Two teams that probably think that they are already on their way to the NCAA Tournament duke it out on Monday night in the CAA finale, when the Drexel Dragons engage in a pivotal battle with the VCU Rams.

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The Rams probably have the better case right now to get into the dance than do the Dragons, but a lot of that probably has to do with the fact that Head Coach Shaka Smart and the gang made it all the way to the Final Four a year ago even though they had to start off by playing in the First Four in Dayton. This is a team that has some mojo to it, and its run over the course of the last few weeks has proven that. VCU has definitely set aside the George Mason Patriots, the other team out of the CAA to ever make it to a Final Four, beating them twice in as many weeks, including to get here to the final and on the verge of the NCAA Tournament. Bradford Burgess was one of the top scorers on this team a year ago that helped get the squad into the Final Four, and he is back as the team’s leading scorer again at 13.5 points per game. He put up 20 against George Mason on Sunday, and he is going to have to come up with a similar effort to slay the Dragons.

Beating this Drexel team is a royal pain, especially knowing just how hard it is to put the ball in the basket against it. The Dragons are clear the top defensive team in the conference, allowing just 55.3 points per game. Part of that has to do with the way that the team plays offense at a snail’s pace, but if you look closer at those defensive numbers, you see a team that ranks in the Top 10 in virtually every major category on that side of the court. There is a reason that Drexel hasn’t been beaten since the very beginning of January, and it has flexed those defensive muscles here in the CAA Tournament, holding the UNC Wilmington Seahawks and Old Dominion Monarchs down to a total of just 98 points in two games. The team’s leading scorer, Frantz Massenat is coming off of a 20 point showing against ODU, and he is averaging 13.6 points per game. This isn’t a particularly deep team, and it isn’t a great offensive squad either, but this 37.4 percent shooting percentage from beyond the arc is definitely notable and could be a big difference maker in this one.

The Final Word: In the end, we think that Drexel’s winning streak is going to come to a close in its biggest game of the season. The Rams might be in the NCAA Tournament anyway right now, but they are definitely going to remove all doubt by avenging one of their very few losses that they have suffered since the beginning of the calendar year.

VCU Rams @ Drexel Dragons Pick: VCU Rams

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Adam Markowitz

is a staff writer living in the Orlando area. He has covered NFL, MLB, college football, CFL, AFL, NBA, college basketball, NASCAR, golf, tennis, and the NHL for a number of various outlets in his career, and he has been published by a number of different media outlets, including the Orlando Sentinel and the Wall Street Journal.

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