Busting Brackets
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VCU Basketball: Keys for Rams Round of 64 game versus UCF

By Dave Ascoli

NEW YORK, NEW YORK - MARCH 15: De'Riante Jenkins #0 of the Virginia Commonwealth Rams celebrates a basket against the Rhode Island Rams during their Atlantic 10 basketball tournament quarterfinal game at Barclays Center on March 15, 2019 in New York City. (Photo by Al Bello/Getty Images)
NEW YORK, NEW YORK - MARCH 15: De'Riante Jenkins #0 of the Virginia Commonwealth Rams celebrates a basket against the Rhode Island Rams during their Atlantic 10 basketball tournament quarterfinal game at Barclays Center on March 15, 2019 in New York City. (Photo by Al Bello/Getty Images) /
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HARTFORD, CT – MARCH 11: Tacko Fall #24 of the UCF Knights looks on during the second half against the Southern Methodist Mustangs during the semifinal round of the AAC Basketball Tournament at the XL Center on March 11, 2017 in Hartford, Connecticut. (Photo by Maddie Meyer/Getty Images)
HARTFORD, CT – MARCH 11: Tacko Fall #24 of the UCF Knights looks on during the second half against the Southern Methodist Mustangs during the semifinal round of the AAC Basketball Tournament at the XL Center on March 11, 2017 in Hartford, Connecticut. (Photo by Maddie Meyer/Getty Images) /

2. Hold the Tacko

A fully healthy Marcus Evans would be huge, but it certainly won’t guarantee a VCU win. Not if Tacko Fall has anything to say about it. The 7’6″ big man (that’s redundant, isn’t it?) is a major, major problem for any team he faces. And Fall’s 10.9 points, 7.3 rebounds, and 2.5 blocks per game only tell part of the story.

The senior is averaging 75.4 percent from the field this season, which is good for tops in the nation. He’s also fourth in the country in free throw rate and 15th in block percentage. To put it mildly, Tacko can’t be stopped. The dude doesn’t even have to leave his feet in order to dunk. The only way to be effective against him is to tire him out, get him into foul trouble, or draw him away from the basket. Or some combination of those three.

VCU’s Marcus Santos-Silva will likely draw the assignment against Fall. MSS is a solid player, and his strength should be able to make things tougher for Tacko. But make no mistake — Fall is going to get his. If VCU can limit him and make the other Knights beat them, they’ll be in good shape.