VCU (23-11) finished fourth in the very good Colonial Athletic Association and didn’t even win the conference tournament, losing 70-65 to Old Dominion in the final. So VCU had won just three of its past eight games and wasn’t even a Top 3 team in a mid-major conference yet got an at-large bid. Most experts would tell you this is the most questionable of the at-large bid. But the Rams are in the NCAAs for the 10th time in school history but it’s their first at-large bid since 1983-84. Jamie Skeen is the star of VCU. He was part of the CAA All-Tournament team after averaging 21 points and 5.7 rebounds, as well as shooting 56% from the field. He leads the Black & Gold in scoring (15.3 ppg), rebounding (7.5 rpg), blocks (1.1 bpg), field-goal percentage (52.7%) and free-throws made (151).

USC (19-14) also was squarely on the NCAA Tournament bubble. But USC played better late in the year, winning six of their final eight. The Trojans fell to Arizona 67-62 in the Pac-10 Tournament semifinals. USC played that game without coach Kevin O'Neill, who was suspended following the first game of the tournament after and his wife got into a verbal altercation with an Arizona booster on Thursday night at the team hotel. But O’Neill already has been reinstated and will be on the sideline Wednesday. USC is making its 16th appearance in the NCAA Tournament and sixth time in the last 11 seasons and owns a 12-17 record all-time. Nikola Vucevic is the star. He leads USC with 17.3 points and 10.2 rebounds while attempting to become the first Trojan to average a double-double since the 1994-95 season.

VCU and USC have never played. The winner faces sixth-seeded Georgetown in Chicago in a second-round game on Friday.

Madness would be not betting on March Madness at Bodog!