In the early portion of the A10 schedule, home teams have had the upper hand. Last night two games were contested with the visitors victorious in both. And the two games were double figure differences, not down to the wire affairs. The two winners from last night , Dayton (4-0) and VCU (3-1) are set to meet Friday night at UD Arena, certain to be an interesting matchup.
Dayton 82 Fordham 58
Possessions: 70
Offensive efficiency: Dayton 117, Fordham 83
Fordham had a 15-1 edge in offensive rebounds and forced Dayton into 16 turnovers (23% TO rate). The number that mattered though was the final score. Anthony Grant’s undefeated (in A10 play) Flyers used a first and second half run plus solid defense to post the victory. DaRon Holmes led the way for Dayton with a game high 32 points and six rebounds. Freshman Will Richardson paced Fordham with 13. The Rams’ scoring threat Darius Quisenberry was limited to three points (1 of 7 from the floor) in 32 minutes of action.
VCU 78 Loyola 64
Possessions: 66
Offensive efficiency: VCU 118, Loyola 97
VCU led by three at the half then used a 24-4 run in the final stanza to break the game open. The Rams shot 57% from the floor and forced 22 Loyola turnovers (33% TO rate). Those Rambler miscues amounted to a 31-10 VCU advantage in points off turnovers. Six VCU players hit double figures with Jalen DeLoach leading the way with 16 points. Tom Welch led Loyola with 16 points, 5 rebounds. Loyola shot 60% the first half and 51% for the game. Turnovers, as mentioned, proved to be a significant difference.
Top 5 Offensive Efficiency:
George Washington 115
Dayton 114
VCU 113
Saint Louis 112
George Mason 108
Conference games only and numbers courtesy of Kenpom.com.
