Coming off a win in the CAA title game and the reception of an automatic bid into the NCAA tournament, Sunday the Rams found out where they will be playing in the big dance as they were named the 11th seed in the eastern region.
The first-round opponent will be the program which owns the most national championships in the history of college basketball: UCLA.
“We have a lot of respect for UCLA and their program . we’re excited about the opportunity to play and looking forward to the challenge,” VCU coach Anthony Grant said.
Grant now has received two NCAA trips in his three-year tenure at VCU.
VCU is making its ninth appearance in the tournament in its history, with the last coming in 2007 when the Rams upset sixth-seeded Duke.
“We have a great program here. We’ve been fortunate to win in the NCAAs, the guys who weren’t there (in 2007) know that it can happen,” junior forward T.J. Gwynn (Burlington, N.C./Cummings) said.
The team and the athletics program also are excited because of the location of its first round game, Philadelphia, which is the second closest geographical location that would have been available for the Rams.
“I was excited, I heard rumors of us playing in Boise or Portland, but I was really excited to be playing kind of close to home in Philly,” said freshman Bradford Burgess (Midlothian/Benedictine).
VCU will find out the time of Thursday’s game on Monday. Until then, the Rams will prepare for UCLA and bid for another upset.
“The only thing we’re trying to do is win and advance. That is the main thing going in here, it’s not about being heroic or anything like that, we just want to go in and win,” said guard Eric Maynor (Raeford, N.C./Westover).
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