Perhaps the end was fitting for a 2023-24 VCU hoops team that has, over the course of the season, shown a high ceiling, a low floor, and not quite enough consistency in displaying the former more often than the latter.
In VCU's first and second-round NIT victories over Villanova and South Florida, an assortment of positives that defined portions of and moments in the Rams season shined for all to see.
Zeb Jackson's all-around game and leadership. Christian Fermin and Tobi Lawal's growth. Joe Bamisile's hot shooting. Sean Bairstow's distribution.
Those are among the factors that helped the Rams, in a transitional year at the outset of Ryan Odom's coaching tenure, win 24 games, reach the Atlantic 10 final and make a run to the program's first NIT quarterfinal since 1988.
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But on Wednesday night in Salt Lake City, the negatives that have contributed to the Rams' lows took the stage in a 74-54 loss to No. 2-seed Utah that stopped VCU (24-14) short of reaching its first NIT semifinal in program history and ended the black and gold's first season under Odom on a dissonant note.
"There's a lot for this team to be proud of. I did tell them, they were thrown so much over the course of the season. A lot of adversity. To start 4-5, 8-7, usually, what happens there is you end up in a losing season. It doesn't go the way that it did for us," Odom said after the game to VCU play-by-play radio analyst Robby Robinson.
"It's a testament to the character we have in the locker room, it's a testament to the coaching staff that I have here. These guys work their tails off.
"We've merged two worlds, and everyone in that room gave these kids everything that they had. And the kids gave us everything that they had, more importantly. I'm really proud of them for what they accomplished."
In his final game for VCU, graduate forward Sean Bairstow scored 13 points and grabbed four rebounds. He was the only Ram in double figures on a night in which everything felt an uphill battle for the black and gold.
VCU shot 33% (19-of-58) from the field, 19% (5-of-26) from beyond the arc, Utah 44% (28-of-63) and 39% (13-of-33). Utah dished out 21 assists to VCU's eight, and the Utes out-rebounded the Rams 43-35. The teams committed 13 turnovers apiece.
Utah (22-14), collectively the fifth-tallest team in the country, starts two 7-footers in forwards Branden Carlson and Lawson Lovering. The towering Utes gave VCU, which has throughout the year struggled against oversized bigs, fits all night.
Carlson hit a catch-and-shoot trey deep on the right wing to punctuate the first possession of the game.
That helped the Utes fly out the gates to an 18-2 lead, and VCU never led, though the Rams did fight back for a time to cut the deficit to as little as three at 23-20.
But a 13-6 Utah run helped the home team take a 36-26 lead into the locker room after Deivon Smith nailed a back-breaking 3-ball off the dribble just before the horn sounded.
After Bairstow backed his man down to hit a turnaround hook in the lane to open the half, a quick 11-0 Utes run punctuated by a Gabe Madsen catch-and-shoot 3-ball from the left corner effectively put the outcome to rest.
In addition to its size, Utah, which came into the game 60th nationally in adjusted tempo and accumulated 28 fast-break points, played fast, routinely getting to its spots while the Rams were still on their heels defensively.
"It was just one of those nights that we didn't have it," Odom said. "They were playing really well. Their transition offense right now is elite."
Madsen scored a game-high 18 on 6-of-12 shooting from 3-point range. VCU tried on a number of occasions to double Carlson and Lovering in the post.
But the Utes looked ready for that approach to their size, readily kicking out of the double-teams to shooters on the perimeter, primarily Madsen, to make the Rams pay for their aggressive defensive rotations.
Carlson had 17 points on 7-of-13 shooting from the field, and added three rebounds and three assists. Lovering had six points, nine rebounds and two assists.
But Smith was the big standout for the Utes, he was all over the court to finish with 15 points, 12 assists and 11 rebounds -- that's his fifth triple-double of the season, the most in the country throughout Division I hoops.
"This was a hard game for us, they have a veteran team, Coach (Craig) Smith did a good job with these guys, they're playing some really good ball," Odom said of the Utes, who will face Indiana State on April 2 in the NIT semifinals, with Georgia and Seton Hall meeting on the other side of the bracket.
Bairstow and graduate forward Kuany Kuany concluded their one-season VCU careers.
Incoming freshman guard Brandon Jennings (St. Christopher's) will join the fold ahead of the 2024-25 season. Bamisile, who was held to three points on 1-of-5 shooting from the floor, has confirmed he will return for his one remaining year of eligibility.
Aside from those certainties, in the age of the transfer portal, everyone else on the roster is a question mark for Odom's second year at the helm on Broad Street until they confirm they plan to return.
On the flipside, VCU has already been mentioned as a program interested in a number of players in the portal, such as La Salle guard Jhamir Brickus.
"It's been a fun year, we're certainly looking forward to a great offseason because now that begins and we begin to get ready for next year. But we've got to take a deep breath here for a minute," Odom said.
"The job doesn't stop, it is what it is, it's what we (coaches) all chose, the profession that we chose, and it's a different profession now (in the age of the transfer portal) than it's ever been. We all have to adjust and make the most of that, I think this team certainly did."
Senior guards Zeb Jackson (six points, four rebounds, assist) and Max Shulga (six points, five rebounds, assist) are foremost of those players whose futures hang in the balance. Both have one year of eligibility remaining. Shulga has yet to publicly address his future, while Jackson said he's deliberating but is unsure his time at VCU is done.
Fermin finished with eight points and nine rebounds. He and Lawal would appear to have bright futures ahead of them should they chose to stay, though it's possible they've shown enough promise this year that the portal could tempt them.
Freshman wing Fats Billups provided a spark on Wednesday, as he did on a number of occasions throughout the season, scoring six points on a couple made 3s.
Fans have at times called for Billups (Varina), a Richmond native, to receive more playing time.
Hanging on to him and fellow freshman wing Michael Belle, who proved a standout defender and rebounder well beyond his years this season, will be of paramount importance. It's unclear what lies ahead for Richmond natives Jason Nelson and Roosevelt Wheeler.
Nelson has provided a vital spark off the bench at times, such as in VCU's win over Dayton at the Siegel Center, and even started a few games. But his production and minutes tailed off toward the end of the season.
Wheeler briefly entered Wednesday's game in the first half, was quickly called for two moving screens, and promptly exited, a frustrating sequence which mirrored the entirety of the Louisville transfer and John Marshall product's season.
The news of potential roster moves is sure to move fast in the coming days and weeks as Odom and his staff, clearly adept at operating the transience of modern college hoops, now shift their attention to the offseason.
"It was definitely a long year for us, I thought our guys really stuck with it, they believed in one another," Odom said.
"I thought our guys handled the whole postseason in a really mature way ... I want to thank the fans, they were tremendous all season, great to us. The Peppas, the cheer squad, they show out. We're so lucky to have what we have at VCU."