Colonial Fans

James Madison 72, Virginia Commonwealth 69

There are some things in life that are simply impossible to describe or fully rationalize.

The Chicago Cubs not winning a World Series since 1908.

Northwestern never making the NCAA men’s basketball tournament in 72 (going on 73) seasons.

Add to this list Virginia Commonwealth’s season-ending tailspin in 2011.

What has happened to the Rams over the past few weeks is an abrupt cessation of basketball quality that’s positively mind-blowing in its totality.

Devon Moore had 18 points, guiding the James Madison Dukes to a regular season-ending win over Virginia Commonwealth on the Rams’ own home court in Richmond, Virginia. Having seen an eight point lead disappear, the Dukes went up 60-58 on a Moore jumper with 10:24 left. The lead slowly extended to six points, before being trimmed to 68-67 on a Bradford Burgess layup with 2:07 left. Looking to halt the run, the Dukes turned back to Moore, who once again came through in the clutch by draining a jumper that put James Madison up by three at 70-67, and that proved to be enough for the visitors.

Yes, James Madison prevailed, but the larger storyline of this weekend tussle has to be the latest installment of a spectacular crash-and-burn implosion for VCU.

Coach Shaka Smart, whose Rams collapsed down the stretch this season, saw his team fall short yet again. They struggled to a 40-percent mark from the field, and while they made more three-pointers than JMU (nine to six), they also attempted more (27 to 9). In a game where most of the stats were relatively close, the inability to hit their shots did in the Rams. Jamie Skeen had 20 points to lead the Rams, and Burgess (17 points) and Ed Nixon (14 points) also hit double digits in the scoring column.

JMU coach Matt Brady saw his team bounce back from a tough loss at Old Dominion to pull off the win, their third in four games to end the season. While Moore led the team in scoring, three other players also hit double digits, led by Denzel Bowles’ 14.

The teams both spent time this season competing for the Colonial Athletic Association regular season championship, but Saturday afternoon’s game at the Stuart Siegel Center had no such complications. The Rams, who had had a nine game winning streak earlier this season, finished the season by losing four of their last five games – with the only win being a non-conference BracketBuster nail-biter at Wichita State. Moreover, John Gasaway of Basketball Prospectus noted that VCU was just five total points – in a road win at JMU (70-66) and a double-overtime win over Delaware – from losing each of its last seven games within the CAA. Including the Wichita State game, a 68-67 win, VCU was just six points from an 0-8 finish to its regular season.

Teams that start seasons 18-5 aren’t supposed to nosedive like that.

It defies all explanation, but the reality isn’t going to change for the roughed-up and run-down Rams.

Matt Zemek
DFN Sports Senior Staff Writer