BURGESS IS VCU’S MR. DEPENDABLE

Through Feb. 24, Bradford Burgess has started 140 consecutive games.

It’s fitting that the record for which Bradford Burgess might be best known is an ode to dependability. It’s been the defining quality of his unforgettable VCU career.

First Anthony Grant, then Shaka Smart, penciled Burgess in their starting lineup because they knew he would win games. It didn’t matter who was on the floor, Burgess was always one of the best guys out there. And Burgess did win, and win, and win some more. Before the season is over, he’ll likely have won more games than any other VCU player, more than 100 in all.

Burgess will likely become just the third player in VCU history with at least 1,600 points and 700 rebounds, joining Charles Wilkins and Kendrick Warren. Burgess also ranks in the top 10 on VCU’s career lists in 3-pointers, games played, minutes, steals and free throws. With a postseason run, he could eclipse national records for consecutive (142) and total (147) starts.

“He’s the Cal Ripken of college basketball,” Smart said. “Brad’s a guy, in the three years that I’ve been here, he hasn’t always been 100 percent physically, but you never know it. He doesn’t complain. He plays through minor injuries and bruises and fatigue.”

VCU-UNCW HIGHLIGHTS

DEFENSE COULD BE RAMS’ BEST IN A GENERATION

VCU is turning opponents over on 26 percent of possessions.

If defense wins championships, which is what the guys inside my television have been shouting at me for years, VCU has got to like its chances this season.

Assistant Coach Mike Rhoades told me early in the season that while he liked the Rams’ effort, he thought there was definite room for improvement. He said truly great defensive teams are able to string multiple stops together.

Obviously, we had that conversation before a mid-January stretch in which the Rams held, over the course of two games, their opponents without a field goal for 17 straight minutes. On Feb. 11 at Old Dominion, VCU forced its rival into 17 straight misses from the field to start the second half. The Monarchs were 1-of-20 in the period before they got their second bucket.

I think the Rams are getting the hang of stringing stops together.

Statistically speaking, this hasn’t just been a good defensive team, it’s been a great one. The Rams currently rank 15^th nationally in points allowed per game (59.0) and are tied for 13^th in points allowed per possession (0.89).

Only twice in school history, the 1983-84 and 2007-08 seasons, has VCU limited opponents to fewer points than this year. The Rams have held an opponent to fewer than 50 points eight times this year, including three straight in late January. The Rams had done that just six times in the last three seasons combined. In the mid-70s, VCU once went five straight seasons without holding a team under 50.

It’s a stunning reversal from Coach Shaka Smart’s previous two seasons. Those squads, including last year’s Final Four club, were marked by their firepower on offense. It also fooled many of us into believing that Smart’s brand of “Havoc” basketball was about high-octane offense. It’s not. Smart wants to score points, he wants the Rams to run, but it’s all predicated on defense.

Havoc is about ending opponents’ possessions before they begin and about wearing down the enemy physically and mentally. On those fronts, the Rams have been wildly successful. Led by lightning-quick guards like Briante Weber, Darius Theus and Rob Brandenberg, VCU is turning its opponents over on 26 percent of their possessions, the best rate in the nation. The Rams also lead in the country in steals per game (10.5). Three VCU players, including forward Juvonte Reddic, rank in the top 15 in the CAA in steals per game.

Despite all the fancy statistics, all the Rams really want to know is, do they add up to a championship? We’ll learn the answer in March, but, at this point, it’s fair to say they could steal one.

FEWEST PPG ALLOWED
Avg.               Season            Opp. < 50
56.3                1983-84                   9
58.8                2007-08                   8
59.0                2011-12                   8
61.8                1980-81                   5
62.4                2005-06                   4

KNOW YOUR ENEMY: UNC WILMINGTON 2.0

2011-12 Record: 9-18 (5-11 CAA)
2011 RPI: 210
Player to heckle: Keith Rendleman, Jr., F (15.2 ppg, 10.6 rpg)
The skinny: Despite a roster that includes eight freshmen and just one senior, there was plenty of optimism in Wilmington, N.C. when the Seahawks got off to a 7-7 start. Since, the storm clouds have rolled over the beach, bringing the same sense of despair the kids in Panama City get when MTV packs up and leaves Spring Break. UNCW has lost 11 of its last 13 heading into Wednesday’s contest with VCU, including a game against Towson to snap the Tigers’ 41-game losing streak. Ouchie.

The Seahawks bear many of the marks of a young basketball team: poor defense, copious amounts of turnovers and inconsistent play. UNC Wilmington currently ranks last in the CAA in points allowed (70.9 ppg). On Dec. 17, UNCW committed 28 turnovers – also known as, the number of people that saw “Jack and Jill”  – in an 87-64 loss to VCU. Don’t expect the Rams to back off the pressure.

Junior Keith Rendleman is averaging a double-double, while streaky freshman Adam Smith (14.7 ppg) is a CAA Rookie of the Year candidate. Freshman guard K.K. Simmons has shown ability, but turned the ball over seven times in the first meeting between these two teams.
Fast fact: VCU has won 10 of its last 11 games against UNC Wilmington.

VIDEO OF THE DAY: BURGESS REFLECTS ON VCU CAREER

VCU-ODU HIGHLIGHTS

The VCU women’s team has beaten ODU four straight times and has won six of the last seven meetings in the series. Better recognize. Also, nice crowd on hand yesterday at ODU.

DYKSTRA: UNITED, I STAND

By Andrew Dykstra

As of Feb. 20, I will be officially signed with DC United. It has taken some time working through negotiations and feeling out my options, but I feel that this was the best move for me. I was told before my Euro excursion that I was welcome back to DC if it did not work out the way I hoped.

It has taken three years now for the opportunity with the home team but it’s finally here. The players are great, the coaches are great and the team looks good. I came in at an odd time for the team because they have been making moves throughout the winter, buying, trading and selling players without the thought of ever having me a part of the team. After showing what I can bring to the table this preseason, I have been told that they are “lucky and happy to have me with the team.” I’m happy and looking forward to the season ahead.

There are still plans and hopes to further my career overseas, and DC knows that. But as long as I’m with this group, I will be sweating black and red every day… although I will always bleed black and gold!

Andrew Dykstra was a four-year starter in goal for the VCU Men’s Soccer Team from 2005-08. He spent two seasons with the Chicago Fire of Major League Soccer and played the 2011 season with the Charleston Battery of the USL. For Dykstra’s other blog posts, check here.

VCU-NORTHERN IOWA HIGHLIGHTS

VCU-NORTHERN IOWA RAPID REACTION

Darius Theus scored seven of his nine points, including all three of his field goals, in the final five minutes Friday.

RICHMOND, Va. – In one of its final chances to impress the NCAA selection committee, VCU wore down a sharpshooting Northern Iowa team and grabbed a 77-68 Sears BracketBusters victory Friday night at the Verizon Wireless Arena.

Despite torrid shooting from the Panthers in the first half, VCU Coach Shaka Smart stuck to his guns defensively and waited for the Rams’ style of play to win out. At first, it looked like Smart’s gamble, which had the Rams ratcheting up their defensive aggressiveness, might prove costly. The Panthers hit 7-of-10 threes in the first half, and nine of their first 13 attempts. But UNI missed its last four from outside and the cumulative effect of 19 turnovers shifted the game back towards VCU.

With five minutes left, the Rams took over. Three days removed from a heartbreaking, buzzer-beating loss at George Mason in which they were unable to shake the Patriots late, VCU turned a 64-62 lead into a nine point win.

“We knew it was a risk to be as aggressive as we were, and they made us pay in the first half, but we thought over the course of 40 minutes out style of play would benefit us and win out and tire them out to some extent and in the second half I think it did,” Smart said.

Despite shooting 56 percent (25-of-45) for the game, Northern Iowa could only manage 24 points in the second half. Then again, it’s tough to score when you don’t have the ball.

KNOW YOUR ENEMY: NORTHERN IOWA

2011-12 record: 17-11 (7-9 MVC)
2011-12 RPI: 64
Player to heckle: Anthony James, Jr., G (13.3 ppg, 4.2 rpg)
The skinny: For the second straight season the Rams have drawn a favorable Sears BracketBusters matchup against a Missouri Valley Conference opponent. Last season’s 68-67 victory at Wichita State was no doubt one of the deciding factors in VCU’s NCAA Tournament at-large selection. However, it’s becoming more apparent of late that this year’s BracketBusters game will probably not have the same impact. Northern Iowa’s 63-62 loss to Evansville the other night has the Panthers RPI trending downward.

While a win may not get VCU into the NCAA Tournament (maybe it will – stranger things have happened), that hardly makes the game meaningless. If the Rams do make the NCAA Tournament, a game like this can prove valuable for seeding. Additionally, it’s a test against a quality opponent a couple of weeks before the CAA Tournament. The Rams want to go into March battle-tested. Lastly, VCU will be kicking off BracketBusters. They’ll be getting about as much regular-season attention as the Rams have had in a while. It’s a great chance to showcase the program on national TV.

It won’t be easy. Northern Iowa, which advanced to the Sweet 16 two years ago, staged a dramatic upset of 12^th-ranked Creighton on Feb. 4 and leads the MVC in scoring defense, at less than 62 points per game. The Panthers are also an outstanding 3-point shooting squad, making about eight a game. Junior guard Anthony James leads a balanced scoring attack that includes 6-foot-9 forward Jake Koch and sharpshooting junior guard Marc Sonnen.

Fast facts: This will be the first meeting between VCU and Northern Iowa… The Rams are 4-3 all-time in BracketBusters contests.

VCU: ESPNU BRACKETBUSTERS HISTORY
Feb. 19, 2005: Charleston 85, VCU 75
Feb. 17, 2006: VCU 70, Albany 67 (ESPNU)
Feb. 17, 2007: Bradley 73, VCU 64 (ESPN2)
Feb. 23, 2008: VCU 57, Akron 52 (ESPN2)
Feb. 20, 2009: Nevada 71, VCU 70 (ESPNU)
Feb. 20, 2010: VCU 70, Akron 53 (ESPNU)
Feb. 18, 2011: VCU 68, Wichita State 67 (ESPN2)
Feb. 17, 2012: VCU vs. Northern Iowa (ESPN2)

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