VCU Rams: 3 Thoughts on Win over Illinois State

The VCU Rams survived an early Illinois State onslaught with Briante Weber on the bench to win 66-62 on Tuesday night. The Rams won despite allowing Illinois State to shoot 53.8% from the field and 65.2% from beyond the 3-point arc. VCU’s offensive rebounding and defensive pressure tilted the matchup in its favor. Here are three thoughts from the team’s�victory:

VCU is a different team with Briante Weber on the court

Weber sat out the first 14 minutes tonight for what Shaka Smart described as “team reasons”. During the stretch that he was on the bench, the Rams�fell behind by double figures and managed just two turnovers. With Weber back on the court for the last six minutes of the first half, VCU forced 8 more turnovers and closed the halftime deficit to two points.

The transformation�in�VCU’s play with Weber on the court and on the bench is staggering. With Weber sitting, the vaunted Havoc defense struggled to create turnovers, and in turn easy scoring opportunities. When he entered the game, the Rams went from forcing a turnover every 7 minutes to forcing one nearly every minute.

While Weber’s offensive game is still a work in progress, his ability to create turnovers simply cannot be ignored. In the six games he’s played in this season, he is averaging an astonishing 4 steals per game. If he keeps up anything close to his current rate and doesn’t miss anymore time for off-court behavior, Weber will crush the NCAA’s�career record for steals.

The Rams needed this victory

After dropping a marquee matchup to Villanova and a stunner to arch-rival Old Dominion, VCU couldn’t afford to lose this game. In the coming weeks, the team will take on 8th ranked Virginia, undefeated Northern Iowa, perennial cinderella candidate Belmont, and regular NCAA Tournament participant Cincinnati. A loss tonight could’ve quickly turned the Old Dominion game from a disappointing upset into the start of a tailspin.

More from Mid Major Conferences

• San Diego State Basketball: Projected starting lineup and depth chart for 2023-24
• San Diego State Basketball: Top 5 non-con opponents for 2023-24 season
• Gonzaga Basketball: Jun Seok Yeo a huge x-factor for 2023-24 season
• WCC Basketball: Ranking of 25 best players from last decade (2013-23)
• WAC Basketball: Ranking of 25 best players from last decade (2013-23)

Ignoring context, this is also an important victory because of how VCU won it. Winning a game while shooting under 34% from the field is hard enough. Doing so when the opponent is hitting over half its shots seems nearly impossible. Tonight, VCU did just that by earning a number of second-chance points and easy baskets off of turnovers. Shaka Smart’s squad collected 19 offensive rebounds and forced Illinois State into 24 turnovers to secure victory. Learning how to win when shots aren’t falling is vital for any team that hopes to make a deep run in March.

VCU isn’t in the clear just yet

After being voted the unanimous favorite in the Atlantic 10 preseason poll, VCU’s season was a few shots away from a potentially huge slump. The Rams nearly fell to 4-3 before even hitting the difficult stretch of the schedule. Given how the team is playing right now, a win over Virginia on Saturday would be a major upset. With the challenging�games that follow, it’s easy to imagine VCU entering A-10 play with a record hovering just above .500.

The good news for VCU is that there isn’t another team in the Atlantic 10 that has shined so far this year. Additionally, Atlantic 10 schedule makers did the Rams�a major favor by leaving road games against UMass and Dayton off of the conference slate. So while recent results might be cause for concern, VCU has a great opportunity to turn its season around and find itself positioned for another trip to the tournament.