For the 92nd time, the rivalry between the Richmond Spiders and the VCU Rams will renew at 4 p.m. at the Stuart C. Siegel Center.
No edition of the storied Virginia rivalry has been quite like this one.
The Spiders (16-5, 8-0 Atlantic 10) is receiving votes in the Associated Press poll, and with a win on Saturday could further solidify their grip on the top spot in the conference as the A-10’s last unbeaten.
VCU (13-8, 5-3 A-10) had a bumpy start to the conference season following a complete rebuild under head coach Ryan Odom, but were riding a five-game win streak and the nation’s leading road winning streak before the St. Bonaventure Bonnies snapped both on Tuesday night in Olean. The Rams led by as many as 20 points in the game, marking VCU’s largest blown lead in over a decade.
Add in the VCU guard that was on Richmond’s squad 12 months ago, the Richmond guard who is lighting up scoreboards and rising in conference player of the year conversations and the local flair the rebuilt VCU roster has, and you get perhaps the most anticipated matchup between the Spiders and Rams of the last half decade.
Duke-North Carolina doesn’t hold a candle to what you’ll get in Richmond this afternoon.
The unique case of Jason Nelson
In the nearly 50 year history of the Capital City Classic, no player has ever traded benches and played for both teams in the storied rivalry.
VCU sophomore guard Jason Nelson will make history Saturday afternoon, officially sealing the six-mile journey he took in the offseason to his new basketball home.
The Richmond native and John Marshall High School graduate sealed his transfer to VCU on April 18 along with fellow John Marshall graduate Roosevelt Wheeler, two of VCU’s four Richmond-area native players (more on that later).
Nelson has seen more playing time in recent weeks due to injuries to regular starters Zeb Jackson (back) and Sean Bairstow (ribs) allowing him to slide into the starting lineup. With Bairstow looking doubtful for Saturday’s game (more on that later, as well), Nelson looks primed to get the first crack at his former squad with the starters. It would be his fifth consecutive start.
With Richmond last season, Nelson started 26 games, averaging eight points per game and shooting just over 38% from deep. At the Siegel Center last season, Nelson scored four points and dished out three assists off the bench in the Spiders’ 73-58 loss to a VCU team that ultimately won the A-10 regular season and…
Click Here to Read the Full Original Article at A10 Talk…