Even if you don't know him, you will know Virginia Commonwealth men's basketball coach Anthony Grant when you see him on Thursday in the NCAA Tournament.

Grant coached for 12 years under Billy Donovan, first at Marshall and then at Florida where the Gators scored their first NCAA title in 2006.

The longtime assistant flew the safety of Donovan's coop last spring.

In his first season at VCU, Grant pulled the kind of trifecta that gets athletic directors talking.

The Rams were picked to finish sixth in their league, but Grant guided the Rams to a Colonial Athletic Association regular- season title and a CAA Tournament title and was chosen the CAA's coach of the year.

After winning a school-record 16 conference games, the CAA champions were made the 11th seed in the West Region of the NCAA Tournament on Sunday.

The Rams (27-6) will play No. 6 seed Duke (22-10) in the first round on Thursday at 7:10 p.m. at the HSBC Arena in Buffalo, N.Y.

"I thought we would play an ACC team or an SEC team," Grant said through a team spokesman. "I think our guys are excited about the opportunity and we're looking forward to it.

"You are talking about one of the more tradition-rich programs in the country. The respect level for our guys and our staff for them is certainly at a high level."

It's the first meeting between the schools.

Grant took over at VCU for former Duke player Jeff Capel when Capel left last spring to coach the Oklahoma Sooners.

Led by a trio of guards who like to shoot 3-pointers, the Rams are making their second appearance in the NCAA Tournament in the past four seasons.

Those guards -- B.A. Walker, Eric Maynor and Jesse Pellot-Rosa -- lead VCU in scoring at 14.8, 13.6 and 13 points per game, respectively.

Maynor, the sophomore from Fayetteville who saved the Rams from near-defeat in the CAA title game against George Mason, plays the point, where he ranks 13th in the Division I in assists.

Pellot-Rosa, a very good football player in his high school days in Richmond, Va., takes that kind of physicality to the court at one guard position.

Although he has played the past two games through pain in the arch of his right foot, Pellot-Rosa crashes the boards hard, especially the offensive glass.

As a team, the Rams shoot 40 percent (228-of-570) from 3-point range, and that's where Walker excels. Walker ranked third in the CAA in 3-point shooting percentage this season.

Walker and Pellot-Rosa are seniors, and senior guards have given the Blue Devils trouble all season.

Add Maynor, the CAA Tournament's most outstanding player, and that's a big challenge for Duke guards DeMarcus Nelson, Greg Paulus and Jon Scheyer to handle.

"I'm excited, knowing the Duke history," Maynor said. "Greg Paulus is a great point guard, and I'm up for the challenge. I'm looking forward to it. I think it's going to be a great game."