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PHILADELPHIA, Pa. – Call it, David v. Goliath, 2.0. For the second time in three seasons, VCU finds itself matched up with one of, if not the most accomplished basketball programs in the country in the first round of the NCAA Tournament. Thursday night at the Wachovia Center, it’s 11-time national champion UCLA that will oppose the Rams (24-9), the CAA Champions. VCU will be making its ninth NCAA Tournament appearance. The Bruins will be there for the 43rd time. However, none of those numbers matter to UCLA, which has not forgotten the Black and Gold’s stunning upset of Duke two years ago in Buffalo, N.Y. The Bruins will not be taking this game lightly. “No. 1, I’ve been very impressed,” Bruins Head Coach Ben Howland said of VCU. “Anthony Grant is an outstanding coach…They’ve had big wins, a year ago over Maryland, obviously two years ago against Duke. Then you talk about this year’s team. Maynor is just a fantastic point guard. There’s no question he’ll be an NBA player.” Much like VCU, UCLA (25-8) is led by an outstanding senior point guard and Bob Cousy Award finalist in Darren Collison. Collison has led the Bruins to three straight Final Four appearances. The 6-0 guard is averaging a team-best 14.5 points and 4.3 assists per game. “I think it’s going to be an exciting matchup,” Collison said of facing off with Maynor. “Nonetheless, there’s nothing I haven’t seen in my years at UCLA…it’s something that fans want to see and everybody else wants to see.” Collison is not a one-man show, however. Senior Josh Shipp, a 6-5 senior swingman, adds 14.4 points and 3.0 rebounds per game. For the Rams, 2007 is a long time ago. Senior Eric Maynor and Co. will be looking for another trophy for their mantle. |
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#11 VCU vs. #6 UCLA, 9:50 p.m. (approx.)All rights reserved.
