EUGENE — Like Oregon, VCU enters the NCAA Tournament coming off a loss in its conference tournament.
The No. 10 seed Rams (19-5) lost to St. Bonaventure, 74-65, in the Atlantic 10 finals on Sunday, hardly an embarrassing defeat, but some of the statistics didn’t sit well. One of the best defensive teams in the country, VCU allowed the Bonnies to shoot 8 of 19 (42.1%) from three-point range, well above the Rams’ season average of 30.5% against.
In preparing to face No. 7 seed Oregon (20-6), which ranks 22nd nationally shooting 37.9% from behind the arc, VCU recognizes the volume of Ducks who pose shooting threats.
“They have 4-5 guys on the court all the time that can pass, dribble and shoot it at a high level,” VCU coach Mike Rhoades said. “I know they’re one of the most efficient offensive teams in the country. They have guys that can make plays for themselves and their teammates. I think they shoot the ball very well. They’re an isolation team too where they can put you in positions on the court where they can try to really attack you.
“We got to be on our game guarding in full court, half court and especially guarding talented players that have the ball in our hands. We got to get back to being us, the style of play and the way we play.”
VCU has long been known for its defense and that remains true. The Rams are fifth nationally in blocks (5.4) and steals (9.2) per game and 11th in total turnovers forced (16.77).
Those were all areas that VCU didn’t fare as well in its last game, not to mention being out-rebounded by 10.
Rams star Nah’Shon “Bones” Hyland scored 21 points in the A-10 final but got in early foul trouble. He believes there were lessons to learn from how St. Bonaventure defended him that can be applied going forward and help the Rams against the Ducks on Saturday (6:57 p.m., TNT).
“When we came off a loss (during the regular season at St. Bonaventure ) we went on a big winning streak,” Hyland said. “I feel as though this is a time when we can get our hunger back and definitely make a big run here.”
VCU arrived in Indianapolis Sunday night, cleared quarantine on Monday and already practiced at the Indiana Convention Center.
Rhoades said the relative isolation and lack of fanfare thus far should aid in teams being able to focus on the task at hand.
“We’re here to win a basketball game on Saturday and move forward from there,” he said.
Rhoades compared Oregon’s offense, particularly when in isolation, to those of Dayton and Rhode Island but didn’t think there was an A-10 team that played like UO’s matchup zone on defense.
“Their guards are very good,” he said of the Ducks. “We’ve seen a lot of guards in our league, from (Dayton’s Jalen) Crutcher to (Davidson’s Kellan) Grady to Fatts (Russell of Rhode Island). I think it’s a lot like that. Those guys are a little bit longer and bigger but very similar that way with skill and ability. We guarded playing against West Virginia the way they kept coming at us in different ways, I think Oregon’s a lot like that.
“Defensively I’m not sure if they’re similar teams in our league. They do some different things that we got to be prepared for and have the week to work on.”
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