VCU to meet Northern Iowa in limelight game at Siegel Center

If Northern Iowa gets back on track, Virginia Commonwealth’s BracketBusters pairing could be a profile-enhancer.

VCU (18-5) will play the Panthers (14-9) in one of the Sears BracketBusters limelight games on Friday, Feb. 17 at the Siegel Center. The 7 p.m. game will be televised on ESPN2 and ESPN3.

The network matches mid-major schools in the three-day event (Feb. 17-19), with teams high in Ratings Percentage Index getting the opportunity to improve their credentials for at-large bids to the NCAA tournament.

The Colonial Athletic Association seems to be a long shot, at best, for an at-large bid this season. VCU, despite its record, has the CAA’s top RPI at 84, but that’s not nearly enough to get into the at-large discussion.

The Rams are 0-2 against top 50 RPI teams and 2-3 against top 100 teams.

A win over Northern Iowa could help some. The Panthers currently have an RPI of 57. Northern Iowa, though, has lost four of its past five games and five of its past seven. The Panthers have dropped to 4-7 in the tough Missouri Valley Conference.

“(How much it helps) really remains to be seen,” VCU coach Shaka Smart said. “But I know it’s definitely a high-quality opponent late in February, late in the season, an opponent that could be top 100 or even top 50.”

Smart called Northern Iowa “a very nice team that provides us with another great opportunity at home.”

TV appeal from last year’s Final Four run likely helped the Rams get a more favorable pairing. VCU, a predetermined home team, was 11th in RPI on the home side on Sunday. Northern Iowa was fourth among road teams.

The Panthers, who beat CAA member Old Dominion 63-46 on Nov. 12, have produced three consecutive 20-win seasons.

“I just know they have a very, very good team with a great basketball program that’s been good for a long time,” Smart said. “I know going back to the nonconference part of the year they won nine games in a row, so obviously they are capable of winning a big game.”

The Friday pairing gives VCU the television spotlight for the second consecutive year. Only two games are televised on the ESPN networks on Friday.

The Rams won 68-67 at Wichita State in a Friday BracketBusters game last year when Joey Rodriguez made two free throws with 0.8 seconds left. Smart believes that victory was a huge factor in the Rams’ at-large invitation to the NCAA tournament selection because VCU had, in essence, a captive audience of NCAA selection committee members.

Said Smart: “Last year, when we played Wichita State, it was amazing how many text messages and voicemails we got from all sorts of coaches, recruits, AAU coaches, just people in the business that were watching the game.”

Two other CAA teams will play on ESPNU on Saturday, Feb. 18. Drexel is at Cleveland State (11 a.m.), and Old Dominion is at Missouri State (5 p.m.).

William and Mary will play at Virginia Military Institute on Saturday. George Mason plays host to Lamar on Saturday (ESPN3), while James Madison is the road against Detroit.