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SEASON 7

Recent Game Recaps

Epilogue, The Ninth: Only Love Can Break Your Heart

Memories

So We Meet Again

Rte. 139 - End of the Line

Hanging On

A Championship in Pictures

This Time of Year

Dotson Leads Ducks to the Sweet Sixteen

Grizzlies Overwhelmed by Orangemen

Empire

Challenge 11: Final Four Memories

By George, UConn is Dead

Butler and Us

Donning the Black and Gold

Challenge 10: Tourney Memories

The Madness of the Horizon League

The Rare Ivy League Conference Tournament

MAC Madness

Anything Can Happen in the MAAC

Challenge 9: Shock The Neighborhood

A Youthful Surprise

From Worst to First

Peers and Seers

Game 7-103: NCAA Southwest Region Final
March 28, 2011 10:31 am ET by Kyle Whelliston

[11] Virginia Commonwealth Rams vs. [1] Kansas Jayhawks

March 27, 2011 2:20 pm
San Antonio, TX
BBState Stats/Recap



After a second overnight drive, a second reward: a second member of the Other 25 in the Final Four. Virginia Commonwealth, one of the last teams in the door with the selection committee, goes from First Four to Final Four -- giving every single school that plays in that event in the future a template of hope. The Rams (with help from @VCUPav, Total Package, the Ram Band and the Gold Rush Dancers) take down Kansas, and here's how it unfolded. You don't want to go to war with the Rams... don't start no stuff, won't be no stuff.

@midmajority Game Tweets

12:56 We're back. http://plixi.com/p/87372657
13:06 This is where it all goes down in an hour or so. "It" being Kansas. #CAA #VCU http://plixi.com/p/87374797
13:11 We've been to 5 NCAAT sites. They all have had the same pregame PA music rotation. Smashmouth figures prominently. #manwhatthehellhappened
13:19 RT @goldengrizzGP: @midmajority May be a naive question, but why have games at that site if it involves the use of mega-curtains to make it more condensed?
13:21 Alamodome is one of the NCAA's go-to venues, mostly because it's scalable like this. They've had F4s here with no curtains. @goldengrizzGP
13:21 RT @MattnotDonovan: @midmajority when you drive the rental back to PROV, can I convince you to catch the #Shockers at #MSG in the #NIT?
13:23 My NIT coverage in the past has made readers want to "slit [their] wrists." But best of luck to the Shox. @MattnotDonovan
13:28 RT @skyvan: @midmajority actually when they had the Final Four there in 2008 and they had the same curtain set up. I was there and remember.
13:29 Curtain was farther back. The 2008 F4 was max hoops capacity (45K), this configuration is around 20K. @skyvan
13:36 VCU starters: Skeen, Haley, J-Rod, Burgess, Nixon. KU: Morris x 2, Taylor, M'Star, Reed. Refs: Valentine, Greene, Eades (B. Smith standby).
13:52 RT @clasbury10: watched end of #Butler #FLA w friends, spaghetti dinner interspersed w shrieks & screams. We @midmajority #Davidsonians get it, & love it.
14:04 RT @bracketblogCBB: Can @midmajority take control of half of the Final Four? Lets go VCU!!!
14:21 Game No. 7-103: [11] VCU vs. [1] Kansas, Southwest Region final at San Antonio. I believe that we will win. http://plixi.com/p/87391353
14:22 Tip. http://plixi.com/p/87391774
14:23 Somehow, and I don't know how his happened, there are more VCU fans here today. Or maybe they're wearing brighter gold shirts.
14:24 Kansas out to an early 4-0 lead. Once again, as at most sites, the detailed scoreboard doesn't work at game start.
14:26 6-0 KU, their fans stand up. VCU not cool under pressure here. Something snapped at the start of the FSU OT, and they haven't got it back.
14:26 Reddic on the board first for the Rams. 6-2 KU at 17:11 1H.
14:28 And Burgess nails a #superhoop! But those damn twins. M.K. with a steamroller runner.
14:32 KU 8 VCU 7 at 15:24. The smooth unruffled Rams of the USC, Purdue, etc games replaced by a scrappy team in a survival fight.
14:33 Rams take their first lead at 9-8. And a steal! VCU fans going nuts, KU fans a little stunned/disoriented.
14:36 Skeen a 3, and it's a 12-10 Ram lead. VCU playing urgently, with resolve. Ten seed lines between these two teams.
14:39 17-10 VCU lead now. Rozzell nails a 3 and stands in front of the KU bench for a sec. I didn't expect this level of energy, neither did KU.
14:40 If that's advanced, you must have gone to KU. RT @elliotmetz: Thanks for the advanced math lesson. RT @midmajority: 10 seed lines
14:43 Eight straight points for the Rams. Skeen bumps out an o-reb to extend a possession, but he can't hit the second chance.
14:48 Skeen a dead-on three, and VCU has a clean dubl-up on Kansas. Not the other way around. 20-10, end of the first quarter.
14:50 KU shooting 5/14. VCU not that much better: 6/16. But Jayhawks have seven turns to the Rams' one. There's your Key Stat.
14:52 Skeen and J-Rod #superhoops, and VCU is doing to KU what KU did to Richmond the other night. Straight Diesel Truckin, bidges.
14:55 Rams using those towels a lot in their MTO huddle. Lots of perspiration expended in the first 13 minutes. Can they maintain the effort?
14:58 VCU 31 KU 17 6:22 1H. Rozzell ANOTHER 3, and he puts up three fingers and puts them in an invisible holster. #B #A #L #L #S.
14:59 #BLAPP RT @gogogiraffes: @midmajority one of the bars in Richmond is doing a shot for every 3 pt by #VCU
15:01 Veal goes up for an o-reb off a rare 3-miss, up between two guys, totally fearless. Gets the foul and two FT's. 33-17 VCU.
15:02 Rozzell ANOTHER 3. HIts it, stands there for a second in apparent disbelief. OH YES this is happening. 36-19 VCU at 4:48 1H.
15:03 Dangerous game, though. If you're going to run away and hide from Kansas, you've gotta run far. Lots of VCU shorts-grabbing at stoppages.
15:04 Rozzell ANOTHER 3. 39-21 at 3:25 1H. This is all happening right in front of us, 15 feet away. I hope I'm not asleep and dreaming this.
15:05 :) RT @SebastianPruiti: Best part if VCU wins? @midmajority at the championship game..
15:08 Got this within the last few minutes. "Internet: Writer." We've come so far, and they respect us now. So proud. http://plixi.com/p/87401855
15:11 VCU 39 KU 25 1:45 1H. This is what Kansas does to teams in guarantee games. This can't be happening.
15:13 Was sitting with Mike Sutton in his office last year watching tape of KU demoralizing his TN Tech team. Do this for all those guys too, VCU.
15:16 Halftime. VCU 41 KU 27. Last sequence encapsulates it: Rams would risk having their own limbs torn off to win this. Kansas: not so much.
15:20 Tempo-free HT is brought to you by BLAPP. Yes, BLAPP. Kansas: 27 points in 34 possessions (.79). VCU: 41 points in 33 trips (1.24).
15:21 If those numbers make sense to you, so will BLAPP. Lager, fruit juice and grain alcohol in perfect proportions. Just f__ing drink it. BLAPP.
15:22 Disclaimer: BLAPP makes you bad at math.
15:22 RT @simmonsclass: Someone pinch @midmajority so he knows this is actually happening
15:22 RT @TypoDC: @midmajority The Kansas players look like they didn't know the game was today or something. It's bizarre.
15:22 RT @albolte: @midmajority As a Jayhawks fan, I'm saying the same thing - but it is happening. VCU will need to steel themselves for a furious 2nd half.
15:22 RT @BluesForARedSun: @midmajority Kansas players have future in the NBA. Skeen, Burgess, Rodriguez, etc. know that this right here is it. They just want it more.
15:30 Total Package. http://plixi.com/p/87406754
15:31 We do love the Gold Rush Dancers. http://plixi.com/p/87406956
15:32 Go VCU! http://plixi.com/p/87407166
15:34 Ram Band. http://plixi.com/p/87407645
15:35 OK, OK, one more Gold Rush Dancers picture. I mean, they're right there in front of us. http://plixi.com/p/87408016
15:39 Second verse, same as the first. 43-27 VCU with an opening Haley bucket.
15:39 Two guys collapse on M.K. and it's OOB off Kansas. A little rest did the Rams good. #FINISHTHEM
15:41 The first KU push begins. 43-31 VCU at 18:10. The Jayhawk fans get up, the bench is up, they're trying to wrest back the momentum BAMP.
15:41 RT @chase_hathaway: kansas' largest half time deficit EVER in an NCAA tournament basketball game. @midmajority #CAA
15:42 #BLAPP RT @BGMull: Kansas scored 0.79 ppp in 1H vs. VCU team that gave up 1.42 to NU and 1.21 to Towson, 10th and 12-place #CAA teams.
15:44 A "Rock Chalk Jayhawk" chant reverberates through the Quarter-Alamodome. The "V!C!U!" counter is quieter but more heartfelt.
15:44 The KU-to-VCU fan ratio is about 10 to 1, if it hasn't been noted yet. Big 12 Country.
15:46M.C. misses one of two FT's, but KU is within 11. J-Rod airmails a three attempt. KU crowd all standing, yelling. 17:09 2H.
15:47M.C. up and under, and the VCU lead is down to 9. 16:39 2H.
15:49Tyshawn Taylor steal and runback, an it's 7. Balls in the upright and locked position, VCU, the best team in college BB is on a run.
15:51Big danger moment. Nixon foul is argued, bench tech on VCU. Could be a huge swing here.
15:52You can't specifically request it, though. VCU just did. Teddy Ballgame is here. RT @PsyMar @midmajority With that tech, #5vs8 in full force
15:53I am never, ever, EVER ok with KU. RT @wbryan08 @midmajority VCU-B water down a possible TMM NC? Should we be ok w KU so Butler can beat em?
15:54Lead is down to four now.
15:56It might have been pointed out by the TV, but KU has outscored VCU 12-2 in the first five minutes of the half.
15:59VCU will not fold up in the face of a little 12-2 run, though. Veal with a massive #omgdunx, then a steal! Burgess to the line: miss, make.
16:01Goaltend +1 for Tyshawn Taylor. Real gut punch, the VCU players deflated after the call. Skeen almost literally did. 46-44 VCU, 12:59 2H.
16:03Runners and Tour de France riders call it "rabbiting"; only get out in front of the peloton/pack if you can maintain.
16:08VCU by 6 again, a flying Theus layup. Both twins in foul trouble with 3. Have a feeling that a VCU win would have to involve many, many FTs.
16:12Skeen 3. VCU up 55-46 at 10:44 2H. VCU fans, get ready for the most tense, hellish half-hour of your lives.
16:13Skeen gets inside to get fed for a #sofdunx, and it's double figures now. 8:49 2H, 57-47.
16:17Let's be clear: Kansas the superior team with superior talent. VCU is guts, balls, success by whatever means necessary. Sometimes that wins.
16:18The winner of the Mid-Major National Championship Game would go on to play the winner of the BCS Title Game. Armageddon.
16:18VCU 57 KU 49 7:08 2H. A VCU win would set up the Mid-Major National Championship game on Saturday in Houston.
16:19J-Rod's stroke a lot off this half. Air balls another 3. Looks nervous for the first time this NCAAT.
16:20In Chicago, our gazes crossed and J-Rod looked like he was going to off a dude. Now he looks like he's worried about getting offed himself.
16:21You saw this coming. KU cuts the lead to 5. 5:20 left in regulation. Taylor with an impossible layup.
16:22There's Rodriguez' killer trigger! A #superhoop extends the VCU lead to eight again. 4:25.
16:23Four to go. Rodriguez kicks to Burgess, he drains a 3. Lead is 9. Both Morrises gasp, winded, next to each other at the TO.
16:24Morrises combined: 31 points (of KU's 54), 15 rebounds (of 39). Three fouls each.
16:25Agree. Shaka not doing a lot of X/O in this TO. Lecturing. RT @chase_hathaway: @midmajority they're thinking too much.
16:26RT @ckestel: @midmajority This would be monumental if half the Final Four field is below the red line. Has that ever happened before?
16:28And immediately, 20 people remind me of Penn and Indiana State in 1979. Oops!
16:28Our theory is that there was no Red Line before the mid-1970s (subdivision split), so definitely not. @ckestel
16:29VCU 63 KU 57 at 2:12 2H. I'm shaking. You probably are too.
16:30Correction: 65-59. Don't rely on me for sanity from here on out.
16:30With the "1" illuminated on the shot clock, Burgess lays it in. 65-57 VCU at 1:40 2H. Hold tight, Mid-Majority.
16:311:35 2H. Lead is 6.
16:32Stolen by a Morris. Taken back by a Skeen. M.K. pounds the floor in frustration. Taste that wood.
16:34KU fouls. :56 in regulation. 66-59 Rams.
16:34KU press. VCU breaks. One minute left.
16:35I just turned around, VCU fans are rubbing their hands. Like they want to eat.
16:35 RT @crazietalker: Bucknell, Bradley, VCU. Kansas must really hate midmajors by now. @midmajority
16:35 RT @JCTRambler: @midmajority The poise is just unbelieveable. I can't type, how can they shoot FTs?
16:35 RT @tourneytrip: @midmajority JAYHAWK IS ON THE MENU
16:35 RT @BYUfootblog: Jayhawk all around! RT @midmajority: I just turned around, VCU fans are rubbing their hands. Like they want to eat.
16:36 :29.8 2H. VCU fans chanting "Na Na Hey Hey." J-Rod at the line. Skeen and Nixon sneak a hug in the far backcourt.
16:37 VCU fans chant "Final Four!" and put up four fingers. Rams by eight: 69-61.
16:38 Press row quiet and professional as usual. If this happens, we're going up there with the fans.
16:38 RT @SethHunt105: @midmajority Good night Sportz Nation. Hoops Nation has arrived.
16:39 :12 2H. VCU 69 KU 61. Draw your own conclusions.
16:41 Bust THIS bracket, bitches. VCU and Butler are in the Final Four!
16:49 http://plixi.com/p/87423695
16:50 http://plixi.com/p/87423946
16:51 http://plixi.com/p/87424214
16:53 Skeen regional MOP.
16:54 http://plixi.com/p/87424795
16:55 http://plixi.com/p/87425063
17:02 Rozzell: Better than birthday cake. Slice. http://plixi.com/p/87425421
17:03 Shaka gets a slice. http://plixi.com/p/87426837
17:03 http://plixi.com/p/87427063
17:04 RT @WBE_Jerry: Btw, no @midmajority teams made FF the first 20 years of modern tourney. Now 4 in 5, all since Kyle W. showed up. Coincidence? Naaaaaaah.
17:04 RT @snoopj123: Well one mid-major is making it to the championship game. I couldn't be more ecstatic. @midmajority
17:04 http://plixi.com/p/87427364
17:04 RT @kevinheaslip: Told @midmajority on the phone yesterday that I had a good feeling about VCU today. Happy that I was right. Makes me want to go to Houston
17:06 Bedlam. http://plixi.com/p/87427706
17:06 RT @kasear: Way to go #VCU. That's how you #represent the @midmajority. On to the #final4. Anyone want to bet against them now? #caa
17:06 RT @MattNorlander: @midmajority SEE YOU MONDAY NIGHT NO MATTER WHAT, BEEYOTCH.
17:06 RT @SecVTb: So @jaybilas and all the others analysts ignorant of the @midmajority are eating some humble pie today #ncaa
17:07 RT @shoverbj: @midmajority The epilogue is delayed until April 5th!!
17:07 CBS. http://plixi.com/p/87427928
17:08 RT @DadofTwins02: Since the advent of the one-and-done rule 6 years ago, 4 @midmajority schools have made the Final 4, and a 5th came within a point in the E8
17:09 VCU fans, with 30 seconds to go. http://plixi.com/p/87428465
17:10 RT @BillSou: @midmajority, I feel like I should congratulate you. I'm glad for your success with #VCU and #Butler in the #2011FinalFour. And thanks!
17:10 RT @rosslancaster: @midmajority If Mason-WSU was the Mid-Major Super Bowl in 2006, what do we have on Saturday? The Mid-Major Gold Medal Game? Can't Wait!
17:10 RT @mcareyTU: A light stays on until the last possible game. This is really as good as it gets. @midmajority
17:10 RT @hardlyworkin950: rally at siegel center tonight around 12:30am-1am
17:11 Shaka addresses the crowd. http://plixi.com/p/87429008
17:12 SNL. http://plixi.com/p/87429206
17:14 RT @johngasaway: If you had told me on Feb 3 that Butler would be wearing home whites in the Final Four, I would have laughed.
17:14 Best weekend of our lives. Thank you, VCU, all reader-supporters, and the Gold Rush Dancers too. http://plixi.com/p/87429554
17:14 RT @noslowallgo: Best part of these regional finals: seeing the @midmajority Twitter avatar start at 2 ... and stay there.
17:20 The inestimable GOAT @espn4d came over and joked, "You own this Tournament." Actually, we all do! What a ride, Hoops Nation. What a ride!
17:21 RT @gmoore21566: http://plixi.com/p/87429554 @midmajority Living proof that when you're a cute orange basketball with boing, the ladies all love ya.
17:23 RT @devyanks90: Proposal for @midmajority fans, watch VCU/BU as a fan of the game and then root like hell for the winner on Monday.
17:23 RT @sosaysjonathan: Wow. VCU-Butler is happening. Saturday will be a glorious day for the @midmajority. #FACT
17:24 RT @JDKuks: @midmajority Hoops Nation in the Final 4 and April Epilogues are the new normal.
17:26 This has to be an AYG bracket by a Robot from the future. RT @streetlamp @midmajority this dude smug as hell http://t.co/yAXFXjI
17:28 Sitting in the media room, Bill Self up there mumbling. blahblahblahblah... SHA-KA, SHA-KA, SHA-KA.
17:29 They have to return it... in the 2012 Final Four! RT @snoopj123 Who the hell scheduled a Bracketbuster game in F4? I love it! @midmajority
17:31 SHA-KA, SHA-KA, SHA-KA http://plixi.com/p/87433262
17:31 Smart: "Nobody else really matters, whatever they think... we shut all that out and did our job."
17:35 "Joey, you're listed at 5-10. How tall are you, really?" "5-10."
17:35 Pac 10. Big East. Big Ten. ACC. Big 12. The Scott Pilgrim of the CAA. #shakabob-omb
17:39 J-Rod: "It got really loud when Kansas made their run, but our fans never gave up. I saw them standing the whole time."
17:39 RT @SkywayChicago: @midmajority - Thank You For: Today. Yesterday. Season 7. The PIG. Centenary. Binghamton. Badlands....
17:42 Smart: "We didn't cut down the nets when we won the CBI. I did get some Gatorade on me, though." #ghostsportsdrinks
17:43 Smart recalling his speech during regrouping after the tech - "Forget the refs, forget Kansas, this is all about us."
17:44 Smart: "Any very good team from any good league can go to the Final Four. You don't have to be a BCS conference team."
17:45 Smart re Butler matchup: "It's not a game for the little guys... it's more for the medium-sized guys."
17:45 RT @SkywayChicago: @midmajority Thank You For: Guaco, Bally, LONG Books, Tony Ingle, Ballz, BLAPP, #lastman, NEC, Cleveland State, Stetson, VMI...
17:46 RT @VCUPav: @Midmajority We still got 2
17:47 RT @chase_hathaway: Final Four Tournament average margin of victory -- VCU: 12, Uconn: 9.75 Butler - 3.25 @midmajority @CAAZone
17:48 Smart: "Ever seen the movie, 'Major League?' I can't repeat it verbatim, but the quote goes, 'There's only one thing left to do...'"
17:50 Smart: "It's just a game. When you win games, people make a big deal about it. A basketball coach is not what I am, it's what I do."
18:04 RT @goldengrizzGP: @midmajority Butler has The Five Non-Negotiables. VCU has The Four Agreements? #straightscheming
18:05 RT @jfreeze13: @midmajority Is this the year the epilogue ends with a win? Just maybe...
18:08 RT @justindotnet: It still doesn't seem real. @pbyrnett @midmajority Getting chills. So happy for @justindotnet, all #vcu fans, and esp @midmajority


Boxscore

VIRGINIA COMMONWEALTH 71, KANSAS 61
03/27/2011


VIRGINIA COMMONWEALTH 28-11 (12-6) -- D. Hanson 6-18 0-0 16; J. Skeen 6-17 10-12 26; B. Burgess 3-5 1-2 9; J. Rodriguez 2-8 3-4 9; E. Nixon 1-6 1-2 3; B. Rozzell 4-8 0-0 12; T. Veal 2-4 2-2 6; D. Theus 1-1 0-0 2; J. Reddic 1-1 0-0 2; D. Haley 1-2 0-0 2; R. Brandenberg 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 21-53 17-22 71.
KANSAS 35-3 (14-2) -- M. Morris 8-19 4-8 20; T. Reed 1-9 6-8 9; T. Taylor 6-9 2-5 14; M. Morris 5-12 2-4 13; B. Morningstar 1-7 0-0 2; J. Selby 1-5 0-0 2; T. Robinson 0-0 0-1 0; E. Johnson 0-0 1-2 1; M. Little 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 22-62 15-28 61.

Three-point goals: VCU 12-25 (J. Skeen 4-7; E. Nixon 0-1; J. Rodriguez 2-6; B. Rozzell 4-7; B. Burgess 2-3; R. Brandenberg 0-1), KU 2-21 (B. Morningstar 0-3; T. Reed 1-7; T. Taylor 0-2; M. Morris 1-2; M. Morris 0-3; M. Little 0-1; J. Selby 0-3); Rebounds: VCU 32 (J. Skeen 10), KU 42 (M. Morris 16); Assists: VCU 14 (J. Rodriguez 5), KU 10 (B. Morningstar 3); Total Fouls -- VCU 18, KU 20; Fouled Out: VCU-None; KU-None.