VCU Basketball: 3 takeaways from huge win over Saint Louis Billikens

3. In one of the few areas where Saint Louis exceeded VCU, the Rams will need to work on fastbreak points

There were not many areas in the box score where Saint Louis surpassed VCU.  The differential in rebounding – 43-28 in favor of Saint Louis – is not necessarily that surprising, given the Billikens’ reliance on the offensive glass, nor is Saint Louis’ 14-6 edge in second-chance points.

For the Rams, the most inexcusable might be the Billikens’ 11-5 advantage in fast-break points – an area where VCU has typically played fairly even with teams on.  That may not seem like that large of a deficit, but nine of those 11 points came in the second stanza – and is a key part of what kept Saint Louis in the game.

The most notable sequence occurred with about seven minutes remaining in the second half, where six total points were scored in the span of 18 minutes.  Saint Louis and VCU exchanged layups within a 12-second interval to tie the game at 56-all – but the Rams immediately gave up a wide-open layup on the other end when Yuri Collins threw a football-like pass to Jordan Goodwin for two easy points.

That may seem like a nitpicky thing – but it was situations like these that prevented the Rams from gaining much momentum.  Allowing the Billikens opportunities like this, particularly when Saint Louis features a point guard like Collins, who ranks 12th in the nation in assists per game at 6.2.

The Rams have shown that other point guards on top-tier A-10 teams – like Richmond’s Jacob Gilyard or St. Bonaventure’s Kyle Lofton – have not had much success with this, at least in VCU’s most recent outings with those teams.  But seeing Collins have that success may be worrying if VCU eventually meets the Billikens again in the A-10 Tournament.

Either way, the Rams have reasserted themselves as the favorites in the Atlantic 10, sitting half a game ahead of St. Bonaventure – and two games ahead of Richmond, Davidson, and UMass.  VCU’s showdown with Davidson on Saturday could provide another substantial boost for the Rams’ at-large aspirations – and much will depend on the status of Hyland.