Is VCU's Shulga becoming one of program's all-time greats? Plus Davidson preview.

The VCU graduate guard and Utah State transfer who earned all-conference accolades last year despite battling a sports hernia injury throughout the season is averaging 15.5 points, 5.6 rebounds, 3.9 assists and 1.9 steals while shooting 43.8% from 3-point range.

In an age of widespread player transience amid the roster flux synonymous with the transfer portal, it is these days difficult to pronounce players who only spent a portion of their careers at a given school as belonging among that program's all-time greats. 

But it may be time to start having that conversation with "Mad Max," who was on Monday named A-10 player of the week. 

"Let's have the discussion: Max is one of the best VCU guards / players we have ever had," VCU Ram Nation founder Mat Shelton-Eide asked after Shulga led the Rams past Richmond on Tuesday with a team-high 16 points and four assists. 

"I think people will always give him his credit, but he needs to lead VCU to at least a (NCAA) tournament to be in the discussion, but also would need to win a game or two to really really enter that discussion," Shelton-Eide said.

"Because if he ends up just being a really good player on two NIT teams, it will hurt his legacy at VCU."

On the season, Shulga is the No. 22-rated player in the country per Bart Torvik's T-Rank player rating metric. In the month of February, he's the top-rated player in the country with an 8.3 per game rating, and his offensive rating is off the charts at 162.2.

He's 11th in the A-10 in scoring, 21st in rebounding, eighth in assists, third in steals and tied for second in 3-point percentage. 

Throughout the season, in crunch time, Rams coach Ryan Odom puts the ball in Shulga's hands.

That was true again on Tuesday — after UR cut what was once a 22-point VCU lead down to nine at 63-54 with 6:03 to play, Shulga sank two technical free throws for 65-54. A couple possessions later, he weaved through the defense to finish off glass for 69-56. 

And as "VCU" chants filled Robins Center, Shulga nailed a 3 on the left wing for 76-58 to truly put the outcome to rest. 

"Shulga is just an outstanding player, I think the best player in our conference," UR coach Chris Mooney said after the game while discussing VCU's composure in clutch time.

Shulga said poise was the key component to the Rams ability to stretch the lead back out and wind up with an 18-point road win that lifted them a couple spots up to No. 29 in NCAA NET rankings and Kenpom.com's adjusted efficiency metric.

"Just knowing that we don't have to panic, we just had to control what we could control," said Shulga in his trademark matter-of-fact tone, hair, as always, comically and endearingly askew. 

"The effort plays, the effort on defense, the focus, we had to minimize the breakdowns and take the smart shots on offense instead of forcing stuff up."

There is perhaps one player in the A-10 who could yet challenge Shulga's perch atop the player of the year race — Wildcats 6-foot-10, 230-pound junior forward Reed Bailey, who leads the conference in scoring at 19.5 points per game, good for 26th in the nation.

Bailey's also averaging 6.3 rebounds and 3.8 assists while shooting 50.5% from the field, 45.2% from beyond the arc and 77.3% at the free throw line.

Bailey excels at using standout footwork in the post to draw contact and get to the line — his 157 free throw attempts on the season lead the conference by a wide margin. 

So staying out of foul trouble and keeping Bailey from living at the charity striple will be imperative for VCU bigs Christian Fermin and Luke Bamgboye.

The Rams will also need to double-team the post effectively when Bailey is able to receive and establish position on the low block, a defensive principal which VCU has this season deployed with aplomb. 

Also of note for the Wildcats are sophomore forward Bobby Durkin (14.5 ppg) and graduate guard Connor Kochera (13.9 ppg). Durkin is a prolific shooter, Kochera a hard-nosed driver. 

Tip-off against Davidson (16-12, 6-9 A-10) is scheduled for 7 p.m. tip-off at the Siegel Center in a game that will be televised nationally on ESPN2.