
VCU Rams at BYU Cougars
· Men's Basketball Championship - East Region - 1st RoundBYU enjoys March Madness success with 80-71 win over VCU a year after NCAA Tournament flop

The former Suns assistant watched the Denver Nuggets bounce Phoenix from the playoffs at this arena in 2023, leading Young to say this week that he still has nightmares of Nikola Jokic and Jamal Murray.
“I do have the comfort of the familiarity of being in the building. Even though they hurt us oftentimes, I still had a couple big wins in here,” Young said. “Just the familiarity for me was actually something that was kind of calming and soothing.”
It was Saunders (16 points) and Demin (15) who haunted VCU and propelled the sixth-seeded Cougars (25-9) into a Saturday showdown against third-seeded Wisconsin, which handled Montana 85-66 earlier in the day in the East Region.
Fousseyni Traore added 13 points for the Cougars, who were also a No. 6 seed in last year’s tournament when they were upset by 11th-seeded Duquesne 71-67.
“We’re not ready to be done yet," Saunders said. “It means so much that we were able to win, get to this point that we haven’t done before.”
After last year’s upset, Mark Pope departed for Kentucky and Young replaced him, luring Saunders and Dallin Hall back to Provo after both players entered the transfer portal. Young and his staff also brought in Demin and high-impact transfers Keba Keita (Utah) and Mawot Mag (Rutgers).
As Demin, a potential NBA lottery pick, was talking about the win courtside, BYU fans serenaded him with chants of “One more year!”
Zeb Jackson scored a season-high 23 points for the Rams (28-7), who reached the NCAA Tournament for the third time in five years but still haven't had any March Madness success since 2016.
Max Shulga, Joe Bamisile and Jack Clark all added 12 points for the Rams, who boasted their best record in 13 years and were coming off winning the Atlantic 10 regular season and tournament titles.
“Those guys are awesome," Young said. “They love BYU. That’s one thing I think that is super unique about BYU. There’s so much passion from our fans, the alumni. It’s something that I knew about just the fans, but I didn’t factor in just all the alumni. So many good athletes that have been through BYU. Danny is a great resource. I pick his brain often. Jimmer is a guy that reached out the second I got the job. To have that support from those types of guys is incredible.”
“It’s hard to keep up when you’re in that situation,” Odom said. “Not saying anything about fouls/no fouls. It’s just they impose their will on the game and did a nice job.”
“I’m happy to answer any questions about the game or this team or anything. I’m not going to answer any questions about that, thank you,” he said.
How can I watch VCU vs. BYU?
Recent Plays
2nd 0:00 | End of Game | 71 - 80 |
2nd 0:00 | End of 2nd half | 71 - 80 |
2nd 0:10 | Terrence Hill Jr. made Jumper. | 71 - 80 |
2nd 0:19 | Michael Belle Defensive Rebound. | 69 - 80 |
2nd 0:20 | Michael Belle subbing in for VCU | 69 - 80 |
Statistics
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---|---|---|
26-63 | FG | 27-54 |
41.3 | Field Goal % | 50.0 |
15-38 | 3PT | 7-20 |
39.5 | Three Point % | 35.0 |
4-6 | FT | 19-28 |
66.7 | Free Throw % | 67.9 |
31 | Rebounds | 40 |
12 | Offensive Rebounds | 14 |
19 | Defensive Rebounds | 26 |
15 | Assists | 12 |
6 | Steals | 6 |
2 | Blocks | 4 |
11 | Turnovers | 12 |
0 | Team Turnovers | 1 |
11 | Total Turnovers | 12 |
0 | Technical Fouls | 0 |
0 | Total Technical Fouls | 0 |
0 | Flagrant Fouls | 0 |
17 | Points Off Turnovers | 17 |
7 | Fast Break Points | 6 |
20 | Points in Paint | 38 |
23 | Fouls | 16 |
5 | Largest Lead | 20 |
Game Information
Location: Denver, CO
Attendance: 19,291 | Capacity:
2024-25 Atlantic 10 Conference Standings
TEAM | CONF | GB | OVER |
---|---|---|---|
VCU | 15-3 | - | 28-7 |
George Mason | 15-3 | - | 27-9 |
Dayton | 12-6 | 3 | 23-11 |
Loyola Chicago | 12-6 | 3 | 25-12 |
Saint Joseph's | 11-7 | 4 | 22-13 |
Saint Louis | 11-7 | 4 | 19-15 |
St. Bonaventure | 9-9 | 6 | 22-12 |
George Washington | 9-9 | 6 | 21-13 |
Duquesne | 8-10 | 7 | 13-19 |
Rhode Island | 7-11 | 8 | 18-13 |
Massachusetts | 7-11 | 8 | 12-20 |
Davidson | 6-12 | 9 | 17-16 |
La Salle | 5-13 | 10 | 14-19 |
Richmond | 5-13 | 10 | 10-22 |
Fordham | 3-15 | 12 | 12-21 |
2024-25 Big 12 Conference Standings
TEAM | CONF | GB | OVER |
---|---|---|---|
Houston | 19-1 | - | 34-4 |
Texas Tech | 15-5 | 4 | 28-9 |
BYU | 14-6 | 5 | 26-10 |
Arizona | 14-6 | 5 | 24-13 |
Iowa State | 13-7 | 6 | 25-10 |
Kansas | 11-9 | 8 | 21-13 |
West Virginia | 10-10 | 9 | 19-13 |
Baylor | 10-10 | 9 | 20-15 |
TCU | 9-11 | 10 | 16-16 |
Kansas State | 9-11 | 10 | 16-17 |
Utah | 8-12 | 11 | 16-17 |
Cincinnati | 7-13 | 12 | 19-15 |
UCF | 7-13 | 12 | 18-16 |
Oklahoma State | 7-13 | 12 | 17-18 |
Arizona State | 4-16 | 15 | 13-20 |
Colorado | 3-17 | 16 | 14-21 |