The head coach, who guided Virginia Commonwealth's 2011 cinderella run to the Final Four, was back at it again on Thursday and Smart had his boys ready to play, again.
Smart, who doesn't even turn 35 until after this year's NCAA final (April 8), looks to have his team poised for another run deep into the NCAA tournament.
12th-seeded VCU entered Thursday's second round matchup with No. 5 Wichita St. as a 6.5-point underdog. Just about everyone basketball fanatic in the country was taking the Shockers in their bracket, many even having them advancing onto the Sweet 16. But Shaka and the Rams out-Smart-ed everyone again this year.
The Rams took a nine-point lead into the half, up 34-25, and were looking like the same group that played spoiler to the likes of Georgetown, Florida St. and Kansas at this time last year. But a very tough, scrappy Wichita team fought all the way back to even take the lead at one point late in the game, and as nearly every time last season, VCU had an answer.
Senior forward Bradford Burgess nailed a 3-pointer from the left corner to retake the lead at 60-59 with just over 1:30 in the game. And that's all she wrote.
The Rams wouldn't relinquish the lead again, knocking down a pair of free throws to force Wichita into a 3-point possession, but the Shockers failed on a last second shot from deep and Smart's squad booked yet another NCAA tournament upset.
First it was George Mason back in 2006 making a run to the Final Four, this time it appears that VCU is the Colonial Conference sweetheart and that they may in fact be more than just a cinderella story.
In fact, at this rate of success, Smart may have VCU on the brink of becoming the East Coast version of Gonzaga — a mid-major school with the elite coaching to put them into the mix every year.
Next up for Smart and the Rams is a Saturday meeting with Indiana, one of only two teams to take down overall-No. 1 seed Kentucky this season. It should be a gritty test for Smart and his bunch, but if they've shown anything over the past two-plus years it's that you can never count out a team with as much heart and desire as VCU.
Smart has his crew prepared and confident in their shot at a repeat Final Four, down in New Orleans this time. And if this team's got even half the fortitude of the 2011 Rams, then fans can fully expect to see a nail-biter out in Portland, OR on Saturday.
VCU tips off at 7:10 against Indiana on Saturday night, and the Hoosiers better bring their brains because VCU will definitely have their Smart's.
