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After finishing the biggest comeback within the historical past of the primary spherical of March Madness, No. 11 VCU head coach Phil Martelli Jr. made it a degree to shout out particular journalists.
Ben Rekosh, the director and on-air commentator for WVCW Sports, the college’s radio station, was in the midst of asking a query to Martelli about their comeback over No. 6 UNC when Martelli interrupted.
“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 mentioned. “Three of these guys drove in a snowstorm — I’m not sure why they did it — to Davidson to cover us in Davidson. They came out to St. Louis, they’ve been everywhere along the way.”
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VCU Rams head coach Phil Martelli Jr. solutions questions throughout a observe session forward of the primary spherical of the boys’s 2026 NCAA Tournament at Bon Secours Wellness Arena. (Jim Dedmon/Imagn Images)
Martelli did put the reporters on blast, although, saying they needed to miss a recreation for Valentine’s Day.
“We won’t talk about that. I understand young love is young love,” Martelli joked. “But this crew right here, I told them in Pittsburgh, I’ll tell them again, I cannot thank you guys enough. You are what this is about, right there. The rest of these [media members] are getting paid — not enough. They don’t get paid enough, but they get paid to be here — they’re not paid to be here, and they show up every single day, every single game, and I can’t thank you guys (enough).”
Rekosh mentioned he appreciated the type phrases and went proper again to asking his query, the final of the convention.
Terrence Hill Jr. of the VCU Rams reacts to a basket through the second half in opposition to the North Carolina Tar Heels within the first spherical of the 2026 NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament at Bon Secours Wellness Arena on March 19, 2026, in Greenville, South Carolina. (Jared C. Tilton/Getty Images)
UNC was up by 19 with about quarter-hour left within the recreation, however the Rams have been by no means useless, and so they have been carried by Terrence Hill Jr., who tallied 34 factors on 13-of-23 taking pictures, together with 7-of-10 from three. Twenty-three of these factors have been within the second half and additional time, together with the game-winning 3-pointer.
Still, the job wasn’t completed, as Henri Veesaar was fouled within the lane on the opposite finish and despatched to the road for 2 free throws. With an 80-78 deficit, he had the proper likelihood to tie it up, however he missed the primary try. That was the top for the Tar Heels, as they hung their heads when the clock hit zero.
Henri Veesaar of the North Carolina Tar Heels reacts after a recreation in opposition to the VCU Rams within the first spherical of the 2026 NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament at Bon Secours Wellness Arena on March 19, 2026, in Greenville, South Carolina. (Jared C. Tilton/Getty Images)
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It was VCU’s first NCAA Tournament recreation win since 2016, and so they wanted to shoot 62% from the sphere within the second half, together with 7-of-10 from three, to put up a 47-36 rating throughout these 20 minutes to power additional time.
Fox News’ Scott Thompson contributed to this report.
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