Close your eyes for a second.
Can you visualize your Mount Rushmore of all-time VCU games?
There’s “The Dagger,” when Eric Maynor drained a go-ahead jumper from the free-throw line to knock Duke out of the first round of the NCAA Tournament in 2007.
There’s the most famous block in VCU history: Rob Brandenburg’s block of a Florida State driving layup to give VCU a 72-71 win over Florida State in 2011.
There’s the most iconic: VCU’s 71-61 win over Kansas two days later in 2011 to send the Rams dancing to their first Final Four in program history.
Now, we have the most improbable.
With just under 15 minutes to play in the second half, the 11-seed VCU Rams trailed the 6-seed North Carolina Tar Heels by 19 points at Bon Secours Wellness Arena in Greenville, South Carolina. Despite valiant efforts from the Rams, the Tar Heels, namely center Henri Veesaar, had built a near-insurmountable lead.
Near.
After trailing 70-56 with 7:11 to play, Terrence Hill Jr. sparked a 14-2 run with a 3-pointer to get the Rams within two with 3:05 to play. A tense back-and-forth ensued, before Hill sealed overtime with a layup with 11 seconds to go, with a would-be game-winning 3-pointer from the Tar Heels falling short.
In overtime, points came at a premium before freshman guard Nyk Lewis broke the stalemate with 2:12 to go in overtime via a driving layup. The scoring again froze until North Carolina took a 78-77 lead with 35 seconds to go after senior Seth Trimble knocked down a go-ahead free throw.
From there, it was all Hill. The Atlantic 10 Sixth Man of the Year hit a step-back 3-pointer from the top of the arc with 15 seconds to play to put the Rams up 80-78. Veesaar subsequently missed a pair of free throws, then Lewis sunk two more free throws to seal the game in wax, 82-78.
The win, the 14th in program history during the NCAA Tournament, snapped a 10-year drought in the big dance for the Rams. It also marked the first NCAA Tournament win for head coach Phil Martelli Jr., who along with his father, legendary St. Joe’s coach Phil Martelli, joins the short list of father-son coaching duos to both win NCAA Tournament games.
It was also the largest comeback in the history of the first round of the NCAA Tournament, and the sixth largest comeback win in any round of March Madness.
Hill’s star shined brightest, scoring a career-high 34 points and setting a program record for single-game scoring in an NCAA Tournament game. Hill connected on seven 3-pointers, shooting 13-23 from the floor, while notching five rebounds and five assists.
In the last 7:44 of the game, Hill had 17 points alone. North Carolina, meanwhile, did not have a made shot in that span.
Joining Hill in double figures was Lewis, who scored 16 points and tied junior Michael Belle for the team lead in rebounds with seven. Belle himself notched eight points on 60% from the floor.
Lazar Djokovic, who along with Hill was named to the A-10-All Conference First Team, continued to show his floor-stretching ability by knocking down 40% of his 3-pointers. He had 15 points on the night.
All told, the Rams snatched defeat from the jaws of victory in a way that has almost never been seen in the NCAA Tournament’s opening round and were the story of the first day of the tournament. VCU led for just 4:41 of game time and got its largest lead with three seconds to go in overtime.
Veesaar led the Tar Heels in the loss with 26 points and 10 rebounds. Trimble added 15 of his own, while Derek Dixon stuffed the stat sheet with 11 points, five rebounds and six assists.
But it is VCU who has once again slain Goliath, and is moving on in the NCAA Tournament for the first time since knocking off Oregon State in 2016.
Thursday night, in context
It is hard to encapsulate the emotional swings of the Rams’ opening night game in words.
I watched the game from a sports bar in Richmond near VCU’s campus. Perhaps the video tells the story better:
It was a true central moment for a fan base of a team that is fortunate enough to always be in great position against high-caliber opponents but often comes up just short in clutch time. Perhaps no statistic sums that fact up better than the fact that Thursday was VCU’s first overtime win in seven years.
VCU now has iconic March Madness moments against Duke, North Carolina, Florida State and Kansas, along with blue-chip regular season wins against a surging Butler program and a ranked LSU program that hired former coach Will Wade away.
All told, for a program that had a surprising lack of NCAA Tournament success over the past decade, it was a cathartic win for a fanbase looking for that signature March moment for a new generation of Rams.
Up next: Illinois
As any coach would tell you, the goal in March is not to win one game.
It is to win six.
VCU’s next opponent, the Illinois Fighting Illini, is tough on paper. The #3 seed out of the Big Ten is the seventh-ranked team on KenPom and has the second highest offensive rating in the country. Their overall record of 25-8 powered the team to the #4 seed in the conference tournament, where they lost in overtime to Wisconsin.
Illinois is coming off a 105-70 drubbing of Penn in the first round and are favored by double figures against the Rams.
Illinois head coach Brad Underwood is also no stranger to VCU – as head coach of Stephen F. Austin, Underwood led his #12 seeded Lumberjacks to an upset over VCU in the first round of the 2014 NCAA Tournament.
Key players to watch for the Illini include Keaton Wagler, the Big Ten Freshman of the Year and team leader in scoring, who averages just under 18 points per game. Wagner also has 147 total assists this season, leading the program.
Wagner was also named all-conference first team, while fellow freshman forward David (pronounced DAH-VID) Mirkovic was named all-conference honorable mention.
Mirkovic averages 13.8 points per game and is shooting just a hair under 50% from the floor this season. His eight rebounds per game is far and away the high mark for the Illini.
Notably, the Illini have size down low. From 7-foot-1 center Tomislav Ivisic on down, the program boasts many players at 6-foot-9 or taller. That advantage, as seen with Veesaar on Thursday night, can be hard to overcome for a VCU team that is a little thin at the forward position beyond Djokovic.
Anything is possible in March, but it is hard to see a path to victory for the Rams on paper in this one.
Isn’t it great that games are played on hardwood instead?
Jason’s picks: Illinois 87, VCU 69 (I’m sorry!!!).
*I do also want to note that I was only one point off on Thursday. I had VCU 83, UNC 79, and they finished 82-78. I feel like I should win something for that.*
#3 Illinois and #11 VCU tip off at approximately 7:50 from the Bon Secours Wellness Arena in Greenville, South Carolina. CBS has the TV coverage, with the March Madness A-Team of Ian Eagle, La Salle alumnus Bill Raftery and Grant Hill on the call.
