The USC Trojans kick off their 16th NCAA Tournament appearance tonight, as they battle the Virginia Commonwealth Rams. The two schools play in Dayton, Ohio, tonight at 6:10 p.m. PST on truTV, with the winner advancing in the bracket to face Georgetown on Friday at 6:50 p.m. PST in Chicago.This is the first ever meeting between USC and VCU.
Much like the Trojans with Nikola Vucevic, the Rams are led by their power forward. Senior forward Jamie Skeen averages 15.3 points and 7.5 rebounds per game to lead VCU this season. Junior guard Bradford Burgess averages 14.0 points and 6.1 rebounds for the Rams. VCU likely punched their ticket to March Madness with a 79-63 win over top seed George Mason in the semifinals of the Colonial Athletic Conference.
USC is 6-2 in its last eight games, since making Maurice Jones the sixth man. VCU is 3-5 in their last eight games. Here are the probable starting lineups:
USC
- Guard: Jio Fontan
- Guard: Donte Smith
- Guard: Marcus Simmons
- Forward: Alex Stepheson
- Forward: Nikola Vucevic
VCU
- Guard: Joey Rodriguez
- Guard: Bradford Burgess
- Guard: Ed Nixon
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Forward: Jamie Skeen
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Center: D.J. Haley
For more USC Trojans hoops news and information, be sure to read the SB Nation blog Conquest Chronicles. For more information on VCU, be sure to read SB Nation DC. For the full NCAA tournament bracket, click here.