Defenseless VCU drops season opener

Final score: McNeese St. 76, VCU 65
Location: Siegel Center in Richmond.
Current records: McNeese St. 1-0. VCU 0-1. 

IN A NUTSHELL: The refurbished VCU Rams opened their 2023-24 season with a loss to the visiting McNeese St. Cowboys. No doubt, VCU's new head coach, Ryan Odom, would like to think that with some seasoning his work-in-progress team could beat the Cowboys in January. Hopefully that will be true.

However, with the uninspired way the Rams played defense tonight, truth be told, they probably wouldn't have beaten any decent team. Now I expect the new coach will take the blame and assure Rams fans it will get better. 

On offense, two of VCU's starting guards led the way. Max Shulga scored 22 points (6-for-10 on treys) and dished for four assists. Zeb Jackson scored 14 points, grabbed seven boards got eight assists. Problem was, they didn't get a lot of help. Much of the game VCU's ballhandling inside was sloppy.

Collectively, the Rams reacted slowly on defense and on offense they didn't show much confidence. It will Odom's job to fix all that.

NOTES (Information provided by Chris Kowalczyk, VCU Assistant A.D.).

• Redshirt freshman guard Fats Billups III buried 3-of-6 from beyond the 3-point arc and finished with nine points for the Rams, while freshman forward Michael Belle contributed seven points, four rebounds, two assists and two blocks in his collegiate debut. 
• McNeese State shot .458 (27-of-59) from the field, including .471 (8-of-17) from 3-point range.
• The Cowboys turned the ball over just five times in the game. 
• VCU shot .306 (11-of-36) from beyond the arc. 
• MSU outscored VCU 36-22 in the paint and 13-6 off turnovers.

BOX SCORE

NEXT UP

On Friday, Nov. 10 the Rams will host Samford. Tipoff at the Siegel Center is at 7 p.m.

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