VCU, Rhode Island put streaks on line
VCU (16-5, 6-2) vs. Rhode Island (15-5, 7-1)
Thomas M. Ryan Center, Kingston, Rhode Island; Friday, 7 p.m. EST
BOTTOM LINE: Rhode Island looks for its eighth straight conference win against VCU. VCU’s last A10 loss came against the Dayton Flyers 79-65 on Jan. 14. Rhode Island has won all seven games against A10 opponents this season.
LEADING THE WAY: Rhode Island’s Fatts Russell has averaged 19.7 points, 4.8 assists and 3.1 steals while Cyril Langevine has put up 9.8 points and 10.2 rebounds. For VCU, Marcus Santos-Silva has averaged 13.2 points and 9.2 rebounds while De’Riante Jenkins has put up 10.8 points, 4.1 rebounds and two steals.
CLAMPING DOWN: Rhode Island has allowed only 62.6 points per game across eight conference games, an improvement from the 72.1 per game the team allowed in non-conference play.
FACILITATING THE OFFENSE: Russell has accounted for 41 percent of all Rhode Island field goals over the last three games. The junior guard has 22 field goals and 13 assists in those games.
STREAK STATS: Rhode Island has won its last three home games, scoring an average of 70.7 points while giving up 58.7.
ASSIST DISTRIBUTION: The VCU offense has recently used assists to create baskets more often than VCU. Rhode Island has 44 assists on 85 field goals (51.8 percent) across its past three games while VCU has assists on 48 of 85 field goals (56.5 percent) during its past three games.
STIFLING DEFENSE: VCU has forced opponents into committing turnovers on 25.6 percent of all possessions this year, the ninth-highest rate among all Division I teams.
