BROOKLYN — The old adage about it being very hard to beat a team three times in the same season has been disproven countless times, most recently Thursday night by the VCU Rams.
"Depending on what side of the fence you're on, right?" VCU head coach Mike Rhoades asked rhetorically on Friday. "That's how you use it."
In what could have been their most complete performance of the season, VCU beat Davidson for the third time this year in the A-10 quarterfinals. They have a second chance to do the same thing against St. Louis in the conference semifinals on Saturday.
The Rams won at St. Louis on Feb. 3rd behind a career high 37 points from Ace Baldwin then won the rematch at the Siegel Center on on Feb. 28th by having six different players score in double figures.
"I think we were really aggressive with them," recalled Rams senior forward Brandon Johns Jr. "We made them uncomfortable on the court. That's always our plan."
In each game against the Billikens, St. Louis held their own for parts of the contest, actually leading at halftime on the road. But, as head coach Travis Ford explained, there was plenty that went wrong for his team both times.
"There were some things we did decently," Ford recalled. "But there were some things in both games that stood out that we need to get better at. I've got a lot of respect for VCU and we're going to have to play well, to say the least."
"When you're very familiar with an opponent, you want to make sure you stick to who you are and not get away from your style of play and the emphasis you have," Rhoades explained. "It's always going to be about us, no matter who it is."
VCU is a perfect 6-0 when they make the A-10 semifinals. These four semifinalists (VCU, St. Louis, Dayton, Fordham) ensure the conference will have a 12th different champion this year.
VCU tips off with St. Louis at 1 p.m. Saturday on the CBS Sports Network.
