NCAAB Game Preview - Florida Gulf Coast at VCU
Sat Nov 23, 2019 7:00 PM EST

UMass
46
UVA
58
F
CSBak
49
Gonz
77
F
FlaAM
51
Seton
87
F
Miss
86
Mem
87
F
FlGlf
48
VCU
78
F
(N/A)
44
InWor
68
F
Morg
57
WIMil
62
F
S UT
80
ChaSo
45
F
Buck
46
Syr
97
F
DeP
72
BC
67
F
ArkLR
58
NCSU
74
F
UNCW
66
FIU
63
F
E IL
63
BethC
66
F
GrgWas
78
Evans
70
F
RobM
62
Marq
66
F
YSU
66
USC-Up
61
F
E WA
90
HiPt
74
F
(N/A)
41
Toled
100
F
UNH
71
JMU
78
F
StFPA
65
FSU
80
F
DelSt
66
ETSU
98
F
(N/A)
60
CenMI
106
F
Charl
71
UCF
72
F
Gram
58
OrSt
80
F
StBon
57
Canis
61
F
AzSt
80
StJon
67
F
GrCan
58
Ford
70
F
NIU
68
SIU-E
64
F
ORU
59
WichSt
68
F
Troy
60
Samf
72
F
Stony
87
Merrim
84
F(OT)
E KY
51
Clev
65
F
How
69
Ball
100
F
(N/A)
69
UCSB
88
F
UCDav
62
Portl
72
F
Army
73
Bingha
88
F
Albany
72
SacHr
65
F
Penn
81
Prov
75
F
Yale
56
PSU
58
F
Manh
69
Elon
64
F
(N/A)
59
TXAMC
69
F
NJIT
63
Brown
79
F
Lib
71
Rice
59
F
IlSt
69
W Ky
83
F
Belm
55
StLou
60
F
Mercer
72
IL-C
68
F
Rider
87
Colum
63
F
Denv
49
UCRiv
73
F
UtVal
68
NDSU
62
F
Iona
75
KennSt
52
F
Presb
64
Quin
73
F
Bois
82
Pacif
76
F(3OT)
TXSo
98
NoKY
96
F(2OT)
Citad
79
Maris
75
F
Corn
66
Copp
68
F(OT)
PVAM
78
CenAR
72
F(OT)
Vermt
81
CenCT
49
F
(N/A)
62
W IL
113
F
UMKC
74
ECU
68
F
Leh
66
StMar
77
F
SHSU
81
USF
90
F
Hamp
71
Ill
120
F
SeLA
60
APSU
81
F
JSU
49
Purd
81
F
Stetsn
63
Monm
55
F
PorSt
91
SJSU
76
F
Sac
77
Pepp
72
F
(N/A)
50
Ida
100
F
SMU
72
UNLV
68
F
GASt
69
CBU
60
F
No. 21 VCU looks to keep perfect run going vs. FGCU
Fri Nov 22, 2019 6:32 PM

The VCU Rams, ranked in the Top 25 for the first year since 2015, will play host to the Florida Gulf Coast Eagles on Saturday night.

VCU, which opened the season ranked No. 25 due in part to returning eight of its top nine scorers from last season, is off to a 4-0 start. The Rams are up to No. 21 this week thanks in large part to their 84-82 home win over then-No. 23 LSU on Nov. 13.

The Rams forced 26 turnovers and turned them into 37 points against the Tigers. VCU has won 15 straight home games, often using a frenetic press to force mistakes.

"You can't simulate what they do," LSU coach Will Wade -- who was head coach at VCU from 2015-17 - told reporters of the Rams' defense after the game. "And they do it every night."

Florida Gulf Coast (1-4) will also have to deal with VCU's loud and wacky fans, who have shown up night after night, producing 138 consecutive home sellouts.

The Eagles, who gained national fame as the team known as "Dunk City" for its high-flying upsets of Georgetown and San Diego State in the 2013 NCAA Tournament, finished 14-18 last season.

Florida Gulf Coast returns only four players who got playing time in 2018-19, though two are starters: 6-foot-6 senior guard Christian Carlyle and 6-4 sophomore guard Zach Scott.

But Carlyle, who averaged 8.1 points last season and was ranked as one of the Atlantic Sun Conference's top 10 returners, suffered a season-ending injury this summer.

So the fact the Eagles lost four straight to open the season should not come as much of a surprise, though they prevented the streak from reaching five when they rallied from a 19-point second-half deficit to beat Florida Atlantic 72-70 in overtime Wednesday.

Junior guard Jalen Warren, one of nine newcomers on the Eagles roster, drove the length of the floor and drained a high-arching shot from the foul line that fell through as time expired.

"This was as good a win -- in terms of pride in the program -- since I've been with FGCU," said second-year coach Michael Fly, who had served as an Eagles assistant before taking the top job in 2018. "I can't recall coming back from that many points."

Warren, a junior-college transfer, finished with 21 points, including a jumper with 11 seconds left that had given the Eagles a 70-68 lead.

Scott leads Florida Gulf Coast with 15.6 points per game. Returning guard Caleb Catto is averaging 12.6 points, and Warren is averaging 10.2 points.

The Rams, who finished 25-8 and made the NCAA Tournament last season, will test all of those Eagles players.

VCU, which won the 2019 Atlantic 10 regular-season title, is led by third-year coach Mike Rhoades and four returning starters: 6-2 senior point guard Marcus Evans, 6-5 senior shooting guard De'Riante Jenkins, 6-6 senior forward Isaac Vann and 6-7, 250-pound junior center Marcus Santos-Silva.

Evans, who has overcome two ACL injuries, is a first-team all-league player. Jenkins, a third-team all-league player, uses his length to spark a defense that ranked in the top 10 nationally in several categories last season.

Santos-Silva, who had the first 20 points-20 rebounds game in Atlantic 10 Tournament history last season, is a handful.

Just ask Wade, who said of Santos-Silva: "We didn't have an answer for him down low."

Rhoades, meanwhile, communicated after the LSU game what he expects from his players.

"Sometimes you have to put your guts on the floor," Rhoades said. "You have to make plays, figure it out (and) find a way."

--Field Level Media

Team Record Comparison

Standings GB W-L Aw/Hm Stk L10
Florida Gulf Coast  
VCU  

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