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Tribe takes on last year’s Cinderella

College opens CAA play against conference champions VCU

Heading into its CAA opener at Virginia Commonwealth University (4-3) Wednesday, the Tribe (1-4) faces an opponent coming off an impressive 85-76 non-conference win Sunday over the University of Maryland.

Picked to finish second in the conference behind George Mason University, the Rams have suffered losses to the University of Miami (Fla.), Arkansas University and most recently Hampton University. However, in its game against Maryland, its backcourt of junior Eric Maynor and senior Jamal Shuler erupted for a combined 55 points, as Shuler netted a career-high 30. The explosive offensive potential of the Rams will test a Tribe team averaging just 63 points a game to keep pace.

Last year saw the College drop its eighth and ninth consecutive contests to a VCU squad that won the CAA Tournament and defeated Duke University in the first round of the NCAA Tournament. Although the Rams lost seniors B.A. Walker and Jesse Pellot-Rosa to graduation, VCU returns Maynor and Shuler in addition to 6’7” senior forwards Michael Anderson and Wil Fameni and 6’4” sophomore forward T.J. Gwynn.

The speed and athleticism of the Rams that drove their success last year and gave their opponents fits returns this year. VCU forced its opponents into an average of 16.4 turnovers per game last year, and, so far this season, its opponents turn the ball over an average of 16.9 times a game.

The Tribe enters the game winners of one game over Houston Baptist University — a team in its first year of transition to Division I — and losers of four road contests. Like the Rams, the College has faced tough non-conference foes, but the Tribe has come up empty-handed in those match-ups.

For the College to be successful against VCU, it must get production in the paint in order to free up its primary perimeter shooters — sophomore guard David Schneider and senior guard Nathan Mann — for open looks. Schneider comes into the game hitting 48.4 percent of his three pointers and playing the most consistent basketball for the Tribe.

Senior forward Laimis Kisielius must also assert himself offensively and stay out of foul trouble in order to keep the College competitive. A repeat of his 16-minute, four-foul performance in a 58-55 loss to the University of Richmond cannot recur if the Tribe is to win against the Rams.

Playing on the road for the fifth time in six games, the College will encounter one of the CAA’s loudest fan corps in Richmond, where VCU went undefeated in CAA play in 2007. Tip-off is set for 7:30 p.m.