VCU routs George Washington to cement itself as A-10 favorite
In Shaka Smart's first five seasons as head coach at VCU, the Rams have won 26 or more games every year, made the NCAA tournament four times and even advanced to the school's only Final Four.
The one thing Smart curiously hasn't accomplished is winning a league title.
VCU took a step toward checking that off Smart's list Tuesday night by demolishing arguably its biggest competition to win the Atlantic 10 this season. One of the Rams' most dominant defensive efforts of the season carried them to a 72-48 rout of a George Washington team that entered the game only a half game out of first place.
Swarming full-court pressure defense harassed George Washington into 16 turnovers, but that wasn't what led to the Colonials' demise. They also couldn't score even when they did get across half court, shooting only 26.9 percent from the field, getting almost nothing out of their frontcourt and missing all but one of the 17 threes they attempted. Guards Kethan Savage and Joe McDonald were able to get to the foul line with consistency, but George Washington finished with more turnovers than field goals.
VCU's shot poorly from the perimeter too and struggled to score early in the game, but the Rams turned defense into offense as the game went along. Freshman Terry Larier and sophomore JeQuan Lewis combined for 28 points off the bench and forward Mo-Alie Cox added a rim-rattling transition slam as the Rams extended an eight-point halftime lead to as many as 29 points late in the second half.
While a road win at VCU would have been a lot to ask from George Washington, the one-sided final score was a bit surprising. The 14th-ranked Rams (17-3, 7-0) had only won two of their first six league games by more than six points, and those were against rebuilding Saint Joseph's and bottom feeder Fordham.
VCU now holds a one-game lead over second-place Dayton with George Washington, Dayton and Rhode Island all two back in the loss column. The Rams have already won their lone meeting with the Rams on the road, but they still have a home game against the Flyers and road tests at George Washington and Davidson left to play.
A league title is far from a foregone conclusion at this point for the Rams with more than half the Atlantic 10 season left to play and so many teams close on their heels.
Nonetheless, Tuesday's rout was an important win for VCU and a sign it is serious about erasing one of the few black marks on Smart's otherwise illustrious resume.
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Jeff Eisenberg is the editor of The Dagger on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at daggerblog@yahoo.com or follow him on Twitter!
