The Bulldogs of Butler University had never been to Richmond before, and with the kind of hospitality shown by the VCU Rams on Saturday, there won’t be any fond memories of this Capital City for the nation’s then 20th-ranked team as the homies blasted Butler 84 – 52 at the Siegal Center. The win solidifies a second-place finish in the Atlantic-10 for VCU, which includes a first-round bye while St. Louis will take the regular-season title by virtue of their win over the Rams a couple of weeks ago.
The win was VCU’s 23rd of the season & should lock the Rams into an NCAA at-large berth regardless of the outcome of the A-10 Tournament. The convincing win over Butler has propelled the Rams back into the national limelight as VCU re-entered the AP poll at No. 21, and moved up in the USA Today Coaches Poll to No. 19. The Rams still have some business to tend to with cross-town & league rival Richmond making the long ride down Broad Street on Wednesday night. The Spiders upset VCU earlier in the season, so despite the standings, expect the Rams to take UR very seriously.
In the MEAC, the conference tournament is coming to the Norfolk Scope beginning next Monday. At this point, the big question around the league is can anyone in the MEAC defeat the Spartans of Norfolk State, who will essentially be playing the tournament at home. NSU won it’s 20th game of the season and 13th in a row over the weekend, and seek win No. 21 tonight at home against the Rattlers of Florida A & M. The Spartans also remain undefeated in the MEAC at 13 – 0 with two home games remaining.
The CIAA Tournament is history for 2013, and none of the 804’s entries were sucessful this season in bringing home the CIAA titles. The honors went to the men of Bowie State University, and the women of Shaw University, who won their third straight CIAA Championship. For Virginia State & Virginia Union Universities, the season is complete.
