The VCU Rams, now 6-2, defeated the Iona Gaels 88-59 Saturday night at the Stuart S. Siegel Center. In front of the 122nd consecutive sellout at the arena, the Black and Yellow put together perhaps their most complete performance of the season on both sides of the ball. Redshirt junior guard, Marcus Evans, led the team in scoring with 19 points and tied forward Isaac Vann for the most steals with three.
The Rams got off to an 11-0 score in the first few minutes of the game as another redshirt junior, Corey Douglas, contributed five points and two blocks. The Gaels were overwhelmed by the constant full-court pressure from VCU’s defense that dominated this game from start to finish. The team held Iona to 37 percent shooting from the field and only 21 percent from the three-point range. Assistant coach Jamal Brunt, former University of Miami Assistant Coach, has contributed much success to the defense of VCU. When they come out the game with the full-court pressure, it frustrates teams because, not only do they not have the length to match up with them, opposing teams don’t have the conditioning to withstand the pressure from the Rams for 40 minutes.
VCU junior guard De’Riante Jenkins is getting more and more confident from the three-point range. Ever since the St. Johns Red Storm matchup earlier in the season, he has been attempting more threes and knocking them down with confidence. The 6’5” guard had six points on two threes and both were contested shots with Iona defenders draped all over him.
Rams Assistant Coach Jamal Brunt gave the postgame press conference (VCU Head Coach Mike Rhoades had to leave the arena early for a Father-Daughter dance) and during it, it was apparent he had seen a significant difference in the team from an earlier game. In the Rams heartbreaking loss to their rival Old Dominion University Monarchs, VCU blew a 13-point halftime lead and the defense gave up 42 points in the second half, eventually losing by 10. Brunt noted that he was encouraged by the defensive intensity the Rams displayed in their victory over the Gaels and thrilled that the team maintained it for a complete game.
VCU now heads into its highly-anticipated matchup in Austin, Texas against the No. 17-ranked Texas Longhorns, led by former Rams head coach, Shaka Smart. The Orange and White are 5-2 on the season and a win by the Rams would add that they’re a legitimate threat to get back into the NCAA Tournament to their early resume.