2014–15 VCU Rams men's basketball team

The 2014–15 VCU Rams men's basketball team represented Virginia Commonwealth University during the 2014–15 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. It was the 47th season of the university fielding a men's basketball program. Led by sixth-year head coach Shaka Smart, they continued to play their home games at the Stuart C. Siegel Center. They were a member of the Atlantic 10 Conference. They finished the season 26–10, 12–6 in A-10 play to finish in a tie for fourth place. They defeated Fordham, Richmond, Davidson, and Dayton to become champions of the Atlantic 10 tournament. They received an automatic bid to the NCAA tournament where they lost in the second round to Ohio State.

2014–15 VCU Rams men's basketball
NCAA tournament, round of 64
ConferenceAtlantic 10 Conference
Ranking
APNo. 25
Record26–10 (12–6 A10)
Head coach
Assistant coaches
Home arenaStuart C. Siegel Center
Seasons
2014–15 Atlantic 10 men's basketball standings
Conf Overall
Team W   L   PCT W   L   PCT
Davidson 14 4   .778 24 8   .750
Dayton 13 5   .722 27 9   .750
Rhode Island 13 5   .722 23 10   .697
VCU 12 6   .667 26 10   .722
Richmond 12 6   .667 21 14   .600
George Washington 10 8   .556 22 13   .629
St. Bonaventure 10 8   .556 18 13   .581
UMass 10 8   .556 17 15   .531
La Salle 8 10   .444 17 16   .515
Saint Joseph's 7 11   .389 13 18   .419
Duquesne 6 12   .333 12 19   .387
Fordham 4 14   .222 10 21   .323
George Mason 4 14   .222 9 22   .290
Saint Louis 3 15   .167 11 21   .344
2015 A10 tournament winner
Rankings from AP poll

Previous season

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The 2013–14 VCU Rams finished the season with an overall record of 26–9, with a record of 12–4 in the Atlantic 10 regular season for second-place finish. In the 2014 Atlantic 10 tournament, the Rams were defeated by Saint Joseph's, 65–61 in the championship game. They were invited to the 2014 NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament which they lost in the second round to Stephen F. Austin.

Off season

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Departures

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Name Number Pos. Height Weight Year Hometown Notes
Terrance Shannon 5 F 6'8" 240 RS Senior Forsyth, GA Graduated
Rob Brandenberg 11 G 6'2" 190 Senior Gahanna, OH Graduated
Juvonte Reddic 15 F 6'9" 250 Senior Winston-Salem, NC Graduated

2014–15 incoming team members

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2014–15 team recruits

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US college sports recruiting information for high school athletes
Name Hometown High school / college Height Weight Commit date
Terry Larrier
SF
Bronx, NY The Phelps School 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 200 lb (91 kg) Sep 6, 2013 
Recruiting star ratings: Scout:    Rivals:    247SportsN/A    ESPN grade: 87
Michael Gilmore
PF
Jacksonville, FL James S. Rickards High School 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 210 lb (95 kg) Sep 26, 2013 
Recruiting star ratings: Scout:    Rivals:    247SportsN/A    ESPN grade: 83
Justin Tillman
PF
Redford, MI Pershing High School 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 175 lb (79 kg) Aug 30, 2013 
Recruiting star ratings: Scout:    Rivals:    247SportsN/A    ESPN grade: 80
Jonathan Williams
PG
Newark, N.J. Saint Benedict's Prep 5 ft 11 in (1.80 m) 170 lb (77 kg) Mar 2, 2013 
Recruiting star ratings: Scout:    Rivals:    247SportsN/A    ESPN grade: 78
Overall recruiting rankings:
  • Note: In many cases, Scout, Rivals, 247Sports, and ESPN may conflict in their listings of height and weight.
  • In these cases, the average was taken. ESPN grades are on a 100-point scale.

Sources:

  • "2014 Team Ranking". Rivals.com. Retrieved April 27, 2014.

Roster

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2014–15 VCU Rams men's basketball team
Players Coaches
Pos. # Name Height Weight Year Hometown
G 1 JeQuan Lewis 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) 175 lb (79 kg) So Dickson, TN
G 2 Brianté Weber   6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) 165 lb (75 kg) Sr Chesapeake, VA
F 4 Justin Tillman 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 190 lb (86 kg) Fr Redford, MI
G 5 Doug Brooks 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 180 lb (82 kg) So Lake Wales, FL
G 10 Jonathan Williams 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) 170 lb (77 kg) Fr Newark, NJ
F 11 Michael Gilmore 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 205 lb (93 kg) Fr Tallahassee, FL
F 12 Mo Alie-Cox 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 250 lb (113 kg) RS So Middleburg, VA
G 14 Torey Burston 5 ft 8 in (1.73 m) 165 lb (75 kg) RS So Richmond, VA
G 20 Jordan Burgess 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 215 lb (98 kg) RS So Midlothian, VA
G/F 21 Treveon Graham 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 220 lb (100 kg) Sr Washington, D.C.
G/F 22 Terry Larrier 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 200 lb (91 kg) Fr Bronx, NY
F 23 Jarred Guest 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 225 lb (102 kg) Sr Columbia, SC
F 25 Antravious Simmons 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 250 lb (113 kg) RS Fr Miami, FL
G 32 Melvin Johnson 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 195 lb (88 kg) Jr Bronx, NY
Head coach
Assistant coach(es)

Legend
  • (C) Team captain
  • (S) Suspended
  • (I) Ineligible
  • (W) Walk-on

Roster

Schedule

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[1]

Date
time, TV
Rank# Opponent# Result Record Site (attendance)
city, state
Exhibition
November 7*
7:00 pm
No. 15 California (PA) W 92–43 
Siegel Center (7,741)
Richmond, VA
Non-conference regular season
November 14*
6:30 pm, CBSSN
No. 15 vs. Tennessee
Veterans Classic
W 85–69  1–0
Alumni Hall (5,699)
Annapolis, MD
November 18*
6:00 pm, ESPNU
No. 15 Toledo
Legends Classic
W 87–78  2–0
Siegel Center (7,637)
Richmond, VA
November 20*
7:00 pm, WTVR
No. 15 Maryland Eastern Shore
Legends Classic
W 106–66  3–0
Siegel Center (7,637)
Richmond, VA
November 24*
7:00 pm, ESPN2
No. 14 vs. No. 12 Villanova
Legends Classic semifinals
L 53–77  3–1
Barclays Center (8,465)
Brooklyn, NY
November 25*
7:30 pm, ESPNU
No. 14 vs. Oregon
Legends Classic 3rd place game
W 77–63  4–1
Barclays Center (8,093)
Brooklyn, NY
November 29*
7:00 pm, CSN+
No. 14 at Old Dominion
Rivalry
L 67–73  4–2
Ted Constant Convocation Center (8,472)
Norfolk, VA
December 2*
8:00 pm, CSN+
at Illinois State W 66–62  5–2
Redbird Arena (7,142)
Normal, IL
December 6*
2:00 pm, ESPNU
No. 7 Virginia L 57–74  5–3
Siegel Center (7,647)
Richmond, VA
December 13*
7:00 pm, NBCSN
No. 23 Northern Iowa W 93–87 2OT 6–3
Siegel Center (7,637)
Richmond, VA
December 16*
7:00 pm, MASN
Belmont W 78–51  7–3
Siegel Center (N/A)
Richmond, VA
December 20*
12:00 pm, ESPNU
at Cincinnati W 68–47  8–3
Fifth Third Arena (9,520)
Cincinnati, OH
December 22*
7:00 pm, CSN+
East Tennessee State W 84–60  9–3
Siegel Center (7,637)
Richmond, VA
December 29*
7:00 pm, WTVR
Cleveland State W 72–63  10–3
Siegel Center (7,637)
Richmond, VA
Atlantic 10 regular season
January 4
1:00 pm, CBSSN
at Fordham W 75–58  11–3 (1–0)
Rose Hill Gymnasium (2,719)
Bronx, NY
January 7
7:00 pm, MASN
No. 20 Davidson W 71–65  12–3 (2–0)
Siegel Center (7,637)
Richmond, VA
January 10
2:00 pm, CBSSN
No. 20 Saint Joseph's W 89–74  13–3 (3–0)
Siegel Center (7,637)
Richmond, VA
January 13
7:30 pm, CBSSN
No. 17 at Rhode Island W 65–60  14–3 (4–0)
Ryan Center (6,011)
Kingston, RI
January 17
2:00 pm, CBSSN
No. 17 at Duquesne W 70–64  15–3 (5–0)
Consol Energy Center (4,223)
Pittsburgh, PA
January 23
7:00 pm, ESPN2
No. 16 at Saint Louis W 63–61  16–3 (6–0)
Chaifetz Arena (9,643)
St. Louis, MO
January 27
7:00 pm, CBSSN
No. 14 George Washington W 72–48  17–3 (7–0)
Siegel Center (7,637)
Richmond, VA
January 31
2:00 pm, ESPN2
No. 14 Richmond
Black & Blue Classic
L 55–64  17–4 (7–1)
Siegel Center (7,637)
Richmond, VA
February 4
7:00 pm, CBSSN
No. 18 at George Mason
Rivalry
W 72–60  18–4 (8–1)
Patriot Center (6,743)
Fairfax, VA
February 7
2:00 pm, NBCSN
No. 18 at St. Bonaventure L 71–73  18–5 (8–2)
Reilly Center (5,135)
Olean, NY
February 11
7:00 pm, CBSSN
No. 20 at La Salle L 69–74 2OT 18–6 (8–3)
Siegel Center (7,637)
Richmond, VA
February 14
2:00 pm, ESPN2
No. 20 at George Washington W 79–66  19–6 (9–3)
Charles E. Smith Center (4,816)
Washington, D.C.
February 17
7:30 pm, CBSSN
No. 25 Saint Louis W 74–54  20–6 (10–3)
Siegel Center (7,637)
Richmond, VA
February 21
12:00 pm, ESPN2
No. 25 Massachusetts W 78–72  21–6 (11–3)
Siegel Center (7,637)
Richmond, VA
February 25
7:00 pm, ESPN2
No. 22 at Richmond
Black & Blue Classic
L 63–67 2OT 21–7 (11–4)
Robins Center (7,201)
Richmond, VA
February 28
2:00 pm, ESPN2
No. 22 Dayton L 55–59  21–8 (11–5)
Siegel Center (7,637)
Richmond, VA
March 5
9:00 pm, ESPNU
at Davidson L 55–82  21–9 (11–6)
John M. Belk Arena (5,223)
Davidson, NC
March 7
5:30 pm, NBCSN
George Mason
Rivalry
W 71–60  22–9 (12–6)
Siegel Center (7,637)
Richmond, VA
Atlantic 10 Tournament
March 12
2:30 pm, NBCSN
vs. Fordham
Second Round
W 63–57  23–9
Barclays Center (6,806)
Brooklyn, NY
March 13
3:00 pm, NBCSN
vs. Richmond
Quarterfinals
W 70–67  24–9
Barclays Center (6,809)
Brooklyn, NY
March 14
1:30 pm, CBSSN
vs. No. 24 Davidson
Semifinals
W 93–73  25–9
Barclays Center (8,488)
Brooklyn, NY
March 15
1:00 pm, CBS
vs. Dayton
Championship game
W 71–65  26–9
Barclays Center (7,685)
Brooklyn, NY
NCAA tournament
March 19*
4:40 pm, TNT
(7 W) No. 25 vs. (10 W) Ohio State
Second round
L 72–75 OT 26–10
Moda Center (13,616)
Portland, OR
*Non-conference game. #Rankings from AP poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses.
All times are in Eastern Time. (#) during NCAA Tournament is seed with Region W=West.

Rankings

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Ranking movement
Legend: ██ Increase in ranking. ██ Decrease in ranking. ██ Not ranked the previous week.
Poll Pre Wk 2 Wk 3 Wk 4 Wk 5 Wk 6 Wk 7 Wk 8 Wk 9 Wk 10 Wk 11 Wk 12 Wk 13 Wk 14 Wk 15 Wk 16 Wk 17 Wk 18 Wk 19 Final
AP 15 15 14 N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A 20 17 16 14 18 20 25 22 N/A N/A 25 N/A
Coaches' 16 15 14 N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A 21 17 16 15 18 22 N/A 24 N/A N/A N/A N/A

References

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  1. ^ "2014-15 VCU Men's Basketball Schedule - VCU". Archived from the original on August 9, 2014. Archived 2014-08-30 at the Wayback Machine