9. Nikola Vucevic Puts VCU on the Map … But in a Day Way
Nikola Vucevic became a west coast household name during his time at USC. In his 87 games with the school, he averaged 11 points and 11 rebounds and was a the consistent force down low for the Trojans.
Unfortunately, his USC teams never peaked. They were consistently a solid team but never one anyone feared. That was evident in their 2011 First Four loss to Virginia Commonwealth University. At the time, VCU wasn’t the upset darling they’ve become, or even thought to be able to hang with a big school like USC.
That narrative began to develop after their win over Vucevic and USC — putting Vucevic’s Trojans’ squad on the wrong side of madness history. After a weak first half that saw both teams score 22 points, the Rams won the second-half battle by a score of 37-24 and won 59-46. Vucevic had 11 points and 14 rebounds. but it wasn’t even close to enough.