Ron Hunter has the Panthers off to hot start

via USAToday.com:

Trying to become the first team in the Colonial Athletic Association to post a 3-0 record in league play, the Virginia Commonwealth Rams and the Georgia State Panthers clash in Richmond tonight.

This is familiar territory for the Rams who have been one of the top programs in the CAA for several years, but in the case of GSU it might be somewhat surprising. The Panthers are currently riding an amazing 10-game win streak which is a school record and is tied for the seventh-longest run in the nation. To open up the new calendar year on Monday night the Panthers crushed Drexel at home in a 58-44 final.

As for the Rams, they have put together an eight-game win streak of their own thanks in part to an 80-63 triumph over Hofstra in conference play two nights ago in New York. VCU, which has not lost since bowing to 13th-ranked Alabama on the road back on November 27, has been defeated by only Seton Hall and Georgia Tech as well this year.

With respect to the all-time series between these two schools on the hardwood, the Rams have dominated the relationship with 19 wins in 24 opportunities. VCU won the most recent matchup last year by a score of 71-54 on January 19, although just 16 days prior, GSU posted a 76-66 win over VCU in the first meeting of the campaign.

Four of Georgia State’s starters scored in double figures as the Panthers beat Colonial Athletic Association foe Drexel by 14 points at GSU Sports Arena two nights ago. Devonta White led the Georgia State offensive attack with 15 points with fellow starters Eric Buckner (11 points), Jihad Ali (10) and James Fields (10) also reaching double figures. Buckner tied with Josh Micheaux with six rebounds for the team lead as Georgia State continued its hot play with the 14-point home win against the Dragons. Defensively the hosts forced 25 turnovers and held Drexel to a mere 31.9 percent shooting from the floor in the meeting. White currently leads a trio of double-digit scorers for the Panthers with his 13.5 ppg, even though he is shooting just 29.5 ppg. Ali and Buckner accounted for 11.8 and 11.2 ppg, respectively, the latter clearing 6.3 rpg which is second on the unit through 13 games.

Troy Daniels scored 15 points off the bench, one of four VCU players in double figures, as the Rams hammered Hofstra, 80-63, in CAA play at the Mack Sports Complex two nights ago. Darius Theus scored 14 points and had a team-high seven assists, with Juvonte Reddic and Briante Weber scoring 12 points a piece in leading the Rams to yet another victory. VCU’s starting five showed strong ball-handling skills as they suffered just four turnovers in the outing, compared to 17 miscues by the Hofstra starting group. Even though he didn’t put up double figures in the latest game, Bradford Burgess is still the top scorer for the team overall thus far with his 14.5 ppg. In fact Burgess, a 38.1 percent shooter from the floor, is the only double-digit scorer through 14 games for the Rams, mainly because he is one of only two players (Theus) to have started every game. But make no mistake, with four other players scoring at least 8.5 ppg, there are several offensive options for VCU these days.

The Panthers proved last year that they could keep up with VCU, but playing on the road with the Rams, a hot team in their own right, means the hosts are not about to roll over for anyone.

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