What to make of VCU's tourney chances? There's no bad, but also not much good

The VCU men's basketball team has successfully navigated 30 games without a blemish on their NCAA tournament résumé.

The Rams don't have any losses that would sink their standing in the eyes of the committee that picks the 68 teams participating in March Madness.

But VCU has also made it 30 games without a signature victory. The Rams have proved themselves worthy of selection, but also failed to prove themselves when playing against the teams that will be selected. (Wins against Virginia Tech and South Florida stand as their best at the moment.)

That means a tense 10 days between now and when the brackets are revealed, where every moment of every game is magnified.

Junior forward Lazar Djokovic, who has yet to participate in an NCAA tournament, was asked what he's feeling in the final weeks.

"Just butterflies, man," he said. "Like when you first have a crush."

The Rams are hoping that crush will love them back next Sunday.

Tuesday night, they gritted out a 70-65 victory over the George Mason Patriots in their final home game, navigating the first test in this final gauntlet.

Friday night they'll head to Dayton for another challenge before the Atlantic 10 tournament next week in Pittsburgh. If they can win their next three, which would put them in the conference title game, they likely would be selected into the NCAA field. Anything less would crack open the door to disappointment.

VCU coach Phil Martelli Jr. said he hasn't spent a minute of time talking with the players about the tournament or worrying about it himself.

"They don't call me and ask me my opinion," Martelli said. "We're locked in. We've just got to play the games, and do what we have to do, and try to go get wins."

Tuesday night started with a scare, as Djokovic left the game in the first half after rolling his left ankle.

He returned in the second half, though, and made a key 3-pointer to extend VCU's second half lead, sticking out his tongue in celebration as he ran back to play defense.

"The meds started kicking in, to be honest," Djokovic said with a laugh.

Mason and VCU are longtime rivals, and it was clear from the get-go there was no love lost between the teams. Earlier this season the Rams lost in Fairfax after slipping defensively in the final minutes. This time the defense was stout but it took a little longer to get the offense rolling.

It finally did with 4 minutes remaining, for just long enough to give VCU its margin of victory.

"That's what a March basketball game is supposed to look and feel like, right?" Martelli said. "We told them, it's a straight-up toughness game. The toughest team will win."

There's no rest for coaches in March, and Martelli said he was headed straight from the game to his office to pull an all-nighter getting ready for Friday night's game against Dayton.

He said he'd take a quick break around 4 a.m. to drive his dad to the airport. Then it's back to the grind.

Contact Michael Phillips at mphillips@richmonder.org. VCU is a sponsor of The Richmonder but did not influence or review this story.