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.”

VIDEO OF THE DAY: BURGESS REFLECTS ON VCU CAREER

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.

HERE’S THE POST WHERE I TRY TO MAKE MYSELF FEEL BETTER

Well, that was a long ride home. I’ve had some time to let last night’s 62-61 loss at George Mason process, and here are some thoughts.

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.

757th HEAVEN FOR VCU’S TIDEWATER PRODUCTS

Junior Darius Theus scored eight points in a critical two-minute stretch Saturday.

NORFOLK, Va. –As good as Bradford Burgess was Saturday – and he was very good – he couldn’t do it alone. So the Rams ordered in some home cooking, calling on a couple of Tidewater area products in the clutch, to earn physical, 68-64 victory over Old Dominion Saturday at the Ted Constant Convocation Center.

Portsmouth native Darius Theus spent a critical five-minute chunk of the second half on the VCU bench, hoping for a chance to make a difference. When he finally got into the game, he did not disappoint.

Theus picked up his fourth foul with 8:19 remaining. At the time, the Rams (22-5, 13-2 CAA) were clinging to a 47-42 advantage. Without its junior point guard, the lead crumbled, and when Theus returned with 2:56 left, the game was tied.

But moments later, Theus, a 28 percent 3-point shooter who had missed two earlier in the game, buried a three with two seconds left on the shot clock and 2:02 showing on the game clock to give the Rams a 57-55 lead.

ONE ROWDY RAM

Freshman Briante Weber has established himself as somewhat of an agitator in VCU’s brand of high-pressure defense. But he’s also been known to wreak a little havoc on the opposing fan base.

When the Rams visited the Ted Constant Center in Norfolk, Va. to play rival Old Dominion last season, Weber, a Chesapeak, Va. native and VCU signee at the time, attended the game in a bright yellow shirt and sat in the student section. It wasn’t hard to find Weber, since that game had been billed as a “White Out”.

I’ll let Bradford Burgess tell it from here:

He probably told some people [ahead of time] but I didn’t know. We go there and you just see Bri doing his normal antics, just all over the place in the yellow shirt in the white out student section.

We talk about it all the time. It’s all he says. He’s like, ‘ya’ll remember when I was down there in the student section in the yellow shirt?’ Yeah Bri, we remember.

He’s all about having fun. He was in there when we were winning and he was just bouncing around and jumping around. We could hear him when it got quiet. It was just a fun time.

The Rams won the game 59-50.

TOWSON NOTES: BURGESS FINDS HIS STROKE

Bradford Burgess hit a career-high six 3-pointers Wednesday.

RICHMOND, Va. – Bradford Burgess used to be a regular at postgame press conferences, but he’s been noticeably absent of late. You can blame that on his once-reliable jumper, which has been slow to arrive in 2012.

But Burgess strode confidently into Wednesday’s press conference after fueling VCU’s 66-43 win over Towson with 22 points, his most since mid-December. He embraced the moment as if he was seeing an old friend.

“It feels great to be back here,” he said.

A self-assured Burgess knocked down 8-of-15 attempts from the field, including a career-high 6-of-11 from 3-point range. Those 22 points were his second-highest total of the season and came on the heels of a seven-game stretch in which he topped double figures just once.

Burgess appeared more comfortable than he had in months, as if he had found an oasis amidst this career-worst shooting stretch. In VCU’s 13 games since Christmas, Burgess averaged 9.9 points and shot .282 (37-of-131) from the field.

NORTHEASTERN NOTES: TREYS FOR TROY

Troy Daniels is shooting 39 percent (69-of-175) from 3-point range this season.

RICHMOND, Va. – If Shaka Smart was trying to send Troy Daniels a message, he appears to have gotten his point across.

Daniels stroked 5-of-10 3-pointers and led VCU with 15 points in a 59-56 win over Northeastern Saturday night at the Verizon Wireless Arena. It was Daniels third straight solid shooting performance since Smart benched him midway through the Rams’ Jan. 25 game at Towson. In the three games since, the 6-foot-4 guard has averaged 15.3 points and 6.0 rebounds and has knocked down 14-of-30 (47 percent) from beyond the 3-point arc.

Smart has consistently preached that Daniels believe in his shooting ability and be ready when opportunities arise. Daniels was just 1-of-4 in 12 minutes at Towson last week when Smart decided he’d seen enough. It’s safe to say Smart’s tough love with Daniels is working.

“I’m always hard on Troy. My assistants say I’m too hard on Troy,” Smart said. “Just shooting the ball with confidence. He’s really a terrific shooter. He’s been doing a really nice job of shooting the shots that come to him for the most part. I don’t think he’s forcing too much. He shot 10 threes tonight and I really only thought one of them was forced.”

ALL ABOUT OFFENSE

Sophomore Rob Brandenberg scored 17 points Wednesday. He is averaging 13.3 points per game in his last three contests.

WILLIAMSBURG, Va. – If you’ve been waiting to see the high-octane offense VCU fans have grown accustomed to the last couple of seasons, Wednesday’s 87-78 victory over William & Mary at Kaplan Hall was for you.

Defense? Optional. Restraint? Unnecessary. Shot clock? Non factor.

The Rams matched a season-high for points and shot better than 50 percent from the floor for the first time since Dec. 22 in the victory. Four VCU players scored in double figures, including sophomore Juvonte Reddic, who finished with 20.

All that offense was a welcome sight for the Rams. While VCU has been one of the top 30 defensive teams in the country, the Rams have also been mediocre at times on offense, entering the night ranked 296^th nationally in field goal percentage.

“This is good for our confidence,” VCU Coach Shaka Smart said.

Wednesday’s game is further evidence of the Rams’ offensive progress the last few weeks. VCU is one of the 10 youngest teams in the country, and that showed during a six-game stretch in which the Rams failed to shoot better than 40 percent from the field. But of late, the Rams have shown signs of an offensive revival. VCU had shot 42 percent or higher in three straight games prior to Wednesday’s victory.

“We’re 24 games into the season, we’ve got a lot of guys in new roles this season and they’re getting more comfortable in those roles,” Smart said.

Among those adjusting to new roles is sophomore Rob Brandenberg, who is starting to see light at the end of the tunnel after a brutal shooting slump. Brandenberg scored 17 points and knocked down 5-of-11 shots from the floor. In his last three games, Brandenberg is averaging 13.3 points and shooting 44 percent (14-of-32) from the field.

As good as the Rams scored the basketball against William & Mary, it’s not a stretch to think they could play even better. Leading scorer Bradford Burgess, VCU’s lone senior, finished with nine points, about four fewer than his season average.

TIDBITS
Wednesday’s game was the 100^th of Shaka Smart’s VCU coaching career. He is 74-26… Brandenberg is averaging 19.5 points per game in two career contests at William & Mary’s Kaplan Hall… Juvonte Reddic did not score in two games with William & Mary last year. He’s scored 28 and 20 against the Tribe this season… Burgess, who has scored nearly 1,500 career points, hasn’t topped double figures against William & Mary in eight career games… The Rams outscored William & Mary in the paint 44-24.

TOWSON NOTES: SUPERBERG SUPER AGAIN

Rob Brandenberg knocked down 6-of-11 field goals Wednesday and finished with 16 points

TOWSON, Md. – The Rams were in good spirits after coasting to a 67-42 win at Towson Wednesday night at the Towson Center, but probably none of them was as happy as sophomore Rob Brandenberg.

After nearly a month of rough nights, Brandenberg broke out of an extended shooting slump against the winless Tigers. Brandenberg scored VCU’s first eight points and finished with a game-high 16. The 6-foot-3 guard knocked down 6-of-11 field goals, including 3-of-7 from 3-point range. He also provided four steals.

“It felt good,” Brandenberg said. “I’ve been struggling the last few games, everybody knows. It just felt good to get in the swing of things and just knock down shots and get back to the type of basketball I play, which is making shots, attacking the rim.”

Entering Wednesday’s game, Brandenberg was 8-of-45 (18 percent) from the field in the last eight games, including 3-of-24 (13 percent) from 3-point range.