City Six previews: How to watch, what to know ahead of St. Joe's-VCU and La Salle-Rhode Island

The evening's college basketball action finds St. Joseph's hosting VCU and La Salle traveling to Rhode Island.

La Salle’s Johnnie Shuler reacts after hitting a 3 pointer in the 1st haf of the Mercer at La Salle University mens basketball game at La Salle’s Gola Arena on December 17, 2017. La Salle won the game 95-85.Read moreELIZABETH ROBERTSON / Staff Photographer

by Joe Juliano

Published Jan. 3, 2018, 7:00 a.m. ET

VCU (9-5, 1-0 Atlantic 10) at St. Joseph's (5-7, 0-1 Atlantic 10)

Wednesday, 7 p.m., Hagan Arena

TV: None

Radio: 1210 WPHT-AM

Livestream: Atlantic 10.com

Coaches: Phil Martelli, 23^rd year at St. Joseph's (419-300); Mike Rhoades, 1^st season at VCU (9-5).

Series: VCU leads 6-4.

Last meeting: Playing their first game last season without guard Lamarr Kimble, the Hawks lost at VCU, 91-81. Chris Clover was their leading scorer with 21 points.

The latest: St. Joseph's – The Hawks announced Tuesday that sophomore guard Charlie Brown Jr., who suffered a fractured left wrist in October, will be sidelined for at least three more weeks. … St. Joseph's is last in the A-10 in field goal percentage at 40.6 but fifth in the conference in scoring, averaging 73.6 points. … James Demery, who scored 24 points Saturday in his team's 70-64 loss to George Washington, leads the team in scoring at 17.3 points per game. … VCU – The Rams come to Hawk Hill on a four-game winning streak and lead the A-10 in scoring at 77.7 points per game. … Senior forward Justin Tillman has three straight double-doubles and is averaging 22.6 points and 9.4 rebounds in his last eight games. Overall, he is fourth in the league in both scoring (18.3 ppg.) and rebounding (8.7 rpg.).

La Salle (7-7, 1-0 Atlantic 10) at Rhode Island (9-3, 1-0 Atlantic 10)

Wednesday, 7 p.m., Ryan Center, Kingston, R.I.

TV/Radio: None

Livestream: TV: https://www.yurview.com/nelive5_ribasketball

Radio: https://portal.stretchinternet.com/lasalle/# or Tune-In radio app.

Coaches: John Giannini, 14^th year at La Salle (206-214); Danny Hurley, 6^th year at Rhode Island (96-77).

Series: Rhode Island leads, 25-9.

Last meeting: The two teams split a pair of games last season, with each winning on the other's home court. The Rams defeated La Salle, 67-56, on Feb. 21 at Tom Gola Arena.

The latest: La Salle – Top scorer B.J. Johnson, who has missed the last two games with an ankle injury, is listed as questionable for Wednesday night's game. … Senior guard Pookie Powell is now sixth in scoring in the A-10 with a 17.9-point average after his 28-point output in Saturday's 83-60 win over St. Louis … Giannini's next win will be his 500^th as a collegiate head coach; Rhode Island – All-conference senior guard E.C. Matthews is back in the Rams' starting lineup after having missed six games with a fractured bone in his wrist. … Sophomore guard Jeff Dowtin leads the A-10 and is fourth in the nation with a 4.7 assist-to-turnover ratio. … The Rams have forced 16.6 turnovers per game.