In a game where both teams struggled to get going offensively, the VCU Rams never fully got into rhythm, falling to the Duquesne Dukes 69-59 in their home finale at the Stuart C. Siegel Center on Tuesday night.
The loss, the second in a row for VCU, dropped the Rams to 11-6 in Atlantic 10 play, 19-11 overall, and makes the path to a double-bye in next week’s Atlantic 10 Tournament much more difficult for first year head coach Ryan Odom’s Rams.
In all, VCU led for just 4:35 of the contest, keeping the game close for much of the night before things came unraveled in the game’s closing stanzas.
Duquesne (19-11, 9-8 A-10), pulled off the road upset at the Siegel Center for the first time since 2020. Head coach Keith Dambrot’s Dukes have now won three of their last four against VCU, and have placed themselves solidly in the middle of the A-10 pack as the last weekend of the regular season approaches.
Injury report
A pair of injuries at the guard position left the Rams thin on Tuesday night.
In pregame, senior guard Max Shulga was ruled out due to back spasms, missing his first game of the season on senior night. The Ukrainian guard, who passed 1,000 career collegiate points on Feb. 28 against Rhode Island, is VCU’s leading scorer with 15 points per game.
With Shulga out, redshirt freshman Fats Billups got significant run as a reserve point guard spelling Jason Nelson, who was elevated to the starting lineup in Shulga’s absence.
However, with less than a minute to go in the first half, Billups went down under the left basket with an apparent right ankle injury after completing a superb transition layup. The Richmond native was helped off the floor by teammate Roosevelt Wheeler and assistant coach Bradford Burgess and taken into the locker room. Billups did not return to the game and did not appear to put weight on the ankle as he was being carried off.
When he left the game, Billups had five points on 2-of-3 shooting in nine minutes of action.
As of 11 p.m. on March 5, there is no update on the severity of Billups’ injury.
Bamisile back
VCU’s leading scorer in the loss was senior guard Joe Bamisile, who put up a team high 18 points on 4-of-9 from beyond the 3-point arc.
But the biggest news the transfer guard made on Tuesday night came after the game.
Bamisile confirmed following the game that he will be using his optional “COVID year” of eligibility to return to VCU for his fifth year of college basketball.
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The decision marks a period of stability not seen by Bamisile during his collegiate career. The Chesterfield native has transferred following every year of his collegiate career, which began at Virginia Tech before stops at George Washington and Oklahoma led to VCU.
As a multi-time transfer, Bamisile was originally expected to sit out for the duration of the 2023-24 season before a federal judge issued an injunction against the NCAA that permitted multi-time transfers to play without being forced to sit out.
Bamisile missed most of the non-conference schedule due to eligibility concerns after having his waiver for immediate eligibility denied by the NCAA. In requesting immediate eligibility, Bamisile noted the health of his father and his own mental health challenges meant he desired to live closer to home and his family.
Since making his season debut on Dec. 16 against Temple, Bamisile has quickly endeared himself to VCU fans with his fun play style, his athletic bounciness and his explosive scoring ability. He has cracked the 20-point barrier five times, led by a 29-point outing against Saint Louis on Jan. 19, and became the first VCU player with back-to-back 20-point games since JeQuan Lewis in 2017.
Safe to say, VCU fans are looking forward to a full season with Bamisile on the roster.
Happy senior day!
Prior to the game, five VCU players were recognized as part of the senior day festivities.
Grad transfers Kuany Kuany and Sean Bairstow and seniors Max Shulga, Zeb Jackson and Connor Odom were recognized before the home finale Tuesday night.
Four of the five players have spent just one season at VCU, while Jackson, who transferred from Michigan in 2022, spent the last two seasons on Broad Street.
Shulga’s impact has been immediate, leading VCU in scoring after coming to VCU from Utah State with head coach Ryan Odom. The preseason All-A-10 Second Team selection has placed himself in firm consideration for conference First Team honors ahead of awards announcements next week and has become a popular player at VCU.
Shulga has a fifth year of “COVID eligibility” available, although there is no word on whether he will take the extra year or not.
One of the few holdovers from the Mike Rhoades era, Jackson has emerged as a leader of the VCU squad as they retool under Odom. Jackson’s playstyle, similar to former VCU guard Marcus Evans, has endeared him to fans as he emerged as a steady presence in the starting lineup this season.
Jackson missed two games during the conference slate with back spasms, but remains third on the team with 11 points per game. The Michigan transfer trails only Shulga in total assists and has emerged as a top facilitator on the floor.
Like Shulga, Jackson has a fifth year of eligibility should he choose to use it. After Tuesday’s game, Jackson stated he had not decided his future plans.
Joining Shulga from Utah State, Sean Bairstow missed much of the early part of the season recovering from a foot fracture sustained in the offseason.
Following his debut on Dec. 22 against University of Maryland-Eastern Shore, the 6-8 Australian has emerged as a consistent scoring threat, joining Bamisile, Shulga and Jackson in averaging double figures.
Despite missing 13 games, Bairstow’s 75 assists places him third behind Shulga and Jackson in total assists and first on the team in assist average. He also joins Shulga as the only Ram averaging more than 30 minutes per game.
Bairstow is using his fifth year of eligibility this season and will conclude his college career this month.
Fellow Australian Kuany Kuany transferred to VCU from Cal and subsequently missed the first 16 3-pointers he shot as a Ram.
After knocking the rust off? He became one of VCU’s most reliable deep threats.
Although a recent slide has dragged the average down slightly, Kuany is shooting just under 39% from deep, among the best on VCU’s roster. The skill is especially valuable given Kuany’s 6-9, more forward-esque build.
Kuany is also one of VCU’s most durable players, having appeared in all 30 games thus far this season.
Against Alcorn on Dec. 10, Kuany knocked down four 3-pointers on his way to a 15-point performance. The following month, he set his season high of 16 points on 5-of-7 shooting, including a perfect 3-of-3 night from deep.
Like Bairstow, Kuany will also conclude his collegiate career this month with VCU’s last game.
Joining Bairstow and Shulga from Utah State is walk-on Connor Odom – son of head coach Ryan Odom. The walk-on appeared in just one game this season in a blowout win against Saint Louis, missing his only shot attempt.
Odom’s journey to that one game is remarkable. He has been open with his struggles overcoming a combination of Lyme Disease, anxiety and obsessive-compulsive disorder. In recognition, Odom was named a co-recipient of the Perry Wallace Most Courageous Award in 2023 from the U.S. Basketball Writers Association.
Clark returns
Former VCU guard Tre Clark III made his first appearance at the Siegel Center since his dismissal from the VCU program in 2021 on Tuesday night – this time as a starting guard for Duquesne.
As a Duke, Clark has become a top scorer and has averaged double figures in two seasons in Pittsburgh.
Although he only had three makes on 14 attempts Tuesday, the senior guard scored nine points and dished out a team-high four assists, joining fellow backcourt mate Dae Dae Grant in a 3-point onslaught at the Siegel Center.
Clark played in 33 games for VCU from 2019 to 2021, mostly in a reserve guard role behind Marcus Evans, Bones Hyland and Ace Baldwin.
Entering Tuesday’s game, Clark’s 15 points per game average trailed only Grant for the team lead at Duquesne.
Grant, meanwhile, lit up the scoreboard with 26 points in the Duquesne win. Grant, who is second in the country in free throw percentage at 95.5%, drained all five attempts from the line while also knocking down five 3-pointers. Some of those 3-pointers were from deep, NBA-level range and helped bury the Rams.
Next game out
VCU’s regular season will conclude on the road with a Friday night ESPN showcase matchup against No. 25 Dayton. VCU must to pull off the upset win in order to clinch a double-bye in next week’s A-10 Tournament and not rely on outside results.
VCU defeated then-No. 16 Dayton at the Siegel Center earlier this season, 49-47.
The loss Tuesday night means VCU lacks a lot of control in the double-bye race, with St. Bonaventure and UMass both nipping at VCU’s heels. Should either or both tie with VCU on record, VCU would lose the tiebreaker by virtue of its head-to-head record with both teams.
