VCU leads Akron 50-25 at halftime: This isn't fun at all

The bright side? It may not be the worst a team has played in Auburn Hills this season. That's about all I can say. Being doubled up at halftime is bad, but the cleanly divisible 50-25 score kind of put the interrobang on this first 20 minutes.

What went wrong?

• Turnovers, basically. Remember when we said VCU was good at forcing them? We meant that. The Zips have turned it over 10 times in a variety of ways: there have been two 10-second violations, a 5-second one, and numerous other lost balls behind and in front of the timeline. Carmelo Betancourt has been given fits. I even saw Demetrius Treadwell try to take the ball down the court, and that went about as you'd expected. On the other side, VCU has just two turnovers. TWO.

• The Rams can also shoot. They're 3-for-5 from 3-point territory and 60 percent overall. Juvonte Reddie and Troy Daniels have combined for 30 points. Akron wishes they had 30.

• The opposite of The Flu Game: Brian Walsh has been limited to three minutes, 0-for-1 from the floor and a turnover. Pat Forsythe hasn't even sniffed the hardwood.

• Zeke Marshall and Demetrius Treadwell are playing decent but not great. This is the final stake in the coffin. VCU is outrebounding them 19-13, 7-4 on the offensive side. Between the two big men, they have one offensive board. The saving grace is they do have 19 of the Zips' 25 points.

Barring a miracle, a sudden legal exoneration, and a magical flu shot, we have 20 minutes of garbage time ahead of us. I feel awful for Akron, and hopefully they remain proud of how much they've accomplished thus far. There still may be some badass plays left in the tank for Treadwell and Nick Harney, and Marshall can show his stuff one last time to potential NBA scouts falling asleep in their recliners. Those are the reasons you are watching. Well, that and the possible miracle.