VCU Rams men's basketball, 1968–1979 explained

The VCU Rams men's basketball teams represented Virginia Commonwealth University in Richmond, Virginia, United States. The program was established in 1967, and began play in the 1968–69 season. This article is a list of results and statistics of the men's basketball team from the 1968–69 season to the 1978–79 season during which the team played as an NCAA Independent.

1968–69

See main article: 1968–69 VCU Rams men's basketball team.

Mode:	Basketball
Year:	1968–69
Prev:	none
Next:	1969–70
Team:	VCU Rams
Conference:	Independent
Short Conf:	Independent
Record:	12–11
Conf Record:	no
Stadium:	Franklin Street Gym

The 1968–69 VCU Rams men's basketball team represented the newly created Virginia Commonwealth University during the 1968–69 NCAA men's basketball season. Led by Benny Dees, the Rams played their inaugural season as an independent team, playing a mix of Division I, II and III schools across the Mid-Atlantic, Ohio River Valley and Southeast regions. After an 0–4 start, the Rams finished the season with a winning record of 12–11.^[1] During the season, they played in two winter tournaments; the Fort Eustis and Quantico tournaments held at Virginia military bases, Joint Base Langley–Eustis and Marine Corps Base Quantico, respectively. The team did not earn a berth into either the NCAA or NIT tournaments.^[1]

During the team's inaugural season, the Rams played in the Franklin Street Gymnasium, which was their home arena until the opening of the Siegel Center in the late 1990s.

Date	Opponent	Site	Result	Record	Notes
November 27			L 71–89	0–1
November 30			L 88–105	0–2
December 6			L 70–83	0–3
December 7			L 79–83	0–4
December 9		Franklin Street Gym • Richmond, VA	W 78–69	1–4
December 13		Franklin Street Gym • Richmond, VA	W 120–77	2–4
December 14			W 86–77	3–4
December 18			W 101–84	4–4	Quantico Tournament
December 19		Quantico, VA	L 81–103	4–5	Quantico Tournament
December 20		Quantico, VA	W 106–100 (ot)	5–5	Quantico Tournament
December 21		Quantico, VA	L 69–71	5–6	Quantico Tournament
December 27			L 59–84	5–7	Fort Eustis Tournament
December 28		Newport News, VA	W 79–73	6–7	Fort Eustis Tournament
December 29		Newport News, VA	W 76–69	7–7	Fort Eustis Tournament
January 7	Washington and Lee		L 75–80	7–8
January 9			W 96–74	8–8
January 11	Pembroke State	Franklin Street Gym • Richmond, VA	W 72–57	9–8
January 15			L 77–109	9–9
February 5			L 69–101	9–10
February 8	Southeastern		W 89–60	10–10
February 12	Virginia Union	Franklin Street Gym • Richmond, VA	L 82–89	10–11
February 18	Bridgewater	Franklin Street Gym • Richmond, VA	W 95–86	11–11
February 20	Hampden–Sydney	Franklin Street Gym • Richmond, VA	W 101–84	12–11

1969–70

Date	Opponent	Location	Result
Nov. 28	College of Charleston	Franklin Street Gym	W, 142-83
Dec. 2	Long Island	Long Island, N.Y.	L, 67-72
Dec. 4	Western Kentucky	Bowling Green, Ky.	L, 73-115
Dec. 6	Tennessee Tech	Cookeville, Tenn.	L, 81-88
Dec. 8	Providence	Providence, R.I.	L, 71-103
Dec. 10	Old Dominion	Franklin Street Gym	L, 82-93
Dec. 16	Hampden-Sydney	Franklin Street Gym	W, 85-59
Dec. 19	Atlantic Christian	Franklin Street Gym	W, 123-99
Dec. 22	Akron	Akron, Ohio	W, 87-85
Jan. 5	Washington & Lee	Franklin Street Gym	W, 90-83
Jan. 10	Southeastern	Franklin Street Gym	W, 110-78
Jan. 21	Old Dominion	Norfolk, Va.	L, 90-94
Jan. 24	Loyola	New Orleans, La.	L, 99-121
Feb. 4	Virginia State	Franklin Street Gym	W(ot), 96-92
Feb. 6	York	Franklin Street Gym	W, 96-77
Feb. 7	Virginia Union	Franklin Street Gym	W, 103-93
Feb. 9	Atlantic Christian	Wilson, N.C.	W, 111-87
Feb. 10	Pikeville	Franklin Street Gym	W, 106-80
Feb. 16	High Point	Franklin Street Gym	W, 105-77
Feb. 19	Hampden-Sydney	Farmville, Va	W, 87-81
Feb. 21	Ohio	Franklin Street Gym	L, 75-95
Feb. 23	Eastern Kentucky	Richmond, Ky.	L, 78-84
Feb. 24	Washington & Lee	Farmville, Va.	L, 71-87

1970–71

Date	Opponent	Location	Result
Dec. 1	Bradley	Peoria, Il.	L, 70-102
Dec. 2	Butler	Indianapolis, Ind.	L, 97-99
Dec. 3	DePaul	Chicago, Il.	L, 77-100
Dec. 5	Bluefield State	Franklin Street Gym	W, 105-86
Dec. 7	Campbell	Franklin Street Gym	W, 79-78
Dec. 10	Western Kentucky	Bowling Green, KY	L, 71-96
Dec. 12	Eastern Kentucky	Richmond, KY	L, 80-107
Dec. 19	Akron	Franklin Street Gym	W, 74-70
Dec. 28	Minnesota	Franklin Street Gym	W, 63-56
Jan. 6	Mount St. Mary's	Franklin Street Gym	W, 97-78
Jan. 9	UNC Wilmington	Franklin Street Gym	W, 114-66
Jan. 18	Haverford	Franklin Street Gym	W, 93-49
Jan. 22	Virginia Union	Richmond, Va.	W, 90-76
Jan. 25	Virginia State	Petersburg, Va.	W, 107-68
Jan. 28	Arkansas State	Jonesboro, Ark.	L, 86-94
Jan. 30	LSU-New Orleans	New Orleans, La.	L, 96-99
Feb. 5	Southeastern	Franklin Street Gym	W, 116-56
Feb. 10	Old Dominion	Franklin Street Gym	W, 79-71
Feb. 13	York	York, Pa.	W, 117-89
Feb. 14	St. Francis	Loretto, Pa.	L, 74-80
Feb. 18	Virginia State	Franklin Street Gym	W, 112-74
Feb. 20	UNC Wilmington	Wilmington, N.C.	W, 104-75
Feb. 22	Virginia Union	Franklin Street Gym	W, 81-76
Feb. 27	Old Dominion	Norfolk, Va.	L, 85-98

1971–72

Date	Opponent	Location	Result
Dec. 4	James Madison	Franklin Street Gym	W, 93-68
Dec. 6	Wilmington	Franklin Street Gym	W, 102-70
Dec. 9	Missouri	Columbia, Miss.	L, 66-73
Dec. 11	Western Kentucky	Bowling Green, KY	L, 76-85
Dec. 16	Baltimore	Franklin Street Gym	W, 86-76
Dec. 18	Glassboro State	Franklin Street Gym	W, 86-72
Dec. 20	East Tennessee State	Richmond Coliseum	W, 84-71
Jan. 3	St. Francis	Richmond Coliseum	W, 109-94
Jan. 10	Norfolk State	Richmond Coliseum	L, 97-109
Jan. 21	Southeastern	Franklin Street Gym	W, 103-48
Jan. 29	Valparaiso	Franklin Street Gym	W, 86-76
Jan. 31	Virginia Union	Franklin Street Gym	W, 90-85
Feb. 2	Mount St. Mary's	Emmitsburg, Md.	W, 96-65
Feb. 8	Southeastern	Franklin Street Gym	W, 122-73
Feb. 14	Virginia Union	Richmond, Va.	W, 109-94
Feb. 18	Fairleigh Dickinson	Madison, N.J.	L, 86-89 (ot)
Feb. 21	Loyola	Richmond Coliseum	W, 112-99
Mar. 1	Wilmington	Wilmington, N.C.	W, 103-80
Mar. 6	Iona	Richmond Coliseum	W, 93-74

1972–73

Date	Opponent	Location	Result
Nov. 27	Wilmington	Franklin Street Gym	W, 94-75
Dec. 4	East Tennessee State	Johnson City, TN	W, 79-69
Dec. 5	Morehead State	Morehead, KY	L, 90-103
Dec. 9	Eastern Kentucky	Richmond, KY	L, 86-96
Dec. 12	Fair. Dickinson	Richmond Coliseum	W, 63-47
Dec. 21	E. Kentucky	Richmond Coliseum	W, 69-63
Jan. 10	West Chester	Richmond Coliseum	W, 87-65
Jan. 13	Wilmington	Wilmington, N.C.	W, 83-75
Jan. 15	Norfolk State	Norfolk, Va.	W, 92-91
Jan. 17	Canisius	Richmond Coliseum	W, 80-66
Jan. 20	Centenary	Shreveport, La.	L, 74-102
Jan. 27	N. Carolina A&T	Richmond Coliseum	W, 79-78
Jan. 30	Northern Illinois	DeKalb, Il.	L, 81-91
Feb. 2	Virginia Union	Franklin Street Gym	L, 75-77
Feb. 7	East Tennessee State	Richmond Coliseum	W, 61-50
Feb. 10	Baltimore	Baltimore, Md.	W, 67-61
Feb. 15	Virginia Union	Richmond, Va.	W, 79-76
Feb. 20	Iona	New Rochelle, N.Y.	W, 81-74
Feb. 24	Brooklyn	Franklin Street Gym	W, 115-70
Feb. 27	Southeastern	Franklin Street Gym	W, 121-70

1973–74

Date	Opponent	Location	Result
Dec. 1	East Tennessee State	Richmond Coliseum	W, 96-55
Dec. 4	Morehead State	Richmond Coliseum	W, 116-85
Dec. 8	Northern Illinois	Richmond Coliseum	W, 87-71
Dec. 11	Middle Tennessee	Murfreesboro, TN	L, 80-102
Dec. 15	Canisius	Buffalo, N.Y.	L, 96-103
Dec. 19	Texas A&M	Richmond Coliseum	W, 72-71
Dec. 21	Austin Peay	Richmond Coliseum	L, 101-102 (ot)
Dec. 26	Pacific	Stockton, Calif.	L, 75-80
Dec. 28	Boise State	Boise, ID	W, 87-85
Jan. 4	Mercer	Macon, Ga.	L, 89-90
Jan. 7	Austin Peay	Clarksville, TN	L, 65-81
Jan. 12	Cincinnati	Cincinnati, OH	L, 51-57
Jan. 15	Cornell	Richmond Coliseum	W, 107-64
Jan. 18	St. Mary's	Franklin Street Gym	W, 117-91
Jan. 21	Centenary	Richmond Coliseum	W, 82-79
Jan. 27	Detroit	Detroit, MI	W, 77-70
Jan. 29	Buffalo State	Franklin Street Gym	W, 119-69
Feb. 4	UNC Asheville	Franklin Street Gym	W, 111-70
Feb. 8	NE Illinois	Franklin Street Gym	W, 98-76
Feb. 11	West Florida	Franklin Street Gym	W, 102-64
Feb. 16	Iona	Richmond Coliseum	W, 94-73
Feb. 18	Wilmington	Franklin Street Gym	W, 108-71
Feb. 22	Southeastern	Franklin Street Gym	W, 125-74
Feb. 25	Mercer	Richmond Coliseum	W, 110-92

1974–75

Date	Opponent	Location	Result
Nov. 30	Iowa	Iowa City, IA	L, 80-95
Dec. 2	Wilmington	Franklin Street Gym	W, 104-96
Dec. 5	Hardin-Simmons	Richmond Coliseum	W, 112-74
Dec. 7	Baylor	Waco, TX	L, 81-83
Dec. 9	Hardin-Simmons	Abilene, TX	W, 84-71
Dec. 10	Texas A&M	College Station, TX	L, 84-98
Dec. 17		Richmond Coliseum	W, 76-75
Dec. 19	NE Louisiana	Franklin Street Gym	W, 83-75
Dec. 21	Buffalo	Richmond Coliseum	W, 105-73
Dec. 28	St. Peter's - Lions-VCU Holiday Tournament	Richmond Coliseum	W, 86-68
Dec. 29	Texas A&M - Lions-VCU Holiday Tournament	Richmond Coliseum	L, 80-84
Jan. 8	Baptist (S.C.)	Franklin Street Gym	W, 116-79
Jan. 11	Maine	Orono, ME	L, 90-91
Jan. 15	MD-Eastern Shore	Richmond Coliseum	W, 89-57
Jan. 21	St. Mary's	Franklin Street Gym	W, 120-60
Jan. 25	Western Illinois	Franklin Street Gym	W, 99-83
Jan. 27	Centenary	Shreveport, La.	L, 66-73
Feb. 8	Mercer	Richmond Coliseum	W, 95-75
Feb. 11	Delaware State	Franklin Street Gym	W, 91-60
Feb. 15	Elmira	Franklin Street Gym	W, 113-75
Feb. 17	Md.- Eastern Shore	Princess Anne, Md.	W, 85-75
Feb. 22	Mercer	Macon, Ga.	W, 68-63
Feb. 24	Canisius	Richmond Coliseum	W, 86-61
Feb. 28	Detroit	Richmond Coliseum	L, 58-67
Mar. 3	Auburn	Auburn, Ala.	L, 72-117

1975–76

Date	Opponent	Location	Result
Nov. 29	Baltimore	Franklin Street Gym	W, 84-78
Dec. 1	Wilmington	Franklin Street Gym	W, 99-75
Dec. 9	Southern Illinois	Carbondale, Il.	L, 69-79
Dec. 13	Baylor	Richmond Coliseum	W, 68-64
Dec. 16	Centenary	Shreveport, La.	L, 69-94
Dec. 18	Georgia State	Atlanta, Ga.	L, 56-57
Dec. 20	Northeastern	Richmond Coliseum	W, 102-81
Dec. 29	CCNY - VCU-Holiday Tournament	Richmond Coliseum	W, 115-70
Dec. 30	Michigan State - VCU-Holiday Tournament	Richmond Coliseum	W, 80-75
Jan. 3	Memphis State	Memphis, TN	L, 72-92
Jan. 13	Western Illinois	Macomb, Il.	W, 83-81
Jan. 16	MD-Eastern Shore	Richmond Coliseum	W, 92-68
Jan. 19	Brockport State	Franklin Street Gym	W, 102-71
Jan. 24	North Texas State	Denton, TX	L, 72-89
Jan. 26	Oral Roberts	Tulsa, OK	L, 68-84
Jan. 29	Richmond	Richmond, Va.	L, 65-71
Jan. 31	Oklahoma City	Richmond Coliseum	W, 67-66
Feb. 3	Charles. Baptist	Franklin Street Gym	W, 120-61
Feb. 6	Maine	Franklin Street Gym	W, 92-82
Feb. 10	Richmond	Richmond Coliseum	L, 66-68
Feb. 17	Brockport State	Brockport, N.Y.	W, 104-99 (ot)
Feb. 18	Buffalo	Buffalo, N.Y.	W, 97-78
Feb. 21	Delaware State	Franklin Street Gym	W, 105-75
Mar. 1	Centenary	Richmond Coliseum	L, 94-98
Mar. 4	Bentley	Franklin Street Gym	W, 96-56

NBA Draft selections

	Year	Round	Pick	Overall	Name	Team	Position
1	1974	2	14	32	Jesse Dark	New York Knickerbockers	Point guard
2	1974	4	9	63	Bernie Harris	Buffalo Braves	Small forward
3	1979	3	20	64	Gerald Henderson	San Antonio Spurs	Point guard

Notes and References

Web site: 1968–69 Results. Virginia Commonwealth University Athletics. VCUAthletics.com. December 24, 2011.