Virginia Commonwealth Rams at Wichita St Shockers, Charles Koch Arena, Wichita, KS
Friday, February 18, 2011, 7:00 pm Eastern, TV: ESPN2
Opening Line: Wichita St -8
Current Line; Wichita St -8 1/2
Opening Total: 137
Current Total: 140
Money Line: WSU -370 / VCU +310
Every year ESPN sponsors a series of games designed to give some of the mid-major programs a high profile showcase. It is one last chance to improve their RPI’s and tournament resumes, plus it gives the selection committee a chance to see some of these lower profile teams on national television. Though some of the match-ups might seem a little random, it gives the teams a little taste of what the NCAA Tournament will be like. This particular match-up features the Virginia Commonwealth Rams of the Colonial Athletic Association as they travel to the Missouri Valley Conference’s Wichita St Shockers. VCU is 20-8 overall and 12-4 in the CAA. They are tied with Old Dominion and Hofstra 2 games behind George Mason in the conference. VCU is #65 in the RPI and has strength of schedule rank of 128. Neither is impressive enough to gain an at large bid, and the Rams need to win the CAA tournament most likely. The Rams have wins over Winthrop, Wake Forest, UCLA, Drexel, Old Dominion, and James Madison this season. The Rams have losses to Tennessee, South Florida, Richmond, UAB, Georgia St, Northeastern, Old Dominion and George Mason. The Rams have lost 2 straight games including a 20 point loss at home to George Mason Tuesday night 71-51.
Wichita St is 22-5 overall and 13-3 overall. The Shockers are tied with Missouri St for the MVC lead. Wichita St has an RPI of 49 and a SOS of 113, like VCU probably not good enough to get into the NCAA tournament. ESPN has them listed in the work left to do section of the bubble. Wichita St has losses to Connecticut (by 4 points at a neutral site), San Diego St, Missouri St, Northern Iowa, and Southern Illinois. Curiously, all of Wichita St’s conference losses are at home by 3 points each. The Shockers have wins over Virginia, LSU, Tulsa, Creighton, Indiana St twice, and Northern Iowa. The Shockers have won 7 of their last 8 including an 80-74 win at Evansville Tuesday night.These two teams have played one time in history in 1996 at Wichita. The Shockers won 80-50 in that match-up.
VCU guard Troy Daniels has missed the last 5 games with a foot injury and is out indefinitely. Forward Toby Veal is listed a probable against Wichita St with a concussion. Neither scores more than 3 points a game, but it might affect the Rams’ depth. Forward Jamie Skeen averages 14.6 points, 7.7 rebounds, 1.6 assists, and 1.1 blocks a game. He leads the team in scoring, rebounding, and blocks. Guard Bradford Burgess averages 13.8 points, 6.1 rebounds, 1.5 assists, and 1.1 steals. Guard Brandon Rozzell averages 12.3 points, 2.1 rebounds, 1.9 assists, and 1.5 steals a game. Guard Joey Rodriguez averages 10.7 points, 3.5 points, 4.4 assists, and 1.6 steals a game. He leads the team in assists and steals. The top 4 scorers shoot over 33% from 3 point range.VCU is outscoring opponents 73-68 on the season. The Rams shoot 43.5% from the field and 35.5% from 3 point range. Ram opponents shoot 45.1% from the field. VCU makes 72.9% of their free throws. They average 32.4 rebounds a game and has a rebounding margin of -3.5. The Rams average 14.5 assists and 11.6 turnovers a game. They force 15.5 turnovers a game on defense. The Rams average 9 steals and 3.8 blocks a game.
Wichita St forward Graham Hatch injured his ankle the last game and is listed as questionable for this game. He averages 5.4 points a game in just under 21 minutes a game. The Shockers are led by forward/center J.T. Hurley, who is averaging 11.3 points to lead the team, 5.1 rebounds, and 1.4 assists. Guard Toure’ Murry averages 10.1 points, 5.1 rebounds, 3.5 assists, and 1.1 steals. He leads the team in assists and steals. Guard David Kyles averages 9.7 points, 2.8 rebounds, and 1.5 assists a game. Forward Gabe Blair leads the Shockers in rebounds with 6 a game and blocks with 0.8 a game. WSU is outscoring opponents 74-62 on the year. The Shockers shoot 46.7% from the field and 35.7% from 3-point range. Shocker opponents are shooting 40.7% from the field. Wichita shoots 73.1% from the free throw line. The Shockers average 38 rebounds and have a rebounding margin of +9.3. They average 15.4 assists and 12.4 turnovers a game. The Shockers force 11.6 turnovers a game on defense. Wichita averages 5.4 steals and 3.6 blocks a game.
Virginia Commonwealth is 11-16 ATS in all games this season including 7-5 on the road. Wichita St is 13-9 ATS in all games this season, but 4-5 at home. The Shockers have a definitive advantage in rebounding. Both teams score around the same amount of points. Wichita St is a much better defending team. It should be a close game just because each team doesn’t really know the either.
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