VCU will Win the NCAA Tournament - Reasons Why By Colin Bish

• The Rams are as scrappy as they come. They rank 18th in offensive rebounds and eighth in blocks. Three out of five starters are under six-foot-five, but that doesn’t stop the heart of this VCU squad. We might have to rename them the VCU Chihuahuas; cause once they start going, they aren’t going to let up. 

  
  

• If you fall under the “defense wins championships” moniker, VCU is a great squad to back. They ranked fifth nationally in defensive rating, tied with Duke and below conference champions UC San Diego, Houston and St. John’s. 

  
  

• A lot of people nowadays complain about the style of basketball being played. “They shoot too many threes,” the critics cry out. VCU agreed; they hate three-pointers too. The Rams were fourteenth in opponent three-point field-goal percentage, which will pay huge dividends come tournament time. 

  
  

• Everyone has something they consider “old reliable.” VCU has two: Joe Bamisile and Max Shulga (would that make them old reliables? That just sounds weird). Bamisile averaged 15 points, five rebounds and one steal a game as an All-Atlantic-10 performer. Max Shulga, or as I like to call him, “Ukrainian Luka Doncic,” tore up the Atlantic-10 averaging 15 points, six rebounds, four assists and two steals a game as the conference’s Player of the Year. 

  
  

• The awards keep flooding for VCU, as they not only have the conference’s Player of the Year, but the A-10 Sixth Man of the Year. Zeb Jackson does whatever you need him to do; he can turn up the scoring like he did against St. Bonaventure with 14 points. Or he can help his teammates, notching eight points, four rebounds and four assists against Loyola-Chicago. Jackson is the resident A-10 handyman, and I know Ryan Odom is very glad to have him in tow. 

Colin Bish