Havoc by the numbers

Quinn Casteel
Assistant Sports Editor
Commonwealth Times’ Sports Twitter

VCU’s team-record 20 steals against UNC Wilmington wasn’t the only jaw-dropping statistic to take away from Saturday night.

• The 87-64 beat down of the Seahawks was the Rams’ fifth victory of more than 20 points this season, which comes out of a total of just seven wins. In VCU’s last five victories, which have come in a span of just six games, only George Washington has finished within 20 and they were only able to keep the deficit to 15.

In that same span, VCU’s average margin of victory is 21.2 points and it comes in the heart of its non-conference  schedule, plus the floater of a CAA opener against UNCW. On paper, the past few games, particularly the matchups with South Florida and Richmond may have been seen as RPI boosters, but as those teams continue to sputter they may ultimately seem less impressive than they do today.

Regardless, the Rams’ recent statistical dominance is something to be admired. After beginning the season at an underwhelming 2-2 and putting up just 61.5 points a game coming out of the Charleston Classic, they have averaged 72.7 in six games since leaving the beaches of Charleston.

• The offensive production has skyrocketed and shooting percentages across the roster have climbed but perhaps the most telling statistic is the turnover margin. In games that VCU has dominated, turnovers have been the difference in the game and we all know that’s by design.
• VCU won the turnover battle 28-8 against UNCW, 17-7 against Richmond, 17-10 against GW, 15-8 against South Florida and 22-15 in the second matchup with Western Kentucky. Add it all up and it’s a plus-51 turnover differential in just five contests.

Simply put, when the defensive side of Havoc has worked, the Rams have uncontainable.

(Photo by Chris Conway)