The No. 6 seed BYU Cougars (24-9, Big 12) will take on the No. 11 seed VCU Rams (28-6, Atlantic 10) in the East Region of the NCAA tournament at 4:05 P.M. on Thursday, March 20. Here too, the 11 seed is dangerous. VCU won 28 games and the Atlantic 10. BYU is a good team too. They won 24 games and finished third in the Big 12. In the end, BYU may be too good for VCU but expect another close game here. Do you believe VCU will win?
BYU’s Key Players
BYU has only two players who average over 10 points a game. The leading scorer for the Cougars is Richie Saunders. Saunders is a junior 6-foot-5 forward from Riverton, Utah. He averages 16.0 points per game. The second-leading scorer for the Cougars is Egor Demin. He averages 10.3 points per game for the Cougars. BYU’s leading rebounder is Keba Keita, a 6-foot-8 junior center from Bamako, Mali.
The other starters for BYU are Mawot Mag from Perth Australia and Trevin Knell from Salt Lake City, Utah. You can see the full roster here. BYU may have so many international players because of the worldwide mission of the Church of Latter-Day Saints.
The Cougars rank 17th in the nation in rebounding efficiency. The Rams rank 33rd. That is a slight advantage for the No. 6 seed. In terms of defensive efficiency, the Cougars rank 85th nationally while the Rams rank 5th. This is another advantage for VCU. If the Rams can play stifling defense against the Cougars, they will have a strong chance.
VCU’s Key Players
The Rams have four players who average more than 10 points a game. They play a frenetic, pressing brand of basketball. The leading scorer for VCU is Max Shulga. Shulga is a senior guard from Kyiv, Ukraine. He averages 15.1 points per game. Joe Bamisile is a senior guard from Chesterfield, Virginia. He is the second-leading scorer for VCU also at 15.1 points per game.
The third-leading scorer for the Rams is Phillip Russell. He is a senior guard from St. Louis, Missouri. Russell averages 10.6 points per game. The fourth-leading scorer for the Rams is Zeb Jackson. He is a senior guard from Toledo, Ohio averaging 10.4 points per game. You can see the full roster of VCU here. VCU averages 77.1 points per game.
What Is Next?
The winner of this game will face the winner of the Wisconsin against Montana game. You can assume that will be Wisconsin. Whether BYU or VCU prevails, the Badgers are tough to play against. The run of BYU or VCU may end in the second round. The second-round game will be on Saturday in Denver, but the time is to be determined.
Prediction
BYU is 24th in the Ken Pom rankings. The VCU Rams rank 30th. There is not much of a difference between these teams. Less than might be expected of a 6/11 game. The seeding may show a bias of the committee for the Big 12 over the Atlantic 10. In terms of rebounding and defensive efficiency, we have a different story. Both teams rebound well, but BYU is slightly better. VCU is one of the most efficient defensive teams in the nation while BYU is pedestrian, at best. In a close game BYU should prevail 69-68 on a last-second shot.
Conclusion
The game between BYU and VCU will be very close and probably won on a last-second buzzer-beater. Closer at least than a 6/11 game should be. This might be the closest matchup of the Thursday games, probably even closer than the 8/9 games. It is between two evenly matched teams. BYU should win a close one. This game is sure to please the fans in Denver. It promises to be much more entertaining than the other games in the region.
