It’s a good year to be a Virginia Commonwealth University basketball fan. The VCU men’s basketball team made the NCAA March Madness tournament for the sixth year in a row, but the men aren’t the only ones with basketball success. The VCU women’s basketball team has also qualified for the Women’s National Invitation Tournament.
VCU’s March Madness experience begins today as the women’s basketball team faces state rival U.Va at home. The VCU women’s basketball team finished first in the Atlantic 10 division with a 23-9 record, but they lost to George Washington in the A-10 semi-finals. U.Va finished their season with a 16-15 record and a loss to Duke in the first round of the ACC tournament.
U.Va sophomore guard, Mikayla Venson, announced she was leaving the team on Tuesday. She will not play in the WNIT tournament. The women’s basketball game begins at 7 p.m. in the Siegel center. The winner of this game will move on to compete against the winner of the Rutgers and Georgetown game.
The VCU men’s basketball team finished their season with a 24-10 record and an appearance in the final round of the A-10 tournament. Though the Rams ultimately lost to St. Joseph’s, this was their fourth appearance in a row in the final round of the tournament.
This year the team celebrated the return of Coach Will Wade, after coping with the loss of Shaka Smart after he left the team last season to coach the Texas Longhorns. But Wade isn’t new to the Ram family. He was the assistant coach when the team made their way to the Final Four in 2011.
The 10 seed VCU Rams will battle 7 seed Oregon State Beavers. This is the Bears first NCAA tournament appearance in 26 years. The Rams are predicted to ‘upset’ the Bears in the first round of the tournament this year. The game will take place in Oklahoma City, Friday afternoon at 1:30 p.m.
Go Rams!