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14-1 since the turn of the calendar, VCU heads into March as hot as anyone in the country

After coming up just short in the Atlantic 10 Championship last year, VCU is looking to flip the script this season, but is quietly developing a resume that could see them in the field as an at-large as well. Since the turn of the calendar into 2025, VCU is 14-1, now 24-5 overall and 14-2 in Atlantic 10 play. 11 of the Rams’ 14 wins in 2025 have come by double-digits, highlighted by an 80-56 throttling of Davidson on Friday night.

After a non-conference schedule left much to be desired, with VCU’s lone quality win coming on a neutral floor against Colorado State, the Rams have picked up road victories over Dayton and St. Joseph’s, as well as earning a home win over George Mason in A10 play. With the recent stretch of form, the Rams sit 1-1 in Quad 1 games and 6-3 in Quad 2 games. VCU’s resume metric average hovers around 50th while the predictive metrics all lie within the top 30 nationally.

The numbers were all helped last night as VCU blew out Davidson by 24 points, with nearly everyone getting in on the action. All four members of the Rams’ star-studded backcourt were held under 10 points in the win, but that’s only because VCU’s forwards were both having great nights. Jack Clark (9.1 ppg, 6.7 rpg) spent last March helping Clemson to an Elite Eight and has now become a focal point for VCU while hoping to do the same. Clark finished with 18 points and six rebounds against Davidson while shooting 7-of-9 from the field and going a perfect 4-of-4 from three-point range. Clark’s defensive prowess and ability to stretch the floor makes him so vital for a team trying to make a run, and he’s currently playing his best basketball of his career, averaging 14.8 ppg over the last five games.

Freshman Luke Bamgboye (3.6 ppg, 3.1 rpg) exploded for the best game of his blossoming career last night, finishing with 17 points on 7-of-8 shooting. Most people know about the guys in the VCU backcourt, but it’s the pair of guys in the frontcourt coming along that could make the difference in March when the bodies get bigger and the physicality inside increases.

All four guards that play heavy minutes for VCU make a difference night-in and night-out, headlined by likely Atlantic 10 Player of the Year Max Shulga (15.2 ppg, 5.8 rpg, 3.9 apg). Shulga does everything you could ask for out of a senior point guard, and after failing to reach the NCAA Tournament last season, should be the guy leading the way in March, hoping to make it back after reaching the Big Dance twice in his time with Utah State. Joe Bamisile (15.3 ppg, 5.3 rpg) is the pure scorer in the backcourt next to Shulga, scoring 20 or more eight times this season, including a 25-point outing in the win over Colorado State. Bamisile got a late start to the 2023-24 campaign as a three-time transfer, but with a full regular season, he’ll be turned up and ready for the Atlantic 10 Tournament in two weeks’ time.

Alongside Shulga and Bamisile, VCU boasts an exciting tandem of scorers in Phillip Russell (11.2 ppg) and Zeb Jackson (10.1 ppg). This backcourt is loaded with weapons, and more often than not, at least two of the four have it going on a given night. On Friday against Davidson, it was the forwards to get it done, but as the guards get rolling in March, this team becomes extremely dangerous in both the Atlantic 10 Tournament and the NCAA Tournament.

VCU finishes the regular season with a road trip to Duquesne and a home test against Dayton. A 2-0 finish plus a win or two in the Atlantic 10 Tournament should be enough to get VCU into the NCAA Tournament, even without an automatic bid.

Other Things to Note:

• #1 Auburn visits #17 Kentucky at Rupp Arena in vital SEC matchup (1:00 ET, ABC)
• #10 Texas Tech visits struggling Kansas at Allen Fieldhouse (2:00 ET, ESPN)
• Top ten matchup in Knoxville sees #6 Alabama take on #5 Tennessee (4:00 ET, ESPN)
• #12 Texas A&M visits #3 Florida with plenty on the line in the SEC (8:30 ET, SECN)
• #9 Iowa State hosts #22 Arizona looking to snap out of a cold stretch (9:00 ET, ESPN)