The Rams are dancing yet again as they win the Atlantic 10 Championship for the second year in a row. In both seasons, VCU won a share of the regular-season title, along with the conference tournament title, this time with new head coach Phil Martelli Jr., who had led Bryant to the NCAA Tournament the year prior.

The A10 championship is the fourth for VCU, which ties St. Joseph’s for most championships among lead members. Martelli Jr.’s father Phil Martelli won three of those Hawks league championships. Martelli Jr.’s team is a little different in identity than previous Rams teams; they lean far more on their offense while still playing competent defense. Their win in the A10 tournament helped them avoid a dangerous Selection Sunday on the bubble. Here’s what to know about the mid-major headed into the dance.

Three and at the rim offense

The Rams are in the 95th percentile in Division I for shot diet coming at the rim and from three, which 80.8% of their looks come from. That inside-out approach allows for great spacing for their sharpshooters and has made VCU one of the best foul-drawing teams in the nation.

VCU averages 25.4 free throw attempts per game, the 16th highest rate in the country and their 0.43 free throw attempts per field goal attempt ranks 15th. Senior big man Lazar Djokovic is averaging 13.8 points per game, and 4.8 of those come from the line. He’s drawing 4.7 fouls per game. The platoon of guards–Terrence Hill, Brandon Jennings and Nyk Lewis–are also combining for 8.4 points from the line per game. The Rams attempt 6 more free throws per game than their opponents.

On the perimeter, Marelli plays three guys who are shooting above 35% on over 100 attempts. The Rams rank 57th in the country in three-pointers made per game and shoot 36.7% as a team, which ranks 35th. Hill’s ability to either drill threes or attack downhill opens a ton of looks up for Lewis and Jadrion Tracey on the perimeter.

Deep ensemble

VCU is also interesting because they’re a team that can go deep off the bench and try out different looks until something clicks. The Rams’ bench averages 34 points per game, the eighth-highest total in the country.

Hill plays 24 minutes per game and leads the team in scoring, but comes off the bench to exploit rotations and provide a spark scorer. Michael Belle is a reserve big that is able to come off the bench and provide 7.3 points, 5 rebounds.

The Rams play 7 guys 20 minutes or more per game and no player is playing 28 minutes or more. Having so many guys to turn to allows them to stick around in games (5 of the Rams' 7 losses were by 3 possessions or less) and for the team to not be overly reliant on one or two guys to win them games.

Weakness: VCU’s interior defense

Where you can take advantage of VCU is on the inside on defense. While Djokvic provides decent length, he’s not truly big enough to deter post scorers from getting to their spots and getting off their looks. 46.7% of their opponents’ points come in the paint this season. The Rams are also a decent but great rebounding team, finishing 4th and 5th in the A10 for offensive and defensive rebounding rates.

If the Rams face high majors with formidable frontcourts, they may be working from a significant advantage that makes them one-dimensional and overly reliant on their perimeter scoring.

Similar NCAA Tournament efficiency profiles

Similar efficiency profiles and statistics found via Bart Torvik.

VCU has the profile of a team capable of winning a game or two if their ideal game script and style come to fruition. Their ability to knock down perimeter shots and draw fouls on bigs makes them a team that could have a major Round of 64 and even 32 upset. But if the higher seed is able to play their game, they could be a likely one-and-done like half the teams above.

Tournament Index evaluation

VCU earned a No. 11 seed at the NCAA Tournament. In terms of seed strength, the Tournament Index grades the Rams as the 20th-strongest No. 11 seed of the last 13 tournaments (out of 52 R64 teams). For VCU, the TI projects an average of 0.40 wins given its seed and team strength.