RICHMOND, Va. — VCU will host in-state rival Old Dominion for the second
straight year at the Siegel Center Saturday, Dec. 12. The last time
these teams met VCU won 69-57, with help from Marcus Santos-Silva, Issac
Van, and Marcus Evans who all scored in double figures for the black
and gold.
Old Dominion is led by Head Coach Jeff Jones. The Monarchs suffered
their worst season under Jones in 2019-20, going 13-19 overall and 9-9
in the conference. The previous lowest wins in a season under Jones was
18 in his first season back in 2013-14. Jones completed his seventh
season at Old Dominion in 2019-20 while earning a career win No. 500 at
Northeastern on Nov. 16, 2019. Jones ended the 2019-20 season with 510
career victories, which is the 24th most among active Division I NCAA
coaches and ranks 67th on the all-time list. The Monarchs are 2-1 this
season picking up wins against William & Mary and Norfolk State after
losing their opening game of the season to Maryland in College Park.
The players to watch in this game are a pair of Wilmington, Delaware
guards, Malik Curry for the Monarchs, and Bones Hyland for the Rams.
Curry led the team in scoring (13.4 ppg) and assists (4.0 APG) last
season while being one of three Monarchs to start all 32 contests. This
time out, Curry has bumped his averages up to 19.3 points per game and
4.7 assists per game. Curry has not played a game this season where he
scored less than 17 points, so trying to contain him will be high on the
list of priorities for VCU Coach Mike Rhoades. Curry isn’t much of a
shooter for the Monarchs, only shooting 22.2% from behind the arch and
only attempting 9 three-pointers in total for the season, but with the
ball in his hands and slashing to the basket, he is a problem for any
defender. He scored 11 points in a losing effort to the Rams last
season.
Hyland is coming off a career night against North Carolina A&T. The sophomore
recorded a career-best 30 points against the Aggies, exploding in the
second half to score 22 of his 30 points. He went 7-12 from behind the
arch Wednesday night, connecting on his final 6 attempts. Hyland is the
first VCU player to reach 30 points in a game since Issac Vann
accomplished the feat against St. John’s on Nov. 18, 2018, at Barclays
Center in Brooklyn, N.Y. For the season Hyland is averaging 17.2 points
per game while shooting 42.7% from the field and 38.8% from three.
Hyland’s percentages in his last two outings have jumped significantly
from his season average. In the Rams two home games this season he is
shooting 57.1% from the field and 55% from three. At the Siegel Center
this year Hyland’s three-point shot is like flipping a coin.
Tip-off is set for 5 p.m. on Saturday, Dec. 12 at the Siegel Center. The
game will be broadcasted on the NBC Sports network.
VCU Take On In-State Rival Old Dominion
