RICHMOND, Va. – VCU will face off against as many as five NCAA Tournament teams, as well as two recent Final Four participants, as part of the Rams' 2024-25 non-conference schedule, released Monday. 
 
The Rams' 13-game non-conference slate includes potential match-ups against nine teams that finished last season in the top 125 of the NCAA NET rankings. Seven of those possible opponents (New Mexico, Nevada, Colorado State, Florida Atlantic, Drake, Seton Hall and Boston College) were top-100 NET teams a year ago, providing VCU with a number of potential Quad 1 and Quad 2 opportunities to build an NCAA Tournament resume. According to Barttorvik.com's 2024-25 NET Forecast, the Rams' non-conference schedule includes six potential Quad 1 and Quad 2 road or neutral contests. 
 
VCU will kick off its 57^th basketball season on Monday, Nov. 4, when it hosts Bellarmine at the Stuart C. Siegel Center in the first all-time meeting between the two programs. 
 
The Rams will hit the road on several occasions this fall to face stiff competition. VCU will meet Boston College out of the ACC on Friday, Nov. 8, in Annapolis, Md., as part of the 2024 Veterans Classic. The Black and Gold will also face off against an NCAA Tournament squad in Colorado State on Dec. 14 in the Jack Jones Classic in Las Vegas, Nev., and will follow that tilt with a critical road test on Dec. 18 at New Mexico in Albuquerque, N.M., at The Pit, one of college basketball's most-famous arenas. Both Colorado State (36) and New Mexico (22) finished inside the top 40 of the NET in 2023-24. 
 
VCU will head to the prestigious Shriners Children's Hospital Charleston Classic Nov. 21, 22 and 24 in Charleston, S.C. The field for the Rams' three-game stint in Charleston includes three teams (Drake, FAU and Nevada) that reached the NCAA Tournament last season, as well as 2024 NIT Champion Seton Hall, Miami, Oklahoma State and Vanderbilt. FAU and Miami both reached the Final Four in 2023. 
 
Additionally, the Black and Gold will host Merrimack (Nov. 13), Loyola (Md.) (Nov. 16), Georgia Southern (Dec. 4), Penn (Dec. 9) and William & Mary (Dec. 22) in what will be the first meeting between the former CAA and longtime intrastate rivals since 2012. 
 
VCU, led by second-year Head Coach Ryan Odom, is coming off a 24-14 campaign in 2023-24 in which the Rams reached the Atlantic 10 Conference Championship Game, as well as the quarterfinals of the Postseason NIT. The Black and Gold will return three starters and nearly 70 percent of their scoring, including All-Atlantic 10 First Team selection Max Shulga (Kyiv, Ukraine). 
 
The 2024-25 Atlantic 10 Conference schedule, as well as game times and TV information, will be released at a later date. Season tickets for VCU's 2024-25 campaign are on sale now and can be purchased at VCUAthletics.com or by calling 804-828-RAMS. 
 
2024-25 VCU MEN'S BASKETBALL NON-CONFERENCE SCHEDULE
Date    Opponent       Time
Oct. 28     ST. MARY'S (MD) (Exhibition)           TBA
Nov. 4       BELLARMINE   TBA
Nov. 8  !    vs. Boston College     6 p.m.
Nov. 13     MERRIMACK   TBA
Nov. 16     LOYOLA (MD) TBA
Nov. 21     at Charleston Classic   TBA
Nov. 22     at Charleston Classic   TBA
Nov. 24     at Charleston Classic   TBA
Nov. 29    ELIZABETH CITY STATE           TBA
Dec. 4      GEORGIA SOUTHERN TBA
Dec. 9      PENN   TBA
Dec. 14    ^vs. Colorado State     TBA
Dec. 18    at New Mexico            TBA
Dec. 22    WILLIAM & MARY      TBA
 
Home games in BOLD and played at the Stuart C. Siegel Center
! – Veterans Classic (Annapolis, Md.)
^ - Jack Jones Classic (Las Vegas, Nev.)
 
Charleston Classic field: Drake, Miami, Florida Atlantic, Seton Hall, Nevada, Oklahoma State, Vanderbilt, VCU