Richmond, VA (My Sportsbook) - Jeff Capel makes his return to the campus of Virginia Commonwealth this evening, as he brings his 17th-ranked Oklahoma Sooners to Richmond, for a non-conference showdown with the VCU Rams from the Siegel Center.
Capel became the youngest Division I head coach when he was appointed the position at VCU in 2002. He was the head man for the Rams for four seasons before taking the job in Norman. This year's Sooners are loaded from top to bottom and are a real threat to capture the Big 12 title. They have certainly looked the part in the first two games of the year, posting double-digit wins over both Mount St. Mary's (95-71) and most recently, UL-Monroe (72-61).
The Rams have split their first two outings, topping Bethune-Cookman at home (77-51) in the season-opener, before dropping an 83-67 decision at Western Michigan on Wednesday.
Oklahoma has won two of the three meetings between these two teams, including last year's clash in Oklahoma City, 81-70.
The Sooners turned it up a notch in the second half of their game against UL- Monroe, hitting 59.1 percent from the floor over the final 20 minutes to earn the 11-point victory. All-American candidate Willie Warren hit 6-of-12 shots from the floor and 11-of-13 from the free-throw line to finish with a game- high 24 points. Fellow guard Tony Crocker also posted double digits, with 13 points. Mammoth freshman Tiny Gallon (6-9, 290) didn't do much offensively (three points), but was instrumental on the glass, pulling down 10 boards. After two games, Warren leads four Sooners in double figures with 19.5 ppg. He is also tops on the roster with 15 assists. A trio of freshmen follow in the scoring column with Steven Pledger (14.5 ppg), Gallon (10.5 ppg) and Tommy Mason-Griffin (10.0 ppg) all making immediate contributions.
The Rams don't have the same kind of scoring depth that Oklahoma possesses and the fact that the team is shooting just .368 from the floor over the first two games is probably the reason why. To make matters worse, VCU has also lost the battle on the boards (-4.5 rpg). Those two areas need to improve immediately, if the team has any chance of keeping the game close against Oklahoma. Bradford Burgess leads the team in scoring at 13.0 ppg. Jay Gavin and Joey Rodriguez provide scoring support at 11.0 and 10.5 ppg, respectively. In the loss to Western Michigan, it was a case of cold shooting after the break that negated a seven-point halftime lead and led to VCU's demise. The team shot a miserable .263 from the floor over the final 20 minutes, getting outscored by 23 points after intermission. Burgess led the team with 16 points, but was just 3-of-11 from the field. Brandon Rozzell came off the bench with 12 points, while Gavin chipped in 10.
