Score: VCU 79, Saint Louis 67
Location: Richmond, Va. (Stuart C. Siegel Center)
Records: VCU 23-7 (14-3 A-10), Saint Louis 19-11 (11-6)
Attendance: 7,637 (Fifth straight sellout)
 
The short story: Six VCU players scored in double figures and the Rams shot 62 percent in the second half to pull away from Saint Louis and clinch the Atlantic 10 Conference's regular season title Tuesday night at the Siegel Center.
 
OPENING TIP

• Sophomore forward Jalen Deloach led all VCU scorers with 14 points. Deloach connected on 6-of-11 attempts from the field. He also grabbed five rebounds, three steals and blocked a pair of shots
• Other Rams in double figures included junior guard Ace Baldwin Jr., sophomore guard Jayden Nunn, and sophomore forward Nick Kern Jr., who provided 12 points each. Graduate student Brandon Johns Jr., added on 11 while redshirt sophomore Jamir Watkins kicked in 10. Baldwin also handed out six assists. Kern overcame first half foul trouble and converted six of his seven attempts
• Saint Louis's Terrence Hargrove Jr. led all scorers with 15 points

THE DIFFERENCE

• VCU shot 62 percent (16-of-26) in the second half
• The Rams dominated down low. VCU scored a season-high 52 points in the paint and outrebounded the Billikens 38-37
• VCU shot 48 percent (29-of-60) from the field for the game
• The Rams forced 20 Saint Louis turnovers and outscored the Billikens 22-7 off miscues. The Rams turned over national assist leader Yuri Collins eight times
• VCU found its first lead of the second half at the 15:56 mark when the Rams went on a 7-0 run, highlighted by four straight points by DeLoach
• Saint Louis brought the game within three points with just over four minutes to go but back-to-back buckets by Kern would put the game out of reach
• VCU maintained the lead for most of the first half but Saint Louis held the Rams scoreless for more than five minutes during a 7-0 run that gave the Billikens a 35-31 halftime lead

NOTABLE

• VCU has won a total of 12 conference regular season titles overall in the Sun Belt, CAA and A-10. This is the third time the Rams have earned at least a share of the A-10 regular season title since VCU joined the league prior to the 2012-13 season. VCU was co-champs in 2016 and won the crown outright in 2019
• VCU has earned the No. 1 overall seed in the upcoming A-10 Tournament March 7-12 at Barclays Center in Brooklyn, N.Y. The Rams will open the tournament in the quarterfinal round on Thursday, March 9 at noon against the winner of Wednesday's game between the eighth and ninth seeded teams
• Tuesday's game featured six lead changes and eight ties as VCU led for over 28 minutes
• VCU is 8-0 all-time at the Siegel Center against Saint Louis, and the Rams lead the overall series 13-5

NEXT UP
VCU travels to the nation's capital for the last game of the regular season against George Washington on Saturday, March 4 at 4:30 p.m. The game will be broadcast on USA Network.