Colonial Fans

Virginia Commonwealth University 88, Boston University 75

Trailing 43-42 to the Boston University Terriers (21-14) at the half, the Virginia Commonwealth Rams (25-9) opened the second half with a 9-zip spurt to take a 51-43 lead.  The Terriers responded by scoring four of the next five points to make it a 52-47 game at the 14:24 mark of the second half, and that’s when all heck broke loose for the Terriers.  VCU’s Brandon Rozzell and Joey Rodriguez nailed triples and Larry Sanders sailed in for a layup to finish the Rams’ 8-0 run, staking them to a 58-47 lead they never relinquished.  The closest Pat Chambers’ BU crew would get the rest of the way was 63-55 with 10:48 remaining.  VCU’s timely shooting and composed play for the remainder of the second half ensured that there would be no Boston University comeback.

As befits what is perhaps the deepest team in the College Basketball Invitational field, the Rams’ balanced attack proved to be too much for another opponent.  Four VCU players, paced by sophomore wing Bradford Burgess’s 20 points, scored in double figures, while junior Ed Nixon chipped in eight points.  Sophomore forward Jake O’Brien, who is showing all the signs of being a star in the America East Conference, led the Terriers with 20 points.

The Big Picture: Watching Virginia Commonwealth play in the CBI, one can’t help but think that this team could have caused some major trouble in that unnamed and somewhat more prominent postseason tournament.  While VCU may prefer to outscore teams instead of locking them down on the business end of the court, the Rams have the defensive chops to amp up the D when they need to.  Wednesday’s semifinal scrap with a good-shooting Boston University squad was one of those games where VCU needed to get it down on defense, and they did.  The Terriers took a first-half lead thanks to superb 7-of-14 shooting performance beyond the arc, and 49 % overall from the field.

Call it a tall of two halves, as VCU put the defensive clamps on Boston U.  Gone were the uncontested looks from long range.  The Rams’ full-court press scrambled the Terriers’ offensive flow, forcing a slew of forced and rushed shots.  The end result was Boston University shooting only 40 % from the field, including a bricktastic 1-of-6 beyond the arc, in the decisive second half.  Actually, the end result featured VCU outscoring Boston University 46-32 in the second half to win this CBI semifinal going away.

The Good: Larry Sanders may get all the love from NBA scouts, but his perimeter teammate, Joey Rodriguez, is the cog that makes the Rams go.  Not only did Rodriguez spearhead the Rams’ full-court press that changed the dynamics and inertia of the game in the second half, but he also quarterbacked a second-half offense that was almost as pefect as Alicia Keys’ hook in “Empire State of Mind.”  Rodriguez played 18 minutes in the second half, scoring 14 points on 6-of-9 shooting from the field, and most impressively, dishing out three dimes without a single turnover.  If March is the province of guards, then VCU is in very good hands with Rodriguez at the helm.

The Bad: Let’s call it weary leg syndrome.  Even though VCU played much better defense in the second half, Boston University just looked like a tired team.  Being that the Terriers played an OT game on Monday evening and then had to hit the road to travel to VCU for Wednesday night’s 7 p.m. (ET) tip-off, who could blame them for losing their legs in the second half?  Put simply, Pat Chambers’ squad is not a team that goes 1-of-6 beyond the arc in a half, well, just about ever.  The Gazelle Group – the organizers of the CBI tournament – may need to address this tight schedule, with travel, going forward.

The Ugly: Not to single out one player, but VCU’s Brandon Rozzell, perhaps feeling his oats after Monday evening’s surprise stat, was heat-checking all the game.  Unfortunately for Rozzell, the heat had been shut off after his 20-point outing Monday night since he scored only 5 points on 2-of-8 shooting from the field.  In a slower-paced, more taut CBI finals series versus St. Louis, VCU may not be able to overcome Rozzell firing away without conscience.

What’s Next?

Let’s get our CBI best-of-3 finals series on, folks!  VCU will be squaring off with the St. Louis Billikens (23-11), 69-59 victors over Princeton in the other CBI semifinal.  The opening game of the series will be played at VCU on Monday night, with St. Louis playing host to, at the very least, game two on Wednesday evening (if necessary, game three will be played in St. Louis on Friday night).  Shaka Smart’s squad is clearly the more talented of the two teams, but the Billikens are very tough to beat at the Chaifetz Arena, going 18-3 at home this season.

By: Tim Coyne
DFN Sports Guest Writer