The No. 11 seed Va. Commonwealth Rams defeated the No. 1 Kansas Jayhawks, 71-61, on Sunday afternoon to advance to the Final Four of the 2011 NCAA Tournament. The Rams led by as many as 18 points in the contest before earning passage to the next round with a 10-point victory.
In the first half, the Rams finished with a 14-point lead, 41-27, and then saw it shrink to 46-44 with 12 minutes left to play. However, Kansas' poor shooting ended their chances at a comeback. The Jayhawks shot 35.5 percent from the field and made only 2-of-22 from beyond the arc. Marcus Morris gave his best in the game, but 20 point and 16 rebounds weren't enough. Markieff Morris finished with 13 points and nine rebounds.
VCU's Jamie Skeen hada game-high 26 points and pulled down nine rebounds. He shot 6-of-17 from the field (4-of-7 from beyond the arc). He was successful 10 out of 12 times from the line. Bradford Burgess and Joey Rodriguez combined for 18 points, 10 rebounds and nine assists. Brandon Rozzell scored 12 points off the bench.
With Kansas' loss, there will be no No. 1s in the Final Four, the first since 2006.
George Mason in 2006 and LSU in 1986 were the only previous double-digit seeds to make the Final Four. Neither team advanced to the championship game. Can the VCU Rams turn the tides and do it? Find out on April 2 when the Rams face the Butler Bulldogs.