There have been plenty of surprises in the Atlantic 10 so far this season. One that hasn’t been is VCU (24-5, 14-2), currently on an eight-game win streak, winning the last four games by 16+ points. They’re the big favorites to win the regular season title and the upcoming conference tournament in DC.
The last time these two teams faced, Duquesne defeated the Rams in the A-10 championship game to make the NCAA Tournament for the first time in decades. Once again, the Dukes are the underdogs. But can they pull off the upset to hurt VCU’s at-large hopes? Here are three keys to watch.
1. Limit the impact of Max Shulga
With VCU as the best team, there’s no reason why their best player won’t be the Conference Player of the Year. This year, it’s Shulga, who is averaging 15.2 ppg and 3.9 apg, shooting 43% from three-point range. He struggled last March against the Dukes, but Jimmy Clark won’t defend him this time. Cam Crawford and Jakub Necas will get the main assignments on him and will have to slow him down.
2. Fermin/Bamgboye vs Dixon/Wilborn
Both teams use multiple big men at the five-spot. David Dixon is coming off a strong 10-point outing against George Mason’s bigs, while 6’10 freshman Luke Bamgboye has emerged as a key starter for the Rams, including 17 points against Davidson and seven blocks in a game versus UMass. To have any shot at an upset, the Dukes have to win the 40-minute battle at the five-spot.
3. X-factors at the four-spot
After a slow start offensively, senior forward Jack Clark has been on a heater for VCU, scoring 17+ points in three of the last five games, including making at least four three-point shots in each of them. Meanwhile, Matus Hronsky is the new starter there for Duquesne, scoring a career-high 16 points at Dayton but shooting just 2/9 combined in the last two outings. For Duquesne to win, they’ll need to get some offensive production from all the starters while also preventing VCU’s role players from going off. This is a sneaky important matchup on the Dukes' side in hopes of winning.