Rout of Towson turns into a steal party for Rams
VCU committed what is the basketball equivalent of grand larceny on Wednesday night, picking the ball away from Towson 19 times with at least one steal by 11 different players.
Quinn Casteel
Assistant Sports Editor
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VCU committed what is the basketball equivalent of grand larceny on Wednesday night, picking the ball away from Towson 19 times with at least one steal by 11 different players.
“(David) Hinton’s got to get his act together,” joked Shaka Smart after the game.
Hinton was the only healthy player on the roster not to record a steal, but Smart won’t be holding that against him.
“I think it’s a testament to our guys buying in to our style of play and everyone doing their job,” said Smart on the onslaught of steals. “We want to deny passes, we want to pressure the basketball and we want to do a good job on traps. If we can force 28 turnovers, it’s going to be a good night for the Rams.”
As Smart noted, VCU forced 28 Towson turnovers which ties a school record set earlier this season against UNC Wilmington. Appropriately enough, the Seahawks are the only team that has lost to Towson this season.
“Coach had a goal for us: It’s 25 (turnovers) a game, 25 plus,” said senior Bradford Burgess. “That was our main focus, and we used it in the game tonight.”
It was a good night for all the Rams, but particularly DJ Haley. The sophomore from Palmdale, Calif. recorded his first double-double with 10 points and 11 rebounds, but most importantly he had what may have been the highlight play of his young career. With 13 minutes remaining and the game already well in hand, the seven-footer Haley picked Towson’s Robert Nwankwo and lumbered the length of the court for a breakaway slam. From that point, the party was on.
“It felt like I was in high school again,” said Haley. “That was the first time I’ve dribbled that far in a while, but it definitely felt good.”
VCU played statistically its most dominant defensive game of the season on Wednesday night. In addition to the 19 steals, the Rams had nine blocks and allowed Towson to get off only 39 shots in comparison to VCU’s 63 field goal attempts.
As several high-profile teams saw in last year’s NCAA Tournament, it is an extremely difficult task to beat VCU with a six- or seven-man rotation. Smart makes substitutions the same way a hockey coach makes line changes, with entire lineups coming on and off the court at once. This keeps his team fresh, and the opposing team gasping for air.
“It makes the game a lot of fun,” said Haley. “We just get after it and put pressure on them.”
