Shaka Smart is steering clear of Bracketology prognostications

Jim Swing
Sports Editor
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When it comes to prognosticating bid amounts and other things related to the NCAA Tournament, Shaka Smart can be downright dismissive.

The same VCU men’s basketball head coach that received what some would call a miraculous at-large bid to the Big Dance a season ago admits that he’s become less and less of an RPI guy, more and more. For the past couple of weeks, Smart has been fielding questions about whether the Colonial Athletic Association can receive more than one bid by the dozens.

“As a coach you’re so locked in on your own team,” Smart said. “I haven’t really studied many other teams around the country. I check the scores; that’s about it.”

You get the sense that the Rams are never concerned about what the Selection Committee might be thinking. But a win over a Northern Iowa team ranked 62nd in the RPI rankings certainly helps their cause.

“It was important. We just thought about last year’s game and how we were at Wichita, and we won a tight game out there, and that was the difference between us and them getting into the tournament last year,” VCU senior Bradford Burgess said. “So we thought we were in a similar position this year with a great Northern Iowa team trying to battle to have the guys see what we’re capable of and what they’re capable of, and hopefully we caught their eye.”

The Rams currently stand 70th in the RPI standings, the best in the CAA.

Burgess said he pays no attention to the numbers.

“The coaches do but we just come in and work hard and play,” he said.

While it’s arguable what BracketBusters matchups actually do for teams, there’s always the proverbial “eye test” that leaves the numbers out of the equation. Perhaps that’s what earned VCU an at-large bid last season. And with the high-powered – and unique – Havoc defense the Rams boast, this year’s Selection Sunday could turn out much like the last.

“I think the fact that we can take teams out of their style of play and what they’re trying to do is impressive for people watching,” Smart said.

And that’s exactly what VCU did to Northern Iowa Friday night. Wore the Panthers down, smelt blood and attacked in the closing minutes in front of a national audience on ESPN2. The Rams turned Northern Iowa over nearly nine times more than their season average and gave the country an inside look on one of the nation’s best kept defensive secrets.

“I think they’re very good and I think they’re very good for a couple of reasons because of how they’re coached,” Panthers coach Ben Jacobson said. “How well prepared they are and how hard they play and I think that’s a result of coaching.”

With two games remaining in the regular season including a crucial final tilt with George Mason carrying major CAA Tournament implications, VCU is focused on the here and now.

“At the end of the day all you can do is control what you can control,” Smart said. “And for us that’s two more regular season games and the conference tournament.”