RICHMOND, Va. – Although they led by 14 at halftime, anyone who has followed VCU this season knows that no lead has necessarily been safe. Too often, even in games where they hang on to win and at times by comfortable margins, the Rams have allowed teams to cut significantly into the deficit or come all the way back. With the season on the line against the hottest team in the country on Sunday, the Rams didn’t let it happen.
“A team like George Mason, I think they’ve won 16 games in a row, they’re not going to just roll over,” head coach Shaka Smart said. “They’re going to come back and attack, and they cut it to seven early in the second half.”
George Mason did just that, making their first five shots and seven of their first nine. After they got within seven, VCU did what they didn’t do on a few occasions this season, which was to build the lead back up. A couple of stickbacks got it started, with Ed Nixon getting one and Bradford Burgess getting the second. Shortly thereafter, the lead would never be in single digits again.
VCU’s tendency to allow teams back in a game wasn’t the only cause for concern. A look at the stat sheet revealed another: they were 9-18 on three-pointers and had 10 points in the paint in the first half. The former is a great stat, but teams rarely keep up that kind of shooting percentage all game with jump shots. They didn’t, as they were just 2-7 from deep in the latter frame, although the first one was big as it put them back up by double digits for good.
“Our guys showed a great deal of resolve,” Smart said. “We’ve been talking about that over the last several days. We hung in there, stayed together and kept fighting.”
The Rams’ win was also a study in contrasts for the team. Not only were the two halves very different with three-point shots, but the Rams also got to the free throw line 23 times in the second half after just six free throws in the first half. They also played a lot of zone defense instead of the typical pressure defense that tries to turn up the pace of the game. The latter is probably an adjustment made after their usual style didn’t work well when they met a few weeks earlier.
Even with the change in defense, they forced 14 George Mason turnovers. The big thing it did was confound the Patriots’ offense, which didn’t move the ball well at all. The Patriots shot 43.3 percent from the field, but just 24 percent from long range. They had eight assists on 26 made field goals, including just one assist (with 10 turnovers) in the first half.
“We shot it quicker, we shot it without sharing, and we shot it just being in a hurry rather than taking time and finding an open man,” said George Mason head coach Jim Larranaga. “Some of that was the defense, but even when they went zone, when you have total choices as to how long you’re going to hang on to the ball because there is no pressure, we still selected shots way too early.”
After George Mason started off 7-9 from the field in the second half, they went right back into a slump. They were just 8-28 the rest of the way.
George Mason should be in the NCAA Tournament despite the loss on Sunday, although cynics will point to the lack of a true signature win. The Patriots have a lot of good wins, although it’s hard to find one over a team that is a lock for the NCAA Tournament. VCU, on the other hand, needs a win in the CAA Tournament to make the NCAA Tournament. They’re almost there, although their arch-rival stands in their way on Monday night.
“We’ve got one more game to get where we want to go,” said Smart.
