No. 11 seed VCU defeated No. 6 North Carolina in the first round of the 2026 NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament on March 19, 2026, at Bon Secours Wellness Arena in Greenville, South Carolina.[1] The Rams overcame a 19-point deficit late in the game to advance, marking their first NCAA tournament victory since 2016 according to reports.[1]
During the postgame news conference, VCU head coach Phil Martelli Jr. interrupted a question from Ben Rekosh, director and on-air commentator for WVCW Sports—the school's student radio station—to praise the student media team.[1] "I am gonna shout you guys out. I know there's a lot of professional media, our student media, the best in the country. They are unreal. Unreal, unreal," Martelli said.[1]
Martelli highlighted their dedication, noting that three student journalists drove through a snowstorm to cover a game at Davidson and traveled to St. Louis and other locations during the season.[1] He added a light-hearted comment about them missing a Valentine's Day game due to "young love," emphasizing their unpaid commitment compared to professional media.[1]
"I told them in Pittsburgh, I'll tell them again, I cannot thank you guys enough. You are what this is about," Martelli said.[1] Rekosh thanked the coach and continued with his question.
The victory sends VCU to the second round of the tournament, hosted across four regional sites leading to the Final Four in Indianapolis, Indiana, on April 4 and 6, 2026.[2] VCU, a member of the Atlantic 10 Conference, reached the Final Four as an 11th seed in 2011.[3]
Bon Secours Wellness Arena is a multi-purpose venue with a capacity of approximately 15,951, regularly hosting NCAA tournament early-round games.[4]
Sources
- Fox News, After completing the largest comeback in the history of the first round of March Madness..., March 20, 2026, https://www.foxnews.com/sports
- NCAA, 2026 NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament, accessed October 2024, https://www.ncaa.com/march-madness
- Wikipedia, VCU Rams men's basketball, accessed October 2024, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/VCU_Rams_men%27s_basketball
- Wikipedia, Bon Secours Wellness Arena, accessed October 2024, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bon_Secours_Wellness_Arena
