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Will Wade, left, and Tony Bennett are doing good things for hoops with this series. USATSI

The two most successful programs in the state of Virginia over the past decade have agreed to play a home-and-home series.

Any time we can get news like this, it's worth sharing and praising.

Word leaked when CBS Sports' Jon Rothstein shared the news on Wednesday.

This is particularly good, as home-and-home series are what college basketball needs more and more of. If the sport can get 30-40 of these every season between top-75 programs, November and December will bring more urgency and attention. In-state, out-of-conference rivals should be doing the obvious and taking VCU and Virginia's lead right here.

The teams had a home-and-home in 2013 and 2014, but have took the next two years off. Hopefully this can turn into an annual deal, or at least something that eventually gets agreed to in four-year installments.

"We had talked about it (during the scrimmage)," VCU coach Will Wade told the Richmond Times-Dispatch. "Coach (Tony) Bennett was excited about the possibility, and we were certainly excited about it. It's a game that made sense for both sides.

"Obviously, they're a great program and a great team that's going to be tremendous for our schedule. We're a program that has finished inside the top 40 in RPI for five straight years. We've been in the top 25 a couple of times. It's a good game for everybody. I think our program has elevated to the point where it's a solid game for them."

Wade is right. VCU is a top-30 program nationally, and so it's equally beneficial for both programs to play this game. Bennett played at a smaller school (Green Bay) and cut his coaching teeth with Washington State, so he gets it too. The Cavaliers will have a good chance at being a top-15 yet again this upcoming season. The series doesn't begin until 2017, when Virginia could take a step back -- and VCU could possibly enter into its best/most promising season in the Wade era