VCU outlasts George Mason, 70-65, to pick up key NCAA resume win

VCU seemed to be poised to break open a tight game late, but George Mason made it close in the final seconds, before the Rams were able to close out a 70-65 win on Tuesday night at the Siegel Center.

Big win there for VCU (23-7, 14-3 A-10), which adds a resume win to its quest for NCAA Tournament contention.

Mason (22-8, 10-7 A-10) has lost five of its last six, and is 4-7 since starting the season with an 18-1 mark.

VCU led 34-33 at the half, and had a 65-57 lead on a Terrence Hill three with 3:58 to go.

The Patriots got it down to 68-65 on an and-one from Jahari Long with 58 seconds to go, then forced a miss from VCU guard Brandon Jennings with 28 ticks left, but the Rams snared the offensive rebound, and got the game back to two possessions with a Hill layup at the nine-second mark.

Long missed a three with six seconds to go, and VCU grabbed the loose-ball rebound to close things out.

NCAA Tournament Resume: VCU

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Quad 1: 1-5
Quad 2: 4-2
Quad3/4: 18-0

Topline

• ELO: 28
• RPI: 30
• NET: 47

Resume

• KPI: 37
• WAB: 46
• SOR: 46

Predictive

• KenPom: 45
• BPI: 46
• BartTorvik: 52

Average: 41.9
NCAA Tournament seed projection: Last Four In