VCU faces UMass in A10 tourney

No. 9 seed VCU (18-13, 8-10) vs. No. 8 seed UMass (14-17, 8-10)

Atlantic 10 Conference Tourney Second Round, Barclays Center, Brooklyn, New York; Thursday, 11 p.m. EDT

BOTTOM LINE: VCU is set to match up against UMass in the second round of the A10 tournament. The only meeting between the teams this season came on Feb. 26, when the Minutemen shot 42.9 percent from the field while holding VCU to just 31.6 percent en route to a 60-52 victory.

STEPPING UP: UMass’ Tre Mitchell has averaged 17.7 points and 7.2 rebounds while Carl Pierre has put up 12.1 points. For the Rams, Marcus Santos-Silva has averaged 12.8 points and 8.9 rebounds while De’Riante Jenkins has put up 10.3 points and four rebounds.

SPARKING THE OFFENSE: Mitchell has either made or assisted on 53 percent of all UMass field goals over the last three games. The freshman big man has accounted for 26 field goals and 10 assists in those games.

PERFECT WHEN: VCU is a perfect 6-0 when the team makes at least 79.3 percent of its free throws. The Rams are 12-13 when they shoot below 79.3 percent from the line.

THREAT FROM DEEP: UMass’s Pierre has attempted 224 3-pointers and connected on 33.5 percent of them, and is 9 of 36 over the last five games.

TOUGH DEFENSE: VCU has forced opponents into committing turnovers on 24.7 percent of all possessions this year, the eighth-highest rate among all Division I teams.