Next up:                              Virginia Commonwealth University (VCU) Rams
Time:                                   January 22, 2025; 6 PM ET
Venue:                                 Smith Center – Washington DC
2023-24 Record:                 7-22 (4-12 in A10)
2025 Projection:                 5th
Current Record:                 9-10   
OOC Record:                      6-6   
A10 Record:                       3-4
Common OOC:                   Howard
Last Time Out:                    71-51 win over GW in 2023-24 (at VCU)
Broadcast:                          ESPN+ 

Opponent Summary: The VCU Rams visit Smith Center on Wednesday evening for the only regular season meeting between to the two A10 rivals. After a 6-6 OOC that included victories over Howard and Providence, the Rams come into this contest with a 3-4 record in the A10 that includes a split with St. Joeseph’s and a win over Duquesne. The Rams are led by Mary-Anna Asare, a preseason All-A10 3rd team selection. She leads the Rams in scoring at 16.1 ppg, while hitting on 37.6% of her 3-point attempts. After that, there is a big drop off in scoring, with no other VCU player averaging more than 7 points per game. Mykel Parham controls the boards for the Rams, pulling down 10.2 rebounds per game. On a side note, Timaya Lewis-Eutsey, a preseason All-A10 2nd team selection, has not suited up since the 8th game of the season. She was averaging 14.5 ppg at the time. As a team, VCU is only scoring 58.9 ppg, but is stingy on the defensive side, allowing just 55.1 ppg to opponents, tops in the A10. They are currently shooting 38.9% as a team (33.2% on 3-pointers), and have an assist to turnover ratio of .6
 
About the game: Like GW, VCU has struggled on the offensive side of the ball, but the Rams come into the game as the top defensive team in the league. In their last outing, the Rams could only manage to put 42 points on the board in a big loss to Richmond. In GW’s loss to St. Louis, the offense struggled in multiple quarters and broke down in the final moments of the game. Although they miss Lewis-Eutsey’s presence, VCU has had a stable rotation the past 10 games and has demonstrated that they can compete with upper tier teams of the A10 like St. Joe’s. GW continues to deal with multiple injuries and illness that has forced numerous lineup changes and has shortened the bench. Calisto returned to action, but having Matthews and Andrews available would be critical, especially with Lewis underperforming of late and Reynold’s penchant for getting into foul trouble. Having Planes Fortuny would take some pressure off Mott, who has played a lot of minutes of late. This game will come down to which team can better execute their offense. VCU’s defense will likely make it difficult for GW’s struggling offense to score, so GW’s defense also has to step up in order to make this a game.
 
This is another winnable game for GW, but there is little margin for error. Being at home helps, but for the Revs, it is not a major advantage.