• This is the first meeting between the schools since the 1978 ECAC South Tournament, won by VCU.
• This is Georgetown's 27th NCAA tournament appearance. Georgetown has not advanced out of the NCAA opening round since 2008 and lost two straight post-season openers (Baylor, Ohio).
• This is VCU's 10th NCAA tournament appearance. VCU has not advanced to the round of 32 since 2007.
• Georgetown was a #6 seed in 1992 and 1995, advancing to the second round in 1992 and the round of 16 in 1995.
• VCU is 0-2 against Big East teams in the NCAA's. (Syracuse, 1984, Pitt, 2007)
• Georgetown is 3-4 all time in games played on March 18 (1-3 in NCAA play). Each of its last two post-season games were played on this date (Baylor, Ohio).

Much is rightly being made in the sporting press as to what Georgetown team will arrive at Friday's second round opener with VCU with the return of senior Chris Wright. A more telling question is what Virginia Commonwealth team will be there to meet them.

Criticized in some circles for getting in the tournament ahead of Colorado and Virginia Tech, the Rams fought through a rock fight with USC and shut down the Trojans, holding USC to one three pointer for the game and just one field goal in the final nine minutes. But this is not a team that needs to play small ball to be successful against Georgetown, and the ability to challenge the Hoyas on both sides of the court is the measure of whether VCU can advance into the third round.

Don't expect a second defensive struggle. VCU enters Friday's game averaging 71 points a game, and its ability to play hard-nosed defense has given it an advantage against many teams this season. The Rams forced 20 turnovers that vaporized the ability of USC to feed the ball inside to its big men, and the VCU perimeter defense helped eliminate the long ball. Case in point: USC's leading three point scorer, guard Donte Jones, finished 0-6 from the field and gave up four turnovers.

Second year coach Shaka Smart (at 33, the second youngest head coach in Division I) will rely on a senior backcourt to drive the Rams against an similarly veteran Georgetown lineup.

VCU's guards have the defense chops, but what about the offense? Seniors Joey Rodriguez and Ed Nixon shot a combined 4-18 in Wednesday's opener, but Rodriguez figures to be the key to spur the rams offensively. Rodriguez, who has missed only four starts over the past three seasons, averages 10 points and nearly five assists a game, with a 2:1 assist to turnover ratio. Among the all-time leaders in points and assists for VCU, Rodriguez's three point average hovers around 34%, but he is capable of of a run. He'll be joined by 6-4 junior Ed Nixon (7.4 ppg,. 42% FG) in the starting lineup and with and 6-2 senior Brandon Rozzell, who is the top three point option for the Rams at 39%. Rozzell scored only six points in the USC game but averages 11 a game.

The Rams are not afraid to get the ball inside: 6-6 forward Brandon Burgess and 6-9 forward Jamie Skeen average 29 points and 14 rebounds between them. Burgess had 16 points and 13 rebounds in the Rams' CAA tourney upset over George Mason, and he is third on the team in threes. Skeen is among the CAA leaders in scoring, rebounding and blocks, with 16 points and nine rebounds vs. USC. VCU lacks a center presence, with freshman D.J. Haley (1.0 ppg, 1.6 rpg) a year away from contributing. Moving Skeen inside may allow coach Smart to run with 6-9 Juvonte Reddic, who is an athletic forward that was saddled with foul trouble in Wednesday's game.

With defense as its strength, the Rams remain a little soft on rebounding: just 32.3 a game, with a net deficit of 3.3. Defensively, assuming the opponent can avoid a turnover, VCU was 8th in the CAA in FG% defense. In most other categories, the Rams and Hoyas are close to even, at least, for the Georgetown team that slid into the second round without Wright. Granted, a lot of Georgetown's problems over the last two weeks were not solely due to Wright's absence, and it is worth noting that Georgetown gave up a lot of inside scoring in the past four games. However, with an opponents that forces 8.4 steals a game, the ability of Wright to get the ball up court, feed the wing or the post, and establish a level of confidence for the Hoyas may be as or more important than 15 points in his comeback. Neither Austin Freeman nor Jason Clark seemed comfortable running the offense, and each has suffered by creating shots rather than having them set up from Wright. If Wright can establish order in the half court set, Georgetown should benefit from the start.

Not to be underestimated is the under performance of the Georgetown inside game. Julian Vaughn (1-18 FG in last four games) must get points inside or his career ends Friday night. Nate Lubick has not been able to establish consistent rebounding play in Vaughn's slump, while the extent of Henry Sims' injury in the Big East second round may or may not be a factor by game time. If Georgetown can get its inside game in order, this will force VCU not to flood the perimeter, giving GU's three point shooters a better opportunity to dictate the flow of the game. As we have seen of late, when the outside game sneezes, the inside game catches a cold.

Defensive lapses were the source of each of Georgetown's last three post season losses: Davidson (2008), Baylor (2009), and Ohio (2010), particularly in the second half. Opening games tend to be close at the half regardless of opponent, but second half execution is vital and something Georgetown las lacked for three straight seasons. In 2008, Davidson shot 52% in the second half to come back from 16 down, Baylor shot 67% to come back from 10 down, and Ohio shot 67% after leading by 12, Georgetown can't expend to contend with numbers like that.

Some keys to the game:

• Ball Control: VCU thrives on turnovers into the frontcourt. Cutting VCU's steals in half could be a swing of 6-8 in the game.
• Three Pointers: Georgetown's numbers cratered without Wright and must improve. VCU was 9-24 against USC and particular attention should be paid to Burgess and Rozzell off the ball.
• Points In The Paint: USC was able to get points inside on the Rams, but they also shot 21 fewer attempts than VCU did. Georgetown has size inside and needs to take advantage of it, especially if perimeter defense is limiting Freeman or Clark outside.
• Bench Participation: Outside of Hollis Thompson, bench scoring has flat-lined. In the last five games, Messrs. Starks, Sanford, Benimon and Sims have a combined six field goals in 22 attempts (27%). The VCU bench contributed 19 of its 59 points Wednesday; Georgetown can't get by without help beyond the first six.

A century ago, the battle cry "Remember the Maine" rallied the troops in the Spanish-American War. Well, maybe it's time to "Remember the Ohio" and the lapses that derailed a great season one year ago to this day. The NCAA tournament is unforgiving to teams that are not ready to play 40 minutes or let opponents creep up into the final minute, as Louisville found out Thursday against Morehead State. This Georgetown team is better than recent returns have shown, and carry great promise in the tournament if they can take this first step forward together.

With their senior leader back on his feet, it's time to climb that hill.