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March 27, 2011
5:13 p.m. PST
SAN ANTONIO, Texas –
America is in a state of "Shaka" tonight after the "WTF" Virginia Commonwealth University Rams defied odds to make it all the way to the NCAA Final Four.
Image via WikipediaThey don't call it "March Madness" for nothing, pal. But this one is for the books....
Where do we begin?
We start with the Shaka Smart. Huh? You know. Shaka Smart. The hottest coach in America tonight. The ubber cool, slickster from Virginia Commonwealth University is floating on top of the college basketball world tonight after making it all the way into the Final Four.
Like most of America, I have become a huge fan of the VCU Rams, and their head coach named Shaka Smart. Around an hour ago, VCU upended and dominated Kansas with a 71-61 victory. I also just hit Coach Smart up as a "Facebook Friend." I will let you know how this "relationship thing" pans out.
Image via WikipediaYes Virginia, their is a Commonwealth University men's basketball team and it is heading to the Final Four next week in Houston.
Image via Wikipedia"What more can I say about this group of guys? Every time this group is doubted, they respond in an overwhelming way and today was no different," Head Coach Shaka Smart. "There was not one media outlet that picked us to win today, but those 14 guys knew that they could and that's all that matters."
Southwest Regional Tournament MVP Jamie Skeen led all scorers with 26 points, as well as grabbing 10 rebounds and picking up two steals. Classmate Brandon Rozzell was the only other Ram in double-figures with 12 points, but it was the defense that stole the show.
Kansas, who came in averaging over 81 points and game and led the country in field-goal percentage, was held to just 61 points and 36% from the field, including a 2-for-21 performance from beyond the arc. The 61 points was the least amount of points the Jayhawks have scored all year.
"Our defense has been what has carried us this whole tournament and that didn't change today," Rozzell said. "When we're communicating and focused on the defensive end, we're a tough team to beat."
The win not only sends the Black & Gold to the Final Four, but also ties a school-record with the 28th victory of the season. Smart is now 55-20 over two seasons and a perfect 10-0 in postseason play.
"This is unbelievable, that's really all I can say," Skeen said. "These guys are my brothers and I wouldn't want to go through this with any other group."
Kansas would land a sucker punch to start the game with a quick 6-0 lead. However, the resolve of the Rams was on display once again as they reeled off a 31-11 run thanks to six three-pointers, three of which came from Rozzell.
VCU would finish the first half with nine three-pointers and a comfortable 41-27 advantage after holding the Jayhawks to just 27 points and 31% shooting over the first 20 minutes.
"We knew that they would push back because that's what great teams do," senior Joey Rodriguez said. "It was just a matter of us sticking together and staying focused on the game plan."
Image via WikipediaThe Jayhawks counterpunch came in the first seven minutes of the second half when they ran off a 17-6 spurt to close within two on an old-fashioned three-point play by Tyshawn Taylor with 13:11 left in the game.Free-throws from Skeen and a layup from sophomore Darius Theus pushed the lead back to six and the
Jayhawks would never again get within one possession with VCU hitting six of its eight free-throw attempts in the final minute of play.
"I'm just so overwhelmed right now," senior Ed Nixon said. "Nobody believed in us except our fans and the people that surround this program. Now the whole world knows about VCU."
Image by Getty Images via @daylifeThe Rams will now face Butler on Saturday, April 2nd at Reliant Stadium in Houston. Game time is set for 6:09 p.m. EST.
BTW. President Obama had picked Kansas to go all the way. Hummm. Just keeping the Dream ALIVE.
(Thanks to the VCU Sports Information Office for providing back up data for this blog post!)
