Home VCU staves off La Salle, 77-68, to keep NCAA Tournament hopes on track
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VCU staves off La Salle, 77-68, to keep NCAA Tournament hopes on track

Chris Graham
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VCU held off La Salle to notch an important 77-68 road win on Wednesday in Philly, avoiding what would have been a disastrous Quad 4 loss.

The Rams (19-6, 10-2 A-10, NET: 48) led by six at the break, and by as many as 12 in the second half, but La Salle (7-18, 3-9 A-10, NET: 244) was able to whittle down the margin to five two different times in the closing minutes.

Lazar Djokovic poured in a career-high 26 points for VCU, which got a stat sheet-stuffing night from Nyk Lewis, who had 11 points,11 rebounds and four assists.

NCAA Tournament resume


Quad 1: 0-4
Quad 2: 
5-2
Quad3/4: 
14-0

Key

Quad 1: Home (1-30), Neutral (1-50), Away (1-75)
Quad 2: Home (31-75), Neutral (51-100), Away (76-135)

Metrics


Topline

  • ELO: 39
  • RPI: 42
  • NET: 48

Resume

  • KPI: 39
  • WAB: 51
  • SOR: 53

Predictive

  • KenPom: 46
  • BPI: 47
  • BartTorvik: 59

Average: 47.1
NCAA Tournament seed projection: Last Four In/First Four Out line

Key remaining games


  • Quad 1: @Saint Louis (23-1, 11-0 A-10, NET: 19), Feb. 20
  • Quad 3: George Mason (21-4, 9-3 A-10, NET: 84), March 3
  • Quad 2: @Dayton (15-9, 6-5 A-10, NET: 92), March 6

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Chris Graham

Chris Graham

Chris Graham is the founder and editor of Augusta Free Press. A 1994 alum of the University of Virginia, Chris is the author and co-author of seven books, including Poverty of Imagination, a memoir published in 2019. For his commentaries on news, sports and politics, go to his YouTube page, TikTok, BlueSky, or subscribe to Substack or his Street Knowledge podcast. Email Chris at [email protected].