VCU looks for payback against George Mason Saturday
For VCU, the bitterness from just over a week and a half ago still lingers.
Jim Swing
Sports Editor
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For VCU, the bitterness from just over a week and a half ago still lingers.
A game at George Mason all but won came crashing and burning in the final seconds thanks to a furious Patriots comeback and a 30-foot buzzer beater by Sherrod Wright.
“That’s a tough one to swallow for us with it being such a hard-fought game,” Rams point guard Darius Theus said. “They made good plays down the stretch with one minute left, they hit a couple of threes but that last one was just a tough shot and so hard to get off our mind for awhile.”
VCU head coach Shaka Smart admitted that he, among all his players, might have had the toughest time putting that game behind him. But the Rams have won two-straight games since that night and are heating up at the right time one week away from the CAA Tournament.
A rematch with George Mason Saturday night presents an opportunity for VCU to seal the No. 2 seed in the conference tournament and get a little payback.
“We definitely want to win this one pretty badly,” sophomore guard Rob Brandenberg said. “It’s the last game on the schedule”
And one of the most anticipated all season. The battle between the Patriots and the Rams has been an ongoing cage fight for the last couple of years. George Mason trounced VCU at the Siegel Center last February before VCU returned the favor at the Richmond Coliseum a couple weeks later. The Rams have knocked the Patriots out of the CAA Tournament the past three seasons and hold a 29-18 advantage on the all-time series.
Saturday night will be especially momentous for VCU’s lone senior Bradford Burgess, who will play his final game on the Siegel Center floor.
Burgess said he’s likely to have had more of an urge for revenge in a couple of games against Old Dominion, but this one against George Mason is the most he’s felt all season long.
“This is very important for us since we lost the way we lost and what it says for the seeding in the tournament,” Burgess said. “So this is a very important game for us.”