VCU Too Strong for UMass

Final Score: VCU 77, UMass 62

Location: Amherst, Mass. (Mullins Center)

Current Records: VCU 20-7, 13-3 in A-10; UMass 12-15, 5-10 i A-10.

 

Senior guard KeShawn Curry continued his hot streak by scoring a game-high 18 points. Lately, he has looked all-conference. VCU shot at 53 percent from the field and 74 percent from the foul line. The Rams forced the Minutemen into committing 22 turnovers, which VCU converted into 27 points. 

 

Today's win was VCU's seventh in a row. It gave Mike Rhoades, now in his fifth season at VCU, a 100-50 won/loss record as the Rams head coach.

The information below was supplied by Chris Kowalczyk, VCU Assistant A.D.

OPENING TIP

·      Curry led an efficient VCU offensive performance. He connected on 7-of-11 attempts from the floor and added four steals and four rebounds

·      Junior guard Marcus Tsohonis added 12 points off the bench for VCU, while senior forward Vince Williams Jr. provided 10 points, four steals and two blocks

·      Sophomore point guard Ace Baldwin Jr. handed out nine assists for the Black and Gold, in addition to six points and four rebounds

·      Trent Buttrick led UMass with 12 points

 

THE DIFFERENCE

·      VCU outscored UMass 27-13 off turnovers and owned a 48-36 scoring advantage in the paint

·      The Rams shot 53 percent (29-of-55) from the field, including 58 percent (15-of-26) in the first half

·      VCU also took away UMass’ greatest strength, limiting the Minutemen to 3-of-19 shooting from beyond the 3-point arc. UMass entered the day seventh in the country in 3-point percentage (.388). Forty-one percent of UMass’ points this season have come off of 3-pointers

·      UMass shot 38 percent (21-of-55) overall in the game

·      Tsohonis connected on a pair of floaters in the early going that sparked a 9-2 VCU run to give the Rams a 17-7 lead with 10:59 remaining. VCU would never look back on the way to a wire-to-wire victory. The Rams led by as many as 25 in the game

 

NOTABLE

·      Rhoades is the fourth VCU coach to record 100 wins at the helm. He joins Shaka Smart (163), Sonny Smith (136) and J.D. Barnett (132) in that club

·      VCU improved to 9-1 on the road with Saturday’s victory, including 7-1 in A-10 play. Those seven wins match the program’s most league road wins in a season since the Rams joined the league in 2012-13

·      VCU’s seven-game win streak matches a season high. The Rams also took over sole possession of second place in the Atlantic 10 Conference standings with the win. The Rams trail Davidson (14-2) by one game with two to play

·      All 11 Rams to see the floor Saturday scored

 

NEXT UP

VCU will return to the friendly confines of the Stuart C. Siegel Center to host St. Bonaventure on Tuesday, March 1 at 8:30 p.m. on CBS Sports Network