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Title: VCU stuns Kansas, advances to the Final Four
Source:
Washington Compost
URL Source: http://www.washingtonpost.com/sport ... 2011/03/27/AFg5OUkB_story.html
Published: Mar 27, 2011
Author: Steve Yanda
Post Date: 2011-03-27 17:14:16 by Happy Quanzaa
Keywords: Go Rams!, Eat crow Dicky Vitale!
Views: 5363
Comments: 6
SAN ANTONIO – On Saturday, Virginia Commonwealth’s diminutive point guard, Joey Rodriguez, called the Kansas Jayhawks – winners of seven straight Big 12 titles and at times this season considered the nation’s best team – bullies. On Sunday, Rodriguez and the Rams sent the bullies home to Lawrence. With a 71-61 win over top-seeded the top-seeded Jayhawks, 11th-seeded VCU ensured its astonishing NCAA tournament run will include a trip to Houston to play in the Final Four. Senior forward Jamie Skeen led all scorers with 26 points, and senior guard Brandon Rozzell chipped in 12 points off the bench. The Rams made 12 of 25 shots (48 percent) from three-point range, the third time during VCU’s five-game NCAA tournament procession in which it shot better than 45 percent from that distance. After a first half in which they were run ragged by VCU’s incessant burn, the Jayhawks turned the tables at the start of the second half. Kansas executed a 12-2 run that cut its 14-point halftime deficit to four and re-awakened an overwhelmingly pro-Kansas crowd. Then Rodriguez, the Rams’ unquestioned floor leader, picked up three personal fouls in a 41-second span and was forced to the bench. Kansas cut VCU’s lead to two. Throughout VCU’s endearing postseason run, they claimed immunity to pressure or intimidation. And indeed, when Kansas pressed and attempted to intimidate VCU in the second half on Sunday, the Rams responded. Skeen chose VCU after transferring out of Wake Forest three years ago, in part, he said, because he dreamed of emulating the success of former Rams stars Eric Maynor and Larry Sanders. After scoring 15 points in the first half Sunday, Skeen steadied the Rams during Kansas’s second half push. He scored seven of VCU’s 11 points after the Jayhawks cut its deficit to two and helped the Rams reassume a double-digit advantage. By the first media timeout of the game, the Jayhawks had watched their 6-0 lead cut down to one and already were appearing fatigued. The Morris twins, 6-foot-10 Markieff and 6-foot-9 Marcus, trudged off the court and hunched over with their hands on their knees as soon as they reached the huddle. They had been the source of Kansas’s early success, and they ended up factoring significantly into the Jayhawks’ largest halftime deficit of the season. Marcus and Markieff combined to score 20 of Kansas’s 27 points before the break, but that tally would have been even higher had the twins not shot a combined 3 for 8 from the free throw line. As the half progressed, the Jayhawks seemed to deviate from the game plan that had served them so well early on. The Rams’ persistent pressure forced Kansas to commit eight first-half turnovers, six of which were made by Markieff Morris. During a 15-2 VCU run, Markieff committed a three-second violation, traveled and was called for a charge, guard Mario Little stepped on the baseline and guard Tyshawn Taylor also was whistled for a charge. yandas@washpost.com
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#1. To: Happy Quanzaa (#0)
That's got to be the biggest upset since NC State's win over Houston.
#2. To: Ibluafartsky (#1)
Top • Page Up • Full Thread • Page Down • Bottom/LatestVCU stuns Kansas
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