Usually, playing in Dayton in March means you’re in the first four of the NCAA Tournament, but for St. Bonventure and VCU, the NCAA tournament bid is contested on Sunday in Ohio.
Both teams are strong defensively. In the top 20 nationally each score has been allowed on a per-possession basis using different styles. VCU’s rate of steals at No. 2 is on a per possession basis while St. Bonventure does not generate as many turnovers, but ranks seventh in the nation in shooting percentage of opponents.
The Bonnies are going to slow down the game and keep it under control as the team plays with 15-fewest possessions per game of any team in the country. There is slightly more material to run VCU, which ranks 116th out of 347 Division I teams in the country.
Away from home, St. Bonventure has not been the same offense, scoring 13.8 fewer points per 100 possessions in road and neutral-court games as opposed to at home. The Bonnies shot 28.3 percent from 3-point range away from home, the second-largest mismatch in the country, compared to 42.1 percent from home.
VCU blocks 9.7 percent of shots on defense, the third-largest percentage in the country. Comb out that each of its top four scorers is shooting better than 74.5 percent at the free throw line, compared to guard Nahan Highland’s 85.6 percent, and Ram has one win to come out of Dayton and achieve the NCAA The strength and balance of the tournament is the bid of the tournament.
drama: VCU, +2.5.
Leave a Reply