VCU vs. Georgia Tech preview
VCU looks to get its third straight win over an ACC school after beating Florida State and Wake Forest last year. The Rams are 16-26 all-time against current ACC schools.
Shaka Smart and VCU will look to bounce back from a tough loss to Seton Hall tonight against Georgia Tech.
Jim Swing
Sports Editor
Commonwealth Times’ Sports Twitter
Quick hits
- VCU: 1-1
- Georgia Tech: 2-1
- All-time series: Georgia Tech leads 1-0
- Last time out: Both teams were bullied in the first round of the Charleston Classic. VCU fell to Seton Hall 69-54 while Georgia Tech lost to St. Joseph’s 66-53 just a couple hours later.
- VCU looks to get its third straight win over an ACC school after beating Florida State and Wake Forest last year. The Rams are 16-26 all-time against current ACC schools.
Keys for VCU
- Come out strong: VCU came out looking completely flat against Seton Hall. The usual energy and will to win just didn’t seem present whatsoever. Tonight, the Rams will have a chip on their shoulder after being handed a beating via the Pirates.
- Be strong in the paint: Juvonte Reddic wasn’t the presence that he needs to be in the paint last night against Seton Hall. The sophomore forward finished with just three points and fouled out in the second half. He will go up against Georgia Tech’s Kammeon Holsey, a 6-foot-8, 226-pound sophomore forward that scored 13 points and had eight rebounds last night.
- Get Burgess involved: In the first half of last night’s game, Bradford Burgess was seemingly irrelevant. His teammates weren’t getting him the ball enough and when he did have the rock in his hands, he passed up multiple good looks. Burgess also needs to continually find his way into the lane because when he does, good things happen.
- Theus to the cup: Darius Theus needs to continue to not be afraid to showcase one of his best abilities in slashing to the basket. At one point in last night’s game, Theus drove to the basket and scored over two much larger Seton Hall defenders. When Theus is able to find his way inside, it presents an extra scoring threat for VCU.
Other notes
- Heath Houston sighting: We finally got a chance to see redshirt sophomore Heath Houston on the floor as a VCU Ram for the first time last night. He wasn’t a huge presence, but he did have a nice layup as the buzzer sounded at the end of the first half that helped VCU stay in the game for the time being. Houston finished with two points, three rebounds and one block in eight minutes of play.
- Weber on the rise: Briante Weber showed some good signs last night against Seton Hall. He played in-your-face lockdown defense with two steals and hit a couple open shots when he needed to on offense. Weber was the team’s second-leading scorer with nine points in 21 minutes.
- Rice, Jr. returns: Georgia Tech’s returning leading scorer Glen Rice Jr. returns tonight after being suspended the first three games of the season for an undisclosed violation of team rules. The junior guard averaged 12.8 point per game last season.
