The Virginia Commonwealth University Rams regained their rhythm in New York, winning four games in four days for their first Atlantic 10 Tournament title.

Now the Rams must hope their “reward,” a cross-country trip to the NCAA, won’t throw them out of sync again.

VCU, 26-9, is seeded seventh. They play Big 10 Conference member Ohio State University on Thursday, March 19, in the NCAA West Region game in Portland, Ore. Ohio State, 23-10, is the 10th seed.

Tipoff will be about 4:45 p.m.

The game will be played at Moda Center, formerly the Rose Garden, which is home to the NBA Portland Trail Blazers.

Last Sunday’s Atlantic 10 title game at Brooklyn’s Barclays Center marked the fifth consecutive season VCU has played in a title conference game.

Following a knee injury to defensive titan Briante Weber on Feb. 25, the Rams had dropped five of nine games heading to the Big Apple.

At Barclays, they found their second wind.

In order, fifth-seed VCU defeated Fordham University, University of Richmond, Davidson College and University of Dayton, with senior Treveon Graham earning Most Valuable Player honors and bruising center Mo Alie-Cox making All-Tournament.

The Rams now fly 2,868 miles to Oregon, for their NCAA date with Ohio State.

VCU’s Ratings Percentage Index (power rank) is 15th of 350.

Ohio State’s rating is 41.

The winner of the VCU-OSU game likely will play University of Arizona, the West Region’s No. 2 seed, on Saturday, March 21, also in Portland. Top-seed Wisconsin and No. 4 North Carolina also are in the West bracket.

Should the Rams win twice in Oregon, they would play in the West’s Sweet 16 bracket March 26-28 at the Los Angeles Staples Center, home of the NBA Lakers and Clippers.

The NCAA Final Four will be played in Indianapolis, April 4-6.

This is the second straight year the NCAA has shipped the Rams to the West Coast. Last year in San Diego, VCU lost in overtime to Stephen F. Austin State University.

Sub plot: Graham netted 69 points in Brooklyn, stretching his career total to 1,872. The senior nudged past Kendrick Warren (1,858) into second place for top career scorer, behind all-time VCU record holder Eric Maynor (1,929).

Realistically, Graham needs at least three NCAA games to have a shot at Maynor’s record.

Big 10, big trouble: VCU has been eliminated from the NCAAs three times by Big 10 foes — in 1980 by Iowa, in 2012 by Indiana and in 2013 by Michigan.

On the plus side, the Rams defeated Purdue en route to the 2011 Final Four.

VCU is “3CU”: The 3-ball was the Rams’ best friend in Brooklyn. VCU connected on 39 3-pointers at the Barclays Center, with Melvin Johnson (14 hits), Graham (nine) and JeQuan Lewis and Doug Brooks (five each) being the stars in distance shooting.

For the season, the Rams have buried 273 3-pointers.

Freshmen phenoms: Ohio State is led by D’Angelo Russell, a 6-foot-5 freshman who made the All-Big 10, averaging 20 points and six rebounds. Russell, who wears jersey No. 0, is forecast as a lottery pick in the upcoming NBA draft.

VCU’s first-year answer is Terry Larrier, who has expanded his role.

The 6-foot-7 forward had 36 points in New York, his hometown, and was a stunning 18 for 19 at the foul line.

Larrier, who logged 105 minutes at Barclays, has taken floor time from Jordan Burgess, who started most of the season.

Road advantage: Of Ohio State’s 23 victories, 18 came on the Buckeyes’ home floor in friendly Columbus. On the other hand, VCU has proven to be a road warrior, going 8-4 in true away games and 6-1 on neutral courts.

Bragging rights: VCU and Duke University are the nation’s only schools with at least 26 wins each of the last two seasons. VCU is the first state school with five straight NCAA appearances.

Shaka sweepstakes: Few coaches have been schmoozed by other schools as much as the Rams’ sixth-year Coach Shaka Smart. In the past, he has turned down offers from North Carolina State, Illinois, UCLA and Marquette to stay at VCU.

Who will be this year’s suitor? The Alabama job is open after former Rams Coach Anthony Grant, Coach Smart’s predecessor at VCU, was given the pink slip.