March 28, 2011

Rock Chalk Jay-SHOCK

By - Kris Fletcher

What initially seemed to be nothing more than a nice run in the tournament has now turned into a different kind of run altogether.

NOW, it's a run for a championship.

In one of the biggest upsets in NCAA - no, make that - SPORTS history, the #11-seed Virginia Commonwealth Rams SHOCKED the #1-seed Kansas Jayhawks - and the world for that matter - in the Elite Eight on Sunday by a final score of 71-61, and punched their ticket to Houston for next weekends Final Four.

Photo by: Getty Images
I'm sure everyone reading this had the Rams getting to Houston on their bracket too right? Yeah. Sure you did.

VCU totally looked and played like the better team on Sunday. They hit 9 of their 12 3-pointers in the first half, and played very disruptive defense. Kansas trailed 41-27 at halftime but closed the gap to 46-44 with 13:11 left, but a 10-2 Rams run put the Jayhawks right back where they started. VCU continued to make clutch shots down the stretch and held on for the upset, making it the first time since 2006 - and only the third time ever - that there will be no #1 seeds in the Final Four.

Not too shabby for a team that two weeks ago was so doubtful of even making the tournament that they watched the Cartoon Network and went out for fast food instead of watching the selection show. Now, they’re Houston-bound after an improbable take down of the last #1 seed.

I'm still semi-shocked to look down at my bracket and see Kentucky/UConn on one side, and Butler/VCU on the other. But, I suppose that's the very thing that makes March Madness so special.

I'm totally pulling for either Butler or VCU to win the whole thing at this point. How great would it be for either of those teams to knock off either one of the history-rich schools from Kentucky or Connecticut in the finals?

This has been one of the more entertaining and surprising tournaments that I can remember. Hopefully, it ends with a Bulldogs or Rams championship.

2 comments:

  1. I hate Kansas. SO GLAD they're out of it. VCU played a great game. Helps that Kansas overlooked them I think also.

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  2. Kansas just looked past these guys, that's why they lost. VCU isn't a better team than Kansas. They'd lose to them 95 out of 100 times. Butler is gonna stomp VCU.

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