NCAA Tournament: No. 11 VCU Dominates No. 1 Kansas In Historic Upset

VCU has indeed shocked the world and advanced to the 2011 Final Four. The Rams, who many felt didn’t even deserve to be in the 2011 NCAA Tournament, shocked the top-seeded Kansas Jayhawks, 71-61, completing a stunning run through the Southwest region of the NCAA bracket.

The Rams led by as many as 18 points in the first half, but Kansas rallied in the second half, cutting the deficit to two points at one point. But VCU showed character, responding to the run and eventually putting the Jayhawks away.

VCU keeps trying to hold on in its Elite Eight game against Kansas, and it is doing so thanks to Joey Rodriguez. The point guard hit a three-pointer, then drove and found Bradford Burgess for a three to maintain a 63-54 VCU lead with 3:39 remaining.

Tyshawn Taylor continued his erratic game by air-balling a three-pointer, but VCU committed another turnover on its ensuing posession. Kansas, though, responded with another turnover of its own, though VCU could not take advantage because Rodriguez air-balled a three-pointer of his own.

VCU has taken Kansas’ best punch and responded. The Rams went on a 7-1 run to push their lead back up to double digits in this Elite Eight showdown, and now lead 57-49 with 7:42 remaining in the game.

Marcus Morris cut VCU’s lead to 50-46 with two free throws, but Toby Veal pushed the lead back to six with a jump hook. VCU then stuffed Marcus Morris at the rim, and Jamie Skeen hit another three-pointer to push the VCU lead back to nine points with 10:43 remaining.

Kansas has continued to rally against VCU in this Elite Eight showdown, but the Rams look like they have started to respond. The Jayhawks got to within two points, but VCU got two free throws from Jamie Skeen and a transition layup by Darius Theus to push its lead back to 50-44 with 11:55 remaining.

Kansas’ rally continued right after the under-16 minute timeout. Tyshawn Taylor finished with a right-handed layup to cut the lead down to 43-39. Shaka Smart called another timeout, which worked to stop the bleeding, as Joey Rodriguez drove and dropped it off to Jamie Skeen for the layup. Kansas turned it over on the full-court pressure, leading to a free throw for Bradford Burgess that pushed the lead back to 46-39 with 14:11 remaining.

You knew Kansas would rally in its Elite Eight game against VCU, and rally they have. The Jayhawks are in the midst of a 9-0 run and have cut VCU’s lead to 43-36 with 15:43 remaining in the game.

Markieff Morris got the rally going with a layup, and off Kansas went. Kansas got two more back when Tyshawn Taylor scored a layup to cut VCU’s lead to 43-31, and Joey Rodriguez committed a turnover on VCU’s next possession, eventually leading to a foul and a VCU timeout.

This has officially become a shocker. The No. 11 seed VCU Rams seemingly cannot miss, and the top-seeded Kanas Jayhawks look rattled. Brandon Rozzell has hit four three-pointers, and his final one gave VCU a 39-21 lead with 3:25 left in the first half.

Markieff and Marcus Morris missed two free throws apiece after the under-eight minute timeout, as Kansas continues to make mental mistakes. VCU took advantage, as Rozzell hit VCU’s seventh three-pointer of the first half. Kansas called timeout, but that didn’t help. Marcus and Markieff Morris missed two more shots, and Toby Veal added two free throws to give VCU an improbable 33-17 lead. Markieff Morris got two more back, but Rozzell hit yet another three-pointer to push the lead to 36-19.

VCU, once again, is on fire, and is shocking the top-seeded Kansas Jayhawks in this Elite Eight matchup. The Rams now lead VCU 28-17 with 7:37 remaining, thanks to 6-11 shooting from behind the arc and seven forced turnovers.

Trailing 17-10 at the last TV timeout, things didn’t get any better for Kansas. Tyshawn Taylor drove to the basket, but VCU stepped in and drew the charge. Josh Selby missed a runner, then Marcus Morris committed a traveling violation, Kansas’ sixth turnover of the first half. After a TV timeout, Markieff Morris slammed into a VCU defender and committed another charge, the seventh turnover of the game, and Jamie Skeen took advantage with another three-pointer to give VCU a 20-10 lead with 9:55 remaining in the first half.

Could VCU be in the process of pulling off yet another shocker? After falling behind early in its Elite Eight game against Kansas, the Rams are on a 17-4 run and have opened up a seven-point lead with 12:49 remaining. Brandon Rozzell culminated the run with a transition three-pointer with 12:49 remaining.

Jamie Skeen, who struggled against Florida State’s front line, hit two free throws to put VCU up 9-8. Kansas committed turnovers on its next two possessions, throwing the ball away against VCU’s press, then committing a three second violation, but VCU couldn’t take advantage either time. The Jayhawks broke VCU’s press the second time around, leading to another easy layup for Marcus Morris, but VCU went back up 14-10 when Skeen nailed a three-pointer and added two free throws on the ensuing possession.

VCU got off to a slow start in its Elite Eight game against Kansas, but has rallied. The Jayhawks jumped ahead to a 6-0 lead with easy layups for Markieff and Marcus Morris, but VCU responded by scoring seven of the next eight points to cut Kansas’ lead to 8-7 five minutes into the game.

Markieff Morris scored the first two points of the game on the free-throw line, getting inside and drawing the foul, and Marcus Morris got an easy layup inside to give Kanas a 4-0 lead. On the ensuing Kansas possession, Kansas once again lobbed it inside to Marcus Morris for an easy layup.

The last underdog left in the Elite Eight of the 2011 NCAA Tournament bracket will try to take down one of college basketball’s titans today. That’s the narrative of Kansas vs. VCU, which will tip at 2 p.m. Eastern from San Antonio, according to the 2011 NCAA Tournament schedule. Marv Albert and Steve Kerr will have the call on CBS; is there any chance they’ll be announcing a VCU victory?

Prediction: VCU thrills for the first half and is no worse than four points off the lead at halftime. Then Kansas bears down and grinds out possessions at both ends, pulling away for a 73-61 victory.