VCU Coach Ryan Odom Shares Thoughts On NCAA Matchup With BYU
Mar 17, 2025, 3:24 PM
SALT LAKE CITY – VCU Rams head coach Ryan Odom can’t shake facing teams from the state of Utah.
The former head coach at Utah State is in his second season with the Rams. In both years, he’s matched up against teams from Utah in the postseason.
Last year, VCU matched up with the Utah Utes in the NIT Quarterfinals at the Huntsman Center. Utah knocked off Odom’s Rams 74-54.
Fast forward to this year, VCU will face BYU in Denver for the first round of the NCAA Tournament.
Odom faced BYU once previously during his two-year stint in Logan. He’s 0-1 against the Cougars.
Odom hopped on Hans & Scotty G. on the KSL Sports Zone to preview the matchup.
Ryan Odom coached at Utah State for two years before taking the VCU job
Before diving into the Round of 64 clash with Kevin Young’s high-flying BYU squad, Odom momentarily reminisced about his time in Logan with Voice of the Utah State Aggies Scott Garrard.
“Everybody’s great. Yeah, they’re doing really well,” Odom said when asked how his family was doing. “We’re always following the Aggies and pulling for the Aggies. You just keep winning games out there, baby.”
Utah State is in the 2025 NCAA Tournament field and will face No. 7 seed UCLA in the Midwest region.
Odom’s VCU squad in 2025 continues to win as well. The Rams come into the NCAA Tournament winners in 12 of their last 13 games, which includes three wins in three days at the Atlantic 10 Tournament last week.
VCU coach shares thoughts on BYU before NCAA Tournament matchup
Like VCU, BYU enters the NCAA Tournament playing at a high level. BYU has won nine of its last 10 games, with the lone setback coming last week to No. 1 seed Houston in the Big 12 Tournament.
Odom is impressed with BYU.
“They’re a big-time team. They are really well-coached,” VCU’s Ryan Odom said of BYU to Hans & Scotty G. on The KSL Sports Zone (97.5 FM).
“I mean, obviously, playing in that conference that they play in, we’re not seeing that caliber every single night. That’s not a knock on our conference; it just is what it is. The bodies, night in and night out, are really tough to deal with and [facing] different styles. You’re facing a ranked team most nights. They’ve performed at a really, really high level.”
BYU’s offensive metrics are far and away the most challenging offense VCU will match up against this season. The Cougars are currently No. 11 in offensive adjusted efficiency in KenPom. The next closest ranked offense VCU has lined up against this year is Colorado State at No. 43.
“Obviously, their offense is fun to watch. I’m sure it’s fun to play in,” Odom said of BYU’s offensive attack. “They certainly pass the ball really well and look for one another. You can tell they’re a true team.
“Then defensively, they’re probably a little bit opposite of us, right? When you first look at us, you look at the defensive numbers, and you’re like, ‘Wow, that’s pretty impressive.’ But the offense is pretty good, too. We were first in offense in our conference as well. So they’re very similar. Their defense is good, and that’s why they’ve won so many games. Scotty G., you can remember me talking about it a lot. You always want to be the most balanced team that you can possibly be. BYU has certainly proven to do that.”
VCU will travel from the East Coast to Denver
BYU head coach Kevin Young was thrilled that his squad was placed in nearby Denver. Meanwhile, it won’t be a quick trip for Odom’s Rams, who will cross two time zones from Richmond, Virginia, to the Mile High City.
Is he looking at the matchup with BYU as a potential road game?
“I don’t know about that. I mean, maybe. I hadn’t really thought about it from that perspective,” said Odom.
“But, I think the biggest thing is it’s a mini-tournament. That’s the way we’re going to approach it. You’ve got four teams in this little mini-tournament and you want to try to come out of it, no different than you do in your conference tournament and those with multiple rounds. So if we’re able to do it this weekend and advance, you’re prepping for the next opponents. Right now, for us, our primary focus is obviously BYU and doing our best there.”
BYU vs. VCU
First Round – 2025 NCAA Tournament
Location: Denver, Colorado
Arena: Ball Arena
Tip-Off: 2:05 p.m. (MDT)
TV: TNT
Radio: KSL NewsRadio (102.7 FM, 1160 AM in Utah)
Mitch Harper is a BYU Insider for KSLsports.com and hosts the Cougar Tracks Podcast (SUBSCRIBE) and Cougar Sports Saturday (12–3 p.m.) on KSL Newsradio. Follow Mitch’s coverage of BYU in the Big 12 Conference on X: @Mitch_Harper.
