# 2014–15 VCU Rams men's basketball team

The 2014–15 VCU Rams men's basketball team represented Virginia Commonwealth University during the 2014–15 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. It was the 47th season of the university fielding a men's basketball program. Led by sixth-year head coach Shaka Smart, they continued to play their home games at the Stuart C. Siegel Center. They were a member of the Atlantic 10 Conference. They finished the season 26–10, 12–6 in A-10 play to finish in a tie for fourth place. They defeated Fordham, Richmond, Davidson, and Dayton to become champions of the Atlantic 10 tournament. They received an automatic bid to the NCAA tournament where they lost in the second round to Ohio State.

## Previous season

The 2013–14 VCU Rams finished the season with an overall record of 26–9, with a record of 12–4 in the Atlantic 10 regular season for second-place finish. In the 2014 Atlantic 10 tournament, the Rams were defeated by Saint Joseph's, 65–61 in the championship game. They were invited to the 2014 NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament which they lost in the second round to Stephen F. Austin.

## Off season
### Departures

| Name | Number | Pos. | Height | Weight | Year | Hometown | Notes |
| Terrance Shannon | 5 | F | 6'8" | 240 | RS Senior | Forsyth, GA | Graduated |
| Rob Brandenberg | 11 | G | 6'2" | 190 | Senior | Gahanna, OH | Graduated |
| Juvonte Reddic | 15 | F | 6'9" | 250 | Senior | Winston-Salem, NC | Graduated |

## 2014–15 incoming team members
### 2014–15 team recruits

US college sports recruiting information for high school athletes :
| Name | Hometown | High school / college | Height | Weight | Commit date |
| Terry Larrier SF | Bronx, NY | The Phelps School | 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) | 200 lb (91 kg) | Sep 6, 2013 |
| Recruiting star ratings: Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: N/A ESPN grade: 87 ||||||
| Michael Gilmore PF | Jacksonville, FL | James S. Rickards High School | 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) | 210 lb (95 kg) | Sep 26, 2013 |
| Recruiting star ratings: Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: N/A ESPN grade: 83 ||||||
| Justin Tillman PF | Redford, MI | Pershing High School | 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) | 175 lb (79 kg) | Aug 30, 2013 |
| Recruiting star ratings: Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: N/A ESPN grade: 80 ||||||
| Jonathan Williams PG | Newark, N.J. | Saint Benedict's Prep | 5 ft 11 in (1.80 m) | 170 lb (77 kg) | Mar 2, 2013 |
| Recruiting star ratings: Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: N/A ESPN grade: 78 ||||||
| Overall recruiting rankings: ||||||
| Note: In many cases, Scout, Rivals, 247Sports, and ESPN may conflict in their listings of height and weight. In these cases, the average was taken. ESPN grades are on a 100-point scale. Sources: "2014 Team Ranking". Rivals.com. Retrieved April 27, 2014. ||||||

## Schedule

| Date time, TV | Rank$^#$ | Opponent$^#$ | Result | Record | Site (attendance) city, state |
| Exhibition ||||||
| November 7* 7:00 pm | No. 15 | California (PA) | W 92–43 | | Siegel Center (7,741) Richmond, VA |
| Non-conference regular season ||||||
| November 14* 6:30 pm, CBSSN | No. 15 | vs. Tennessee Veterans Classic | W 85–69 | 1–0 | Alumni Hall (5,699) Annapolis, MD |
| November 18* 6:00 pm, ESPNU | No. 15 | Toledo Legends Classic | W 87–78 | 2–0 | Siegel Center (7,637) Richmond, VA |
| November 20* 7:00 pm, WTVR | No. 15 | Maryland Eastern Shore Legends Classic | W 106–66 | 3–0 | Siegel Center (7,637) Richmond, VA |
| November 24* 7:00 pm, ESPN2 | No. 14 | vs. No. 12 Villanova Legends Classic semifinals | L 53–77 | 3–1 | Barclays Center (8,465) Brooklyn, NY |
| November 25* 7:30 pm, ESPNU | No. 14 | vs. Oregon Legends Classic 3rd place game | W 77–63 | 4–1 | Barclays Center (8,093) Brooklyn, NY |
| November 29* 7:00 pm, CSN+ | No. 14 | at Old Dominion Rivalry | L 67–73 | 4–2 | Ted Constant Convocation Center (8,472) Norfolk, VA |
| December 2* 8:00 pm, CSN+ | | at Illinois State | W 66–62 | 5–2 | Redbird Arena (7,142) Normal, IL |
| December 6* 2:00 pm, ESPNU | | No. 7 Virginia | L 57–74 | 5–3 | Siegel Center (7,647) Richmond, VA |
| December 13* 7:00 pm, NBCSN | | No. 23 Northern Iowa | W 93–87 $^{2OT}$ | 6–3 | Siegel Center (7,637) Richmond, VA |
| December 16* 7:00 pm, MASN | | Belmont | W 78–51 | 7–3 | Siegel Center (N/A) Richmond, VA |
| December 20* 12:00 pm, ESPNU | | at Cincinnati | W 68–47 | 8–3 | Fifth Third Arena (9,520) Cincinnati, OH |
| December 22* 7:00 pm, CSN+ | | East Tennessee State | W 84–60 | 9–3 | Siegel Center (7,637) Richmond, VA |
| December 29* 7:00 pm, WTVR | | Cleveland State | W 72–63 | 10–3 | Siegel Center (7,637) Richmond, VA |
| Atlantic 10 regular season ||||||
| January 4 1:00 pm, CBSSN | | at Fordham | W 75–58 | 11–3 (1–0) | Rose Hill Gymnasium (2,719) Bronx, NY |
| January 7 7:00 pm, MASN | No. 20 | Davidson | W 71–65 | 12–3 (2–0) | Siegel Center (7,637) Richmond, VA |
| January 10 2:00 pm, CBSSN | No. 20 | Saint Joseph's | W 89–74 | 13–3 (3–0) | Siegel Center (7,637) Richmond, VA |
| January 13 7:30 pm, CBSSN | No. 17 | at Rhode Island | W 65–60 | 14–3 (4–0) | Ryan Center (6,011) Kingston, RI |
| January 17 2:00 pm, CBSSN | No. 17 | at Duquesne | W 70–64 | 15–3 (5–0) | Consol Energy Center (4,223) Pittsburgh, PA |
| January 23 7:00 pm, ESPN2 | No. 16 | at Saint Louis | W 63–61 | 16–3 (6–0) | Chaifetz Arena (9,643) St. Louis, MO |
| January 27 7:00 pm, CBSSN | No. 14 | George Washington | W 72–48 | 17–3 (7–0) | Siegel Center (7,637) Richmond, VA |
| January 31 2:00 pm, ESPN2 | No. 14 | Richmond Black & Blue Classic | L 55–64 | 17–4 (7–1) | Siegel Center (7,637) Richmond, VA |
| February 4 7:00 pm, CBSSN | No. 18 | at George Mason Rivalry | W 72–60 | 18–4 (8–1) | Patriot Center (6,743) Fairfax, VA |
| February 7 2:00 pm, NBCSN | No. 18 | at St. Bonaventure | L 71–73 | 18–5 (8–2) | Reilly Center (5,135) Olean, NY |
| February 11 7:00 pm, CBSSN | No. 20 | at La Salle | L 69–74 $^{2OT}$ | 18–6 (8–3) | Siegel Center (7,637) Richmond, VA |
| February 14 2:00 pm, ESPN2 | No. 20 | at George Washington | W 79–66 | 19–6 (9–3) | Charles E. Smith Center (4,816) Washington, D.C. |
| February 17 7:30 pm, CBSSN | No. 25 | Saint Louis | W 74–54 | 20–6 (10–3) | Siegel Center (7,637) Richmond, VA |
| February 21 12:00 pm, ESPN2 | No. 25 | Massachusetts | W 78–72 | 21–6 (11–3) | Siegel Center (7,637) Richmond, VA |
| February 25 7:00 pm, ESPN2 | No. 22 | at Richmond Black & Blue Classic | L 63–67 $^{2OT}$ | 21–7 (11–4) | Robins Center (7,201) Richmond, VA |
| February 28 2:00 pm, ESPN2 | No. 22 | Dayton | L 55–59 | 21–8 (11–5) | Siegel Center (7,637) Richmond, VA |
| March 5 9:00 pm, ESPNU | | at Davidson | L 55–82 | 21–9 (11–6) | John M. Belk Arena (5,223) Davidson, NC |
| March 7 5:30 pm, NBCSN | | George Mason Rivalry | W 71–60 | 22–9 (12–6) | Siegel Center (7,637) Richmond, VA |
| Atlantic 10 Tournament ||||||
| March 12 2:30 pm, NBCSN | | vs. Fordham Second Round | W 63–57 | 23–9 | Barclays Center (6,806) Brooklyn, NY |
| March 13 3:00 pm, NBCSN | | vs. Richmond Quarterfinals | W 70–67 | 24–9 | Barclays Center (6,809) Brooklyn, NY |
| March 14 1:30 pm, CBSSN | | vs. No. 24 Davidson Semifinals | W 93–73 | 25–9 | Barclays Center (8,488) Brooklyn, NY |
| March 15 1:00 pm, CBS | | vs. Dayton Championship game | W 71–65 | 26–9 | Barclays Center (7,685) Brooklyn, NY |
| NCAA tournament ||||||
| March 19* 4:40 pm, TNT | (7 W) No. 25 | vs. (10 W) Ohio State Second round | L 72–75 $^{OT}$ | 26–10 | Moda Center (13,616) Portland, OR |
| *Non-conference game. $^#$Rankings from AP poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. All times are in Eastern Time. (#) during NCAA Tournament is seed with Region W=West. ||||||

## Rankings

Ranking movement Legend: ██ Increase in ranking. ██ Decrease in ranking. ██ Not ranked the previous week. :
| Poll | Pre | Wk 2 | Wk 3 | Wk 4 | Wk 5 | Wk 6 | Wk 7 | Wk 8 | Wk 9 | Wk 10 | Wk 11 | Wk 12 | Wk 13 | Wk 14 | Wk 15 | Wk 16 | Wk 17 | Wk 18 | Wk 19 | Final |
| AP | 15 | 15 | 14 | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | 20 | 17 | 16 | 14 | 18 | 20 | 25 | 22 | N/A | N/A | 25 | N/A |
| Coaches' | 16 | 15 | 14 | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | 21 | 17 | 16 | 15 | 18 | 22 | N/A | 24 | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A |