NCAA Tournament First Round
Score: #6 BYU 80, #11 VCU 71
Location: Denver, Colo. (Ball Arena)
Records: VCU 28-7, BYU 25-9
 
The short story: Graduate guard Zeb Jackson led four VCU players in double figures with a season-high 23 points, but it wasn't enough to hold off high-powered BYU Thursday in the first round of the NCAA Tournament Thursday in Denver, Colo.
 
OPENING TIP

• Jackson connected on 9-of-14 attempts from the field, including 5-of-10 from 3-point range. He also handed out four assists and grabbed two steals
• Graduate forward Jack Clark booked a double-double in his final game as a Ram with 12 points and 10 rebounds. He also provided five assists
• Graduate guards Max Shulga and Joe Bamisile added 12 points apiece for the Black and Gold
• Richie Saunders led the Cougars with 16 points 

THE DIFFERENCE

• VCU and BYU traded blows in the first half. The Rams led by as many as four points in the early minutes. But the Cougars closed the first half on a 12-2 run over the final 4:31 to take a 39-28 lead into the locker room
• BYU shot 50 percent (27-of-54) from the field in the game
• The Cougars outrebounded the Rams 40-31 and used 14 offensive rebounds to generate a 16-7 advantage in second chance points
• BYU pushed its advantage to as much as 20, at 54-34, on a bucket by Keba Keita with 15:59 left
• VCU fought back to within 60-50 with 9:38 remaining on back-to-back 3-pointers by Shulga and Jackson, but the Cougars held off a sustained VCU run. The Rams did trim the margin to 77-69 on a Jackson trey with 44 seconds left, but there was no more time for a comeback

NOTABLE

• VCU's 28 victories this season are tied for the second-most in school history
• The Rams were making their 20^th all-time appearance in the NCAA Tournament