Less than two years after leaving as University of Tennessee at Chattanooga men’s basketball coach for the same position at Virgina Commonwealth, Will Wade has the Rams in the NCAA tournament as the 10th seed in the West Region for a second consecutive March.
VCU downed Oregon State in the first round last season before losing an 85-81 thriller against an Oklahoma team on its way to the Final Four. The Rams have been Atlantic 10 Conference tournament runners-up each of Wade’s first two seasons, with this year’s team sporting a 26-8 record entering Thursday night’s game against Saint Mary’s in Salt Lake City.
Wade was a guest Monday on “Press Row” on Chattanooga’s ESPN 105.1 FM.
Q: So how is this year’s team different from a year ago entering the NCAA tournament?
A: “We’re in a similar spot in terms of where we were this time last year, but we’re a totally different team. We shot the ball a lot better last year, whereas this year we’re more of an inside, physical, grind-you type of team. We play a different style of basketball, but the situations are certainly very similar.”