Men's Basketball | December 30, 2022
RICHMOND, Va. — The La Salle men's basketball team opens its 28th season of Atlantic-10 play on Saturday when it faces VCU on the road at Siegel Center. Tip-off is set for 2 p.m.
The game will be televised on ESPN+ and MASN. In addition, Explorers fans can follow the team on Twitter
@LaSalle_MBB and Instagram
@lasallembb.
NEWS & NOTES
- The Explorers will look to win their ninth A-10 opener in program history and first one since Jan. 5, 2019, when they topped UMass, 69-60, at UMass.
- The Explorers will go up against the Rams for the 14th time in program history. VCU leads the series with an 11-2 record.
- The Explorers are coming off a hard-fought 80-76 victory over Howard on Thursday to end non-conference play. In that game, Khalil Brantley poured in a career-high 24 points and Anwar Gill (18), Fousseyni Drame (13), and Jhamir Brickus (11) each scored in double figures.
- Brantley and Josh Nickelberry have made the Explorers go this season. The dynamic duo in the backcourt has combined for 24.7 points per game, with Brantley scoring 12.9 per game and Nickelberry chipping in 11.8 per contest.
- The Explorers are led by head coach Fran Dunphy, the all-time winningest coach in Philadelphia Big 5 history. A 1970 La Salle graduate, Dunphy sports a 586-332 career record and a 329-129 mark in conference games.
SERIES HISTORY
- The matchup between La Salle and VCU dates back to 1983, with VCU leading the series at 11-2.
- The first matchup between the Explorers and VCU took place in the second round of the NCAA Tournament, where the Rams came away with a 76-67 win.
- The Explorers' first win over VCU came on Jan. 26, 2013, when they upset the No. 19 Rams, 69-61, in Richmond, Va.
- The Explorers' last win against VCU was on Feb. 11, 2015, when they topped the Rams, 74-69, on VCU's home floor.
BIG GAME BRANTLEY
- Brantley currently ranks ninth in the Atlantic-10 in assists per game with 3.7, 10th in the conference in assists/turnover ratio at 1.4, 14th in the conference in steals per game at 1.3, 15th in the A-10 in points per game at 13.9 per game, and 23rd in the conference in minutes at 31.1.
- In the Explorers' win over Howard, Brantley scored a career-high 24 points, 21 of which came in the second half. Brantley had a career day from three-point range as well, going a perfect 4-for-4 — all of which came in the second half. The sophomore guard also stepped up at the foul line, going 10-for-12 from the charity stripe.
- Brantley filled the stat sheet in the Explorers' game against Temple, as he led the team in points (14), rebounds (nine), steals (five) and assists (four).
- Brantley was named to the Jamaica Classic All-Tournament team for his performances against Wake Forest and Georgetown. Brantley had 20 points, 13 of which came against Georgetown, 15 rebounds and seven assists in the Explorers' two games.
- Brantley had posted one of his best performances in a La Salle uniform against Wagner on Nov. 12, scoring a career-high 22 points at the time while handing out six assists.
- In the final 12 minutes against Wagner, the Bronx, N.Y. native scored 12 points. He also shot a career-best 12-for-15 from the free-throw line.
- In La Salle's win over Queens on Nov. 15, Brantley had 18 points, giving him the best two-game scoring stretch of his career after netting 40 total points. He also had six assists to give him back-to-back games in which he had six assists or more for the first time in his career.
SCOUTING VCU
- The Rams enter conference play at 9-4 on the season after winning their last four games in a row following a 5-4 start. The Rams' nine wins were against Manhattan (73-56), Morgan State (69-54), Pittsburgh (71-67), Kennesaw State (64-61), Vanderbilt (70-65), Howard (70-60), Radford (70-62), Northern Illinois (90-63), and Navy (74-52), respectively.
- The Rams' four losses were to Arizona State (63-59), Memphis (62-47), Temple (83-73), and Jacksonville (73-62), respectively.
- The Rams finished second in the A-10 and reached the quarterfinals of the conference tournament last season.
- The Rams have three players averaging double figures in Adrian Baldwin, Jr., Brandon Johns, Jr., and Jamir Watkins. Baldwin, Jr. leads the way with 12.3 points per game. Johns, Jr. follows him at 11.9 points per game and Watkins has chipped in 10.7 points per game.
- VCU is led by Mike Rhoades, who is in his sixth season as head coach for the Rams. Coaching his 19th season overall, Rhoades has a 111-57 record at VCU and 355-185 overall mark.
