VCU is back in the NCAA Tournament for a second straight season, third in the last four, on its third coach in those four to take them dancing.
That’s VCU Basketball.
Also VCU Basketball: they’re underdogs, but also a trendy pick to pull a first-round upset, in a matchup with another blue blood, this year, North Carolina.
It’s actually been a minute since VCU has pulled a first-round tourney upset – all the way back in 2016, a modest 11-6 upset of Oregon State, under the direction of future coaching pariah slimeball Will Wade.
The reputation of VCU as giant-killers actually precedes the 2011 Final Four run with Shaka Smart, which started in the First Four, and included upsets of Georgetown, Purdue, Florida State and Kansas.
Remember Eric Minor scoring 22 points, and hitting the game-winning jumper, in a 2007 first-round upset of Duke?
Anthony Grant was the coach then.
Everybody has coached at VCU at some point.
I can’t believe the Eric Minor-Duke game was almost 20 years ago.
Man, I’m getting old.
“I’d just say, like, we’re VCU, too. VCU is historically known for a lot of big things, too,” reserve freshman guard Jordan Tillery told reporters on Wednesday, ahead of Thursday’s first-round game with UNC, the #6 seed in the South Regional.
Game Details
- North Carolina (24-8, #6 seed, South) vs. VCU (27-7, #11 seed, South)
- Day/Time: Thursday, 6:50 p.m. ET
- TV: TNT
A favorite topic from the reporters at the presser was: you guys are from a small school, getting ready to play one of the biggest brand names in the sport, probably feels cool, huh?
The VCU kids didn’t come across as sufficiently cowed.
“We’re just going to show up and play against them boys, just like they’ve got to play against us,” Tillery said.
“At the end of the day, we play against UNC, but we don’t play against the brand. We play against the players wearing those jerseys. I think we have a really great chance tomorrow to win it,” said 6’11” junior Lazar Djokovic, who will match up with projected first-round pick Henri Veesaar in the post.
The VCU side would turn the tables on their inquisitors, making sure they know – and can relate to the guys in baby blue – that VCU has its own brand.
“I mean, we’re bringing that havoc,” sophomore guard Brandon Jennings said, invoking the brand name that Shaka Smart left behind from his tenure. “We start on the defensive end, and we let our defense translate to our offense. We like to play fast, and we like to get up and pressure. Then we like to have fun out there, play selfless, share the ball, and just make good shots.”
The predictive sites are saying this one will be close:
- BartTorvik has it UNC 79-76.
- KenPom pegs the game as Carolina 79-77.
- ESPN BPI favors the Heels by 2.9.
The game is being played in Greenville, S.C., which, since Greenville is in the Carolinas, makes this one pretty much a UNC home game.
Except that, Duke is also in Greenville, for its game in the East Regional with #16 seed Siena.
“I’m quite sure that there’s a lot of Duke fans making their quick trip down to Greenville here. I would imagine that whatever time they play early after that game, they’re trading in black and gold. We’ll take them all. We’ll be your second favorite team, even if it’s just for a day,” first-year VCU coach Phil Martelli Jr. said on Wednesday.
“But our fans will travel, you guys know that. Our fans are second to none with that,” Martelli said. “Obviously, Carolina will have a huge presence here, but don’t be shocked when you walk in and you see black and gold in a lot of places, and you hear those people. Like, you will hear those people, and you will damn sure hear the Peppas, our band. It’s not even close. There’s not a #2, like they’re #1 wherever it is. We’ll have a presence, I’m sure of that.”
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Chris Graham
