rhody bench is clicking at the right time. On the other hand, VCU gets good production off the bench from Ahmed Hamdy, Jonathan Williams, Jordan Burgess, and Malik Crowfield. In particular, after watching VCU get an impressive 84-73 road victory over Richmond, Malik Crowfield put his deep shooting ability on display for all of America. When Crowfield is in the game, I am expecting a Rhode Island defender to be draped in his jersey when he is standing beyond the arc.
When asked about his thoughts on this monumental game for the Rhode Island Rams, head coach Dan Hurley said, "They have something that we don't — they have that confidence in games like this ... In order for us to develop that swagger moving forward, you've got to break through." Well, I tell you what, the URI Rams better have their swagger on point in this game from tip to finish, and I mean all the way to the finish. Even if there's 0.4 seconds left in the entire game and URI has the ball with a 4-point lead, VCU can find a way to get the game to OT and win it.
I hope that at this much anticipated "Blue Out", the Rhode Island Rams fare a lot better in this battle of the Rams than their last matchup against another Ram team in the Ryan Center.
