Virginia Union is a three-time NCAA Division II champion, and an 18-time CIAA tournament champion. None of that mattered on Thursday night, though.
VUU’s CIAA run ended in heartbreak Thursday night against Johnson C. Smith. And head coach Jay Butler didn’t sugarcoat it.
“You’ve got to come with your A-game,” Butler said. “We probably played a C game.”
The Panthers fell 64-63 in a physical, back-and-forth CIAA battle. It showcased exactly how unforgiving March — even late February — can be. After a 24-win regular season, a national ranking and a top-five regional position, Virginia Union ran into a team that simply refused to fold.
And in this league, that’s enough.
A Target on its back all year
Virginia Union entered the tournament with 24 wins, a top-20 national ranking and legitimate NCAA aspirations. Butler reminded his team all season that success brings pressure.
“You’ve got a target on your back,” he said. “You’ve got to bring it.”
The Panthers had dominated JCSU earlier in the season, winning 88-36 on Dec. 12. The second meeting was much tighter. Thursday’s matchup was a full-blown heavyweight fight. That’s the CIAA.
“Top to bottom, you can be beaten,” Butler said. “If you don’t come with your A-game, they’re going to get you.”
Johnson C. Smith hit the final shot to take the lead. Virginia Union had one last opportunity but couldn’t convert.
“We had a good opportunity at the end,” Butler said. “We just came up short.”’
The Pressure of the “Union Way“
Butler referenced something he’s preached all season — the emotional weight of expectations.
“I’ve been talking about that locker room gut,” he said. “You don’t want that locker room to look like that.”
Virginia Union has built a standard. That standard now includes 24 wins, a regional ranking and national respect. But much of the core remains young.
“Bobby Gardner is only a sophomore,” Butler said. “Malachi is a junior. A lot of the guys we rely on are still young.”
Learning to carry expectations is part of the process.
“You’ve got to go through the fire,” Butler said. “Now they have to learn.”
NCAA Fate Still in Play
Despite the CIAA loss, Virginia Union’s season may not be over.
The Panthers entered the week ranked top five in the Atlantic Region. Only the top eight teams advance to the NCAA Division II tournament.
“We’ve got to keep our fingers crossed,” Butler said. “I definitely think we deserve to be in.”
The resume includes quality wins, including a victory over nationally ranked West Liberty and dominant rivalry performances. But Butler knows how selection committees work.
“This will look like a bad loss on paper,” he admitted. “But everybody in that building knows that was one of the best games of the tournament.”
If Virginia Union remains inside the regional top eight, there’s still basketball left. If not, the lesson is clear — in the CIAA, nothing is guaranteed.
Not even with 24 wins.