Wichita Revival: VCU ‘shocks’ life back into season with win over WSU

Adam Stern
Sports Editor
Commonwealth Times Sports’ Twitter

No more than a week ago, VCU’s men’s basketball had everything to lose.

They had a grip on first place they’d now been holding for a month and the nation’s fourth longest active home winning streak. They also had a streak of not losing two games in a row that stretched back to last season and, perhaps most importantly, an increasingly likely look at an at-large bid into the NCAA Tournament.

But by the time the final seconds crept off the clock last Tuesday— in a literally deserted Siegel Center— after George Mason’s sheer slaughtering of the Rams, the answer to the question of what VCU had to lose in their season suddenly became stone cold and dead apparent.

Nothing.

They played like it versus Wichita State Friday night. A 68-67, by-the-skin-of-their teeth victory was a godsend for a team that has had not just their season but their aspirations turned upside down in such a short span of time.

A sense of urgency with a rekindling of confidence; the Rams proved those two can be a deadly combination.

Yet the question can’t be erased at this point: Where do they go from here? The Rams’ BracketBusters win this year is critical, but overall, success in the competition hasn’t proven to be purposeful.

“I think you’d have a hard time of finding evidence that has it ever helped anybody,” said Jerry Palm, owner and operator of CollegeRPI.com.

At the least, the win will bring VCU some needed rebounding in their RPI score. A score that took such a nosedive not just because of last week’s losses to ODU and Mason, but also through their road loss to Northeastern at the beginning of the month.

“I thought as long as [VCU] won the league they had a shot,” Palm said in reference to VCU’s chances before their losses last week. “Once you fall out of first place, it’s very difficult because they didn’t do much out of conference, so they were really going to have to do it in the league.”

Palm stated he didn’t think the Rams’ shot at an at-large bid were dead, but they were on their last lifeline. And even though the conference is having one of its best seasons ever, he is convinced the selection process is as fair as it should be.

“It’s high major centric because that’s where the best players and teams are,” Palm said. “I think non-majors are represented as well as they can be but the reality is the vast majority of the best players are at the big schools.”

George Mason should join those ranks soon. The Patriots are riding a 12-game winning streak, the longest in the nation. And they are blowing out those teams in the process.

Are they now the proverbial lock for the field of 68?

“I think if they get through the rest of the season without a bad loss, they’re probably a lock,” Palm said.

“When you play in leagues like the CAA, the worst thing you can do is take bad losses because you don’t have a lot of chances to make up for them.”

Palm said he currently has ODU and Mason in his projected field, with eight and nine seeds respectively.

VCU’s chances remain, but they almost certainly now run through the conference tournament.

Friday’s win— as tough a victory as they’ve had to grit out this season— ensured they remain though, and ensured they still haven’t lost three games since a span in December 2004 during the Jeff Capel era.

Records remain intact; and VCU will be one of the favorites to win the conference title. There are still things to play for.

For now, that’s all that matters.

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Photo by: Kyle Laferierre