Game 21: GMU (12-8 / 4-3) at vcu (15-5 / 6-1) on Wednesday, January 25, at 7:00 PM.

Patriotsince81

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GMU is 22-45 against vcu all-time.
We are 4-14 against the Rams while members of the A10.

KenPom: Gives us a 27% chance of winning.
GMU - 122
vcu - 79

NET:
Mason - 127
vcu - 85

vcu is currently 15-5 on the season and 6-1 in A10 play. They are 11-1 at home, 3-3 on the road, and 1-1 at neutral sites.

Wins: Manhattan (73-56), Morgan St. (69-54), Pitt (71-67), Kennesaw St. (64-61), Vanderbilt (70-65), Howard (70-60), Radford (70-62), Northern Illinois (90-63), Navy (74-52), LaSalle (80-67), Davidson (89-72), Loyola Chicago (78-64), Dayton (63-62), UMass (83-55), Richmond (74-62),

Losses: Arizona At. (63-59), Memphis (62-47), Temple (83-73), Jacksonville (73-62), Duquesne (79-70),

Schedule: https://vcuathletics.com/sports/mbball/schedule
Roster: https://vcuathletics.com/sports/mbball/roster
Stats: https://vcuathletics.com/documents/2023/1/20/vcu-season-cume.pdf

vcu is led by 6”1” Ace Baldwin (12.1 ppg & 5.9 assists), 6’8” Brandon Johns Jr. (12.5 ppg & 4.8 reb), and 6’7” Jamir Watkins (10.5 ppg & 5.0 reb). 6’4” Jayden Nunn (9.3 ppg) and 6’9” Jalen DeLoach (9.3 ppg) have started the majority of their games. 6’6” David Shriver (7.3 ppg), 6’5” Zeb Jackson (5.9 ppg), 6’6” Nick Kern (4.1 ppg), and 6’8” Toibu Lawal (1.5 ppg) have also started at times for vcu.

vcu averages 71.5 points per game while giving up 64.1. The Rams shoot 45.9% from the floor and 35.9% from 3. Opponents are shooting 41.9% from the field and 32.0% from 3. The Rams shoot 71.0% from the free throw line. vcu has been out rebounded their opponents by 1.4 boards per game. They turn opponents over to the tune of 17.7 per game while turning the ball over 15.2 times per game themselves.

The game is on ESPN+. vcu’s schedule page also lists the game being on MASN.

My prediction: One of three things is going to happen. Hoping for scenario one. Scenario three is most likely.

1. We play smart, hard, and are strong with the ball. We refuse to turn the ball over which results in a Mason road win, just like during the 16-17, 19-20, and 20-21 seasons. GMU 74 - vcu 71. Richmond area McDonald’s, strip clubs, and crack houses shut down due to the result.
2. We pee down our legs due to their pressure resulting in an NCAA record 65 turnovers which are quickly converted into 130 points. They fouls us on every possession we actually get a shot off. We go 6 for 40 from the charity stripe. Coloring Book U 155 - Mason 6.
3. We play well at times but eventually give up some runs due to not handling pressure, even though it’s not “Havoc” by any stretch of the imagination. vcu 75 - Mason 57. Mason fans take comfort in the fact that we support and graduated from a superior institution even though our basketball team remains inferior.

Discuss.

A vcu student was ready to graduate after 10 years. Because he'd been there half as long as the average student word got out about his graduation final exam. People were so excited that they filled up the Siegel Center to watch him take his final. The professor asked the question, “What is 2 + 2?” The student replied, “uhhhhh - fouuurrr???” The crowd began to chant - "Give him another chance! Give him another chance!”
 

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GMUYoda

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This is a game where I am very concerned with regards to TOs. VCPoo seems to get away with a lot of ticky tack stuff too at home that should be fouls... if Mason can keep the TOs below 10, we have a chance. If its 10+, nope.
 

Pikapppatri8

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Going with my heart and not my head

Mason 74
vcu 65

We create turnovers, injuries, and gnashing of teeth and wails of slender necked art students.

I have a dark dark heart.
 

tblack33

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I’m not looking forward to watching this one. Our guards have absolutely melted under anything that even resembles pressure. We just turned the ball over 17 times to poo poo stinky doo doo URI. We might set a school record for turnovers in this one. I’m just not seeing a path to victory for us and hope we just keep it respectable.

vcu 68
Mason 55
 

MasonSAE4

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This teams penchant for turnovers coupled with the prison rules that get played at vcu combines for a nasty combination, and we lose by 25.
 

GMUSSTN

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Over a decade removed from being able to expect a win against vcu and at this point I just hope it's respectable enough that I don't turn it off in disgust in the first half. Watching their program be the Gallant to our Goofus has been the bane of my sports fan existence, and while I want nothing more than for them to suffer a fate 100x worse than ours, catapulting them into years of sub-200 ranked irrelevance, the universe is just not that kind.

Still gonna watch, though. Drink the poison, feel the burn.
 

Pikapppatri8

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I’m not looking forward to watching this one. Our guards have absolutely melted under anything that even resembles pressure. We just turned the ball over 17 times to poo poo stinky doo doo URI. We might set a school record for turnovers in this one. I’m just not seeing a path to victory for us and hope we just keep it respectable.

vcu 68
Mason 55
You reflect the feeling in my head. And when it comes to laying down money - I am going to follow my head.
 

GSII

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Cooper had 4 TO's vs a crappy uri today. He might have 10 vs vcu pressure d.

Maybe we press them and disrupt their now more efficient half court offense?

Maybe duncanlamb picks us to pull the upset. He seems to know.
 

GMU79

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Back in my day, it was JMU. A bit later UR.
I'm not sure we have one now. For us, it's vcu, but yeah, until they consider us one, I don't think so. I'd say for them, it's UR.
 

mkaufman1

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Mason has a few rivals regionally.

JMU is always the first one. We’ve played them the most.

beyond that, in my opinion, our rivals are

vcu
odu
gw
richmond

Everyone can argue since Mason has been stuck in our post L black hole, that we haven’t been relevant enough to be anyone’s rival. its true.

However, Mason has been playing these schools a lot over the years and they are close enough regionally to be a rival.

vcu fans can think that mason isn’t a rival but we are. Maybe not as much as Richmond or odu, but we are.

I think that GW can really become our new ”JMU” but neither team has been good on the court in years. Until that changes, it’s all just talk.
 

MasonFanatic

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With GW actually being good (or at least, non-bad) this year, our home game against them felt a lot closer to a rivalry game than past editions. I think we're almost there with them.
 

mkaufman1

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Yeah - I mean GW looks like they are now headed in the right direction with Caputo. Same thing with English and Mason.

With two local schools, Caputo's ties to Mason, etc, there is hope that something can really be built out. I'd love to have Mason/GW play for a 1st place spot or something of that ilk at some point.

GW students/alums care less about sports than our alums, so we'll see what materializes. It still could take years.

Until their fans start to take over Eaglebank like a JMU or vcu type crowd, and the product improves more, there won't be much of anything. Mason fans have taken over the Smith Center to some degree.
 
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