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VCU's monster upset over Duke in 2007 was the turning point for their national success in the years to come. PIC: Mark Mulvile/Buffalo News
On March 15th, 2007, one of the most memorable upsets in the modern NCAA Tournament took place. The #11-seeded Virginia Commonwealth University (VCU) Rams shocked the basketball world by defeating the #6-seeded Duke Blue Devils in the first round of the NCAA Tournament. The game's pinnacle came with a thrilling buzzer-beater by VCU's breakout guard, Eric Maynor, etching his name into tournament lore and securing a monumental victory for the Rams.
VCU had come into the NCAA Tournament as the winners of the CAA, beating George Mason - the Cinderella team that beat UConn in the year before - in the conference championship. Eric Maynor, a sophomore who finished the regular season with over 13 points-per-game - almost a full 10 points higher than he did last year in that category - was a big reason why, dropping 20 points in the CAA Championship and making plenty of clutch baskets.
The Rams were riding Maynor's hot streak and hoped he'd continue to stand out in the 2007 NCAA Tournament, in which VCU drew an #11 seed despite finishing 27-5. Their challenger was #6 Duke - and even though the Blue Devils finished 8-8 in ACC play, they were still comfortably in the AP Top 25 throughout the 2006-07 season. Duke had not lost in the first round of the NCAA Tournament since 1996, and was on a nine-year streak of getting to the Sweet 16 - second-longest behind their arch rival North Carolina's streak of thirteen years.
Although the teams traded buckets early, Duke got off to a comfortable lead. They pulled away 14-5, then 16-7, which prompted Anthony Grant to take a timeout and talk over their strategy. Duke ended up leading by as much as 22-9, but a scoreless drought from 8:28 to 4:23 in the first half allowed VCU to close the gap. The Rams ultimately cut it to a two-point deficit at the break, 40-38.
Duke pulled away again early in the second half off the strength of a balanced offensive effort, getting many involved. A three-point play converted by Greg Paulus brought the score to 64-55, then 67-60. But in the span of 72 seconds, VCU made things interesting. Back-to-back threes by B.A. Walker and Jesse Pellot-Rosa brought it within 1, and Michael Anderson going 2-for-2 at the line gave the Rams their first lead of the day, 68-67, with less than 6 minutes to go.
The lead changed often down the stretch, and three times from 1:24 to 0:46. Eric Maynor and Greg Paulus traded baskets to make it 76-74 in favor of VCU. Duke's Josh McRoberts was fouled with 18 seconds left - he missed the first and made the second to make it 76-75, Rams still leading.
With VCU clinging on tight and with a 1-point lead, Jon Scheyer fouled VCU's Jesse Pellot-Rosa, who went to the free throw line. Pellot-Rosa, the senior guard, had been an 80%+ career shooter from the stripe, so many were optimistic he could make the 76-75 game a three-point lead for VCU. The Rams had made 6 free throws in a row before Pellot-Rosa went to the line. He made the first, but bricked the second. Duke's DeMarcus Nelson rebounded the basketball with his team chasing two, and he marched down the court - coast-to-coast - finishing with an easy layup to tie the game at 77 with 10.3 on the clock.
What happened next would be etched into college basketball history. Eric Maynor, VCU's then-breakout star guard, took control. He had 20 points at the time, going 7-for-15 from the field, adding 6 more buckets from the free-throw line. It was now or never for VCU's leading scorer.
Maynor dribbled the ball upcourt, shook off the defender Jon Scheyer, and attempted a fadeaway jumper. The rest is history.
Maynor's buzzer-beating heroics sealed a remarkable 79-77 victory for VCU, stunning Duke and sending the Rams into delirium. The image of Maynor celebrating in triumph as his teammates mobbed him on the court has since become an iconic moment in NCAA Tournament history.
"It felt like it was good. And for it to go in, I said to myself, 'Man, I just hit the game-winner on Duke University,'" said Maynor.
It was also the first tournament win for VCU since 1985, when the Rams knocked off Marshall.
The victory over Duke marked a watershed moment for VCU basketball, starting a stretch of unforgettable moments for the program in the next few years. Although VCU lost in the next round in 2007, they returned to the tournament as a #11 seed in 2009, losing to UCLA by only 1 point in the first round. Shaka Smart took over for Anthony Grant as the head coach in 2010, and the Rams won the CBI. And of course, in 2011, the Rams made their historic run from the First Four to the Final Four. VCU's iconic stretch of beating USC, Georgetown, Purdue, Florida State, and Kansas remains one of the greatest Cinderella stories of all-time.