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After completing the largest comeback in the history of the first round of March Madness, No. 11 VCU head coach Phil Martelli Jr. made it a point to shout out specific journalists.
Ben Rekosh, the director and on-air commentator for WVCW Sports, the school’s radio station, was in the middle of asking a question 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 said. “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. answers questions during a practice session ahead of the first round of the men’s 2026 NCAA Tournament at Bon Secours Wellness Arena. (Jim Dedmon/Imagn Images)
Martelli did put the reporters on blast, though, saying they had to miss a game 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 said he appreciated the kind words and went right back to asking his question, the last of the conference.
Terrence Hill Jr. of the VCU Rams reacts to a basket during the second half against the North Carolina Tar Heels in the first round 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 15 minutes left in the game, but the Commodores were never dead, and they were carried by Terrence Hill Jr., who tallied 34 points on 13-of-23 shooting, including 7-of-10 from three. Twenty-three of those points were in the second half and overtime, including the game-winning 3-pointer.
Still, the job wasn’t finished, as Henri Veesaar was fouled in the lane on the other end and sent to the line for two free throws. With an 80-78 deficit, he had the perfect chance to tie it up, but he missed the first attempt. That was the end 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 game against the VCU Rams in the first round 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 game win since 2016, and they needed to shoot 62% from the field in the second half, including 7-of-10 from three, to post a 47-36 score across those 20 minutes to force overtime.
Fox News’ Scott Thompson contributed to this report.
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