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
58.6                2011-12                   8
58.8                2007-08                   8
61.8                1980-81                   5
62.4                2005-06                   4

2011-12 Record:

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.

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.

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.

Point guard Darius Theus, who is developing a reputation for clutch play in the waning moments of close games, was masterful. The junior from Portsmouth scored seven points, ripped a pair of steals and assisted on a pair of buckets during the final five minutes alone.

CLOSING TIME
Despite Tuesday’s loss, in which George Mason erased a six-point lead in the final minute, Smart said the Rams didn’t place extra emphasis in closing out Friday’s game stronger than usual because it’s always been an area of emphasis.

They could’ve fooled the 7,600 fans in attendance because VCU dropped the hammer on Northern Iowa with conviction, including a critical conventional three-point play by Theus and a couple of monster dunks by Juvonte Reddic in the final 1:41.

“We’ve talked all year long about what we need to do at the end of the game. That’s get stops, rebound, make free throws and our guys did that,” Smart said.  “I thought the players were very resilient. Honestly, the person who had the hardest time moving on was me. But the guys were great at leading the way and understanding that the last game was over and we’ve got to move on to what’s next.”

BURGESS ALIVE!
Bradford Burgess has looked every bit as good the last four games as any point in his career. He was fabulous again Friday, scoring 17 points of 6-of-9 shooting, including 3-of-5 from 3-point land. He was aggressive, smart and steady.

In the last four games, three VCU wins and one loss by a single point on a 30-foot buzzer beater, Burgess is averaging 19.0 points while shooting .521 (25-of-48) from the floor and .515 (17-of-33) from 3-point range.

STATS AND STUFF

Friday’s game marked the 17^th straight sellout for VCU. The Rams’ final regular season game Feb. 25 with George Mason has already been announced a sellout… With 12 steals Friday, the Rams have recorded at least 300 steals in three straight seasons under Smart. The number of 300 steal seasons prior to Smart’s tenure? Zero… VCU is now 5-3 in BracketBusters contests.

2011-12 record:

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)

Home team in BOLD

No. 1: Look, it wasn’t just that George Mason needed a Sherrod Wright 28-footer at the horn with Rob Brandenberg in his grill to win it. The Patriots needed a perfect sequence of about five things to happen to win that game. And they got them all. Three 3-pointers, a fall away baseline jumper by Vaughn Gray, a single missed VCU free throw. All of them. You tip your cap to George Mason for making those plays and you move forward.

The only play that really bothered me was the offensive rebound that led to Ryan Pearson’s 3-pointer. That one was tough. Shaka Smart acknowledged the play in his postgame press conference.

“We were probably one rebound away from winning the game,” he said.

No. 2: Freshman Briante Weber has nothing to hang his head about. This loss does not fall at his feet. The rookie made 5-of-6 free throws down the stretch – not to mention two big free throws late at Old Dominion.

No. 3: Ryan Pearson is the best player in the league right now. His 24-point, 11-rebound effort confirmed that. He, as well as Mike Morrison, a couple of veterans, really frustrated VCU sophomore bigs Juvonte Reddic (4 points, 1-of-8 FG) and D.J. Haley (2 points, 2 rebounds). Two veterans playing like vets. Hopefully, Reddic and Haley will study this game and learn from it.

No. 4: The Rams are going to have to close games better. Teams are going to make runs, but VCU lived dangerously in a number of contests before Tuesday. The good news is that the Rams, up until Tuesday, were able to pull out those close games.

No. 5: VCU is FINE. The Rams just lost to a good team on the road by one point on a 28-footer. Relax. At this point, the CAA No. 1 seed is probably out of reach, so really, it’s a matter of which team will be the two or three seed. That’s about it. The Rams were probably going to have to run the table to the CAA final to merit NCAA at-large consideration, a really tall order. Now, it’s probably not relevant.

No. 6: Big Shot Bradford Burgess is back. He hit two huge 3-pointers late in yesterday’s game, one to tie, one to give the Rams a 54-51 lead. He’s making clutch shots again. I like VCU’s chances.