GREENVILLE, S.C. — With 15 minutes left in the second half of the North Carolina-VCU first-round NCAA Tournament game, Seth Trimble stole the ball from Terrence Hill Jr. and sped down the court for a fast-break layup, giving the Tar Heels a 56-37 lead.
That had been the story of the game up until that point. You can’t let the ‘Heels run on you, and VCU’s transition defense was nowhere to be found. At one point in the second half, UNC had 21 combined fast-break and off-turnover points, while VCU had zero.
It wasn’t necessarily that the Rams were throwing the ball away, but (aside from Lazar Djokovic post-ups) they were having a brutal time finishing at the rim around the monstrous Henri Veesar (who finished with 26 points, 10 rebounds, and three assists).
“We missed 10 layups in the first half,” VCU head coach Phil Martelli Jr. said in the postgame presser following VCU’s 82-78 win over North Carolina. “People say transition defense, but it starts with our offense. When we were driving, missing layups, crashing the glass, and missing put-back layups, then they were able to run right past us.”
The key was to finish more layups on the offensive end. Easier said than done.
But that’s where Hill Jr. stepped in.
Hill put up 11 first-half points, but mostly because he hit a few corner triples. Like the rest of the Rams, he wasn’t battering toward the rim.
But Hill went unconscious during the comeback, scoring 23 points after halftime. During a key stretch with under four minutes left in the second half, Hill took five straight shots for VCU, making four, and turning a 70-68 deficit into a 75-75 tie with this smooth dribble-drive lay-up around Djokovic’s seal.
These were the shots the Rams weren’t getting in the first half, but Hill flipped the script, and everything else fell into place — especially the Rams’ transition defense, which only allowed two fast-break points over the final 25 minutes of action.
“Coach was on us at halftime about missing easy layups, that we had to go to the basket and finish strong and settle in,” Hill said post-game. “Going into the second half, I wanted to be as aggressive as possible.”
Of course, it helped that the Rams also shot 7-for-10 from 3 in the second half. But Hill’s ability to finally go downhill and finish opened up his step-back jumpers down the stretch, including the game-winning one.
I’m often guilty of spending a bit too much time on the X’s and O’s. Coach Martelli indirectly reminded me of that post-game.
“The funny thing with [my dad Phil Martelli Sr.] is that we never talk X’s and O’s,” Martelli said. “To him, it’s always about people, about pouring into your guys, pouring into the people, pouring into the staff. Love those guys as much as you can, give them everything you’ve got.”
The A-10 had a banner year. Five conference squads ranked in the KenPom top-100, and two earned a Tournament bid (Saint Louis). The Rams were the ultimate league champs behind an up-and-coming superstar coach, and they had a shot to prove that their mid-major league was no pushover.
Of course, the fans showed up. The VCU contingent was loud and proud, never losing faith, even when down 19.
I have to shout out The Peppas, who I overheard in the bathroom line during halftime, saying that this was “totally a winnable game.”
At the risk of embarrassing myself, I have to admit I wasn’t aware of the legendary performing group. I apologize to all the guys in the replies calling me naive. They were right, but I’m happy to be all the wiser now — these guys are fire.
“Every program has these big buzzwords,” Martelli said. “Consistency and resilience are two of them for us.”
VCU wasn’t consistent during Thursday’s first-round matchup, but the Rams were mighty resilient. And despite trailing for a whopping 34:46 of game time, Martelli’s bunch was the more composed and consistent team in crunch time, a wild thing to say considering the legendary opponent.
Even more important, the VCU program was consistent during this “business trip,” as Martelli likes to call away games. Everyone deserves a bit of credit for earning the Rams’ first tournament win since 2016, from the coaching staff down to the band conductor.
VCU’s first-round victory over North Carolina looks like a program-defining one for all the people involved. I can’t wait to see what this group has up its sleeve on Saturday.
