A-10 Tournament: Rams Overwhelm the Minutemen

Final score: VCU 73, UMass 59.
Location: Barclays Center in Brooklyn.
Current records: (#5) VCU 21-12. (#4) UMass 20-11.

In a nutshell: VCU beat a pretty good team today. This season UMass has earned the reputation of being a physically tough team, especially in its rebounding. But today, during its quarterfinal matchup with the VCU Rams, the Minutemen weren't the tougher, more determined team on the court. And, the Rams won the battle of the boards, 37-to-26.

In my view, I have to doubt that UMass showed up fully prepared for how kickass good VCU's rebounding execution would turn out to be. Furthermore, the non-stop intensity of the Rams' half court defense throughout the contest had to have been somewhat surprising, too.

After the Rams ran roughshod (42-to-25) over the Minutemen in the first stanza, in the second half, every time UMass began to rally, VCU stiff-armed the gap-closing momentum. 

Following two games in two days, Coach Ryan Odom's team may really appreciate tomorrow's day off from playing. Or, maybe they feel so good about themselves, right now, the Rams would be happy to play St. Joe's Hawks tonight.

From the Rams' scorebook: Jackson 17 pts., 4 rebounds, 5 assists. Bamisile 18 pts., 1 rebound, 1 assist. Bairstow 9 pts., 4 rebounds, 2 assists. Lawal 7 pts., 6 rebounds. Belle 7 pts., 6 rebounds. Fermin 7 pts., 3 rebounds.

VCU's bench outscored the UMass bench by a whopping 34-to-4. In addition to the significant contributions of bench players, Bamisile and Lawal, Belle's energetic play was also a big plus.

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

• VCU shot 50 percent (22-of-44) from the field and 23-of-30 from the free throw line. The Rams held the Minutemen to just 35 percent (19-of-54) shooting from the floor and 29 percent (7-of-24) from deep. 
• VCU led 20-16 with 7:45 left in the first half before going on a 18-5 run capped off by a Lawal dunk. The Rams took a 42-25 lead into the break. The Rams held the Minutemen to 7-of-28 shooting in the first half, including 1-of-9 from three. 
• UMass was 14-of-19 from the free throw line. 
• VCU had a 15-7 advantage in points off turnovers, efficiently capitalizing on just nine Minutemen turnovers. 
• The Rams had their lead cut to 65-59 with 4:24 left in the game before clamping down on defense. VCU ended the game on an 8-0 scoring run sparked by a Bamisile layup to end the game. 
• UMass outscored VCU 19-8 to begin the second half behind Diggins’ scoring outburst to cut the Ram’s lead to 54-47 with 9:46 remaining. 
• UMass would only get as close as six points for the remainder of the game.

BOX SCORE

NEXT UP: On Saturday afternoon (#5) VCU will face (#9) St. Joe's in a semifinal game. Tipoff at 1 p.m. TV: CBS Sports Network. The Hawks earned their semifinal appearance by upsetting (#1) Richmond.