VCU gets a Friday rematch with top seed Rhode Island in Atlantic 10 tournament
? After his team?s February loss to Rhode Island, coach Mike Rhoades said he hoped it would play URI again. And, following eighth-seeded VCU?s win over No. 9 Dayton in the second round of the Atlantic 10 tournament on Thursday, that rematch will come on Friday at noon in the quarterfinals.
In the first matchup with Rhode Island, an 81-68 VCU loss at the Siegel Center on Feb. 2, VCU (18-14) was outrebounded 47-31 and outscored 26-6 on second-chance points. But the game was still within reaching distance down the stretch.
At Capital One Arena on Friday, sophomore forward Issac Vann expects another physical game.
?But we're ready, we're taking it one game at a time,? Vann said. ?So, just play our style of play and hopefully things fall in line."
Rhode Island, the tournament?s top seed, rolled through much of its conference slate, but stumbled in its final two games of the regular season. The team fell to Saint Joseph?s 78-48 on Feb. 27 and to Davidson 63-61 last Friday.
But Rhode Island is still ranked No. 25 in the AP Top 25, and won the A-10 regular season title with a Feb. 23 victory against Dayton. The team went 15-3 in conference play and is 23-6 overall. It had one of the double byes to the A-10 tournament quarterfinals, which are awarded to the top four seeds.
Rhode Island has a valuable asset in the experience on its roster. The team is led by two standout senior guards in Jared Terrell (17.8 ppg) and E.C. Matthews (12.9 ppg). Matthews led Rhode Island with 18 points in its previous matchup with VCU. Rhode Island has five total seniors on its roster (three true and two redshirt), and four juniors.
Then the team also has talented young players, like sophomore Jeff Dowtin, who averages 9.2 points and 5.5 assists. Also, freshman guard Fatts Russell, who was 3 of 5 from deep against VCU last month.
?They're a veteran team,? Rhoades said after the Feb. 2 game. ?They got seniors, they've played in a lot of big games.?
VCU has confidence, though, after the way it finished against Dayton on Thursday. Vann said the team has to execute.
?Execute for 40 minutes, and anything can happen,? he said.
? After his team?s February loss to Rhode Island, coach Mike Rhoades said he hoped it would play URI again. And, following eighth-seeded VCU?s win over No. 9 Dayton in the second round of the Atlantic 10 tournament on Thursday, that rematch will come on Friday at noon in the quarterfinals.
In the first matchup with Rhode Island, an 81-68 VCU loss at the Siegel Center on Feb. 2, VCU (18-14) was outrebounded 47-31 and outscored 26-6 on second-chance points. But the game was still within reaching distance down the stretch.
At Capital One Arena on Friday, sophomore forward Issac Vann expects another physical game.
?But we're ready, we're taking it one game at a time,? Vann said. ?So, just play our style of play and hopefully things fall in line."
Rhode Island, the tournament?s top seed, rolled through much of its conference slate, but stumbled in its final two games of the regular season. The team fell to Saint Joseph?s 78-48 on Feb. 27 and to Davidson 63-61 last Friday.
But Rhode Island is still ranked No. 25 in the AP Top 25, and won the A-10 regular season title with a Feb. 23 victory against Dayton. The team went 15-3 in conference play and is 23-6 overall. It had one of the double byes to the A-10 tournament quarterfinals, which are awarded to the top four seeds.
Rhode Island has a valuable asset in the experience on its roster. The team is led by two standout senior guards in Jared Terrell (17.8 ppg) and E.C. Matthews (12.9 ppg). Matthews led Rhode Island with 18 points in its previous matchup with VCU. Rhode Island has five total seniors on its roster (three true and two redshirt), and four juniors.
Then the team also has talented young players, like sophomore Jeff Dowtin, who averages 9.2 points and 5.5 assists. Also, freshman guard Fatts Russell, who was 3 of 5 from deep against VCU last month.
?They're a veteran team,? Rhoades said after the Feb. 2 game. ?They got seniors, they've played in a lot of big games.?
VCU has confidence, though, after the way it finished against Dayton on Thursday. Vann said the team has to execute.
?Execute for 40 minutes, and anything can happen,? he said.
