VCU defies odds to earn Elite 8 date with Kansas
The No. 11 seed Virginia Commonwealth have surprised even the most experienced bracketologists, and have earned a date with the top-seeded Kansas Jayhawks in the Elite 8 round of this year’s NCAA Tournament on Sunday afternoon in San Antonio.
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#11 Virginia Commonwealth (27-11, 12-6 CAA) vs. #1 Kansas (35-2, 14-2 Big 12)
Date/Time: Sunday, March 27, 2:20 PM ET
Venue: Alamodome in San Antonio, TX.
Broadcast: CBS
Money Line: OFF
Spread: Kansas -11
Over/Under: 146.5
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Every year there is one team that defies all odds, and the Virginia Commonwealth Rams are that team this year.
The Rams began their Cinderella run by knocking off USC in a play-in game, and then followed it up by taking down No. 6 Georgetown, destroying the talents of Purdue by 18 points and finally outlasting bigger, defensive giants No. 10 Florida State in overtime in the Southwest Regional Semifinals on Friday. Bradford Burgess took the inbounds pass with 7.1 seconds remaining, jamming home the winning bucket as VCU advanced to its first Elite 8 in school history.
VCU has shot their way through the first four rounds of the tournament, knocking down nearly 43 percent from long range as a team. They continued that trend against Florida State, draining 45 percent of their shots including 12-of-26 from behind the arc.
Meanwhile, Kansas advanced to its fourth Elite 8 in eight seasons under head coach Bill Self and have made it look easy thus far, beating their tournament foes by an average of nearly 18 points.
The top-seeded Jayhawks pounded the Richmond Spiders, going on a 27-4 run early in the first half to take a 35-11 lead and never looked back en route to a 77-57 win in the semifinal game of the Southwest Region on Friday.
The Jayhawks suffocated the Spiders’ offense, holding them to just 22-65 (33.8 percent) from the field and 4-26 (15.4 percent) from 3-point range.
Brady Morningstar had a team-high 18 points while chipping in four assists and sophomore forward Thomas Robinson had 12 points and 14 rebounds to help thrust Kansas to the Elite 8 for the first time since 2008, when the Jayhawks won the national title.
The brothers Markieff, have provided the Jayhawks with a dominant interior duo, which is averaging a combined 30 points and 17.7 rebounds per game in the NCAA Tournament. But the Kansas defense has been just as impressive, allowing its opponents just 56.3 points per game.
VCU will need to continue to knock down shots from beyond the arc to have a chance at upsetting the Jayhawks.
The odds makers have the Kansas Jayhawks as a -11 point favorite with an over/under of 146.5.
Check out the latest Elite 8 Odds here.
Prediction: It’s been a magical run for the Rams, but the, size, depth and balanced attack, and stingy defense of Kansas will simply be too much for the Rams to overcome.
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