A welcome to the CAA blog and a preview of VCU-Towson

Alright ladies and gentlemen of the internet, I am picking up the baton for Michael Phillips and carrying you through the quarterfinal round today on the CAA blog. Welcome everyone.

This will be a two-track focus for the blog today. I won’t just focus on the goings on here at the Richmond Coliseum (although there will be plenty), I will do my own version of a bubble watch, a primer on who VCU/CAA will be rooting for and against in the event the top-seeded Rams don’t win the tournament. The bubble is very weak this year, so the Rams chances of making the Big Dance without an automatic are pretty decent. But more on that later. Now to the game!

No. 1 seed VCU vs. No. 9 seed Towson

The Tigers (13-17) are coming off an impressive 81-66 victory over Hofstra in the first round yesterday. Scott Thornton was excellent for Towson, scoring 22 points and Tony Durant (have you heard he is Kevin Durant’s brother!) knocked in 20 points. When VCU thumped Towson 65-42 at the Siegel Center this season, Thornton was the only player in double figures with 13 points (4-12 from the field).
The only time the Tigers had any trouble with the Pride yesterday was during a stretch where Thornton hardly touched the ball. The Rams will play special attention to him, you can bank on that.
For VCU (23-6) you know who is carrying the mail here. CAA Player of the year Eric Maynor (17.8 ppg, 5.3 apg) and fellow first-team all-conference performer Jamal Shuler (15.6 ppg, 1.62 spg and 41.2 percent from 3-point line). That and a mean defense (conference best in scoring defense, field goal percentage defense and 3-point defense) is why VCU have won the regular-season for the second consecutive season.
VCU has dominated this series and this may look like a straight forward win for the Rams, but in the last few years, the Tigers have been a pain in the neck in this matchup.

Posted by George Templeton in • College Sports
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