NCAA Basketball: Top 25 NCAA Tournament cinderellas since 2000
By Adam Childs
7) 2011 VCU Rams, No. 11-seed
Record: 28-12, Final Four
Beat: (11) USC Trojans, (6) Georgetown Hoyas, (3) Purdue Boilermakers, (10) Florida Gators, (1) Kansas Jayhawks
The VCU Rams became the first team ever to win five games in the NCAA Tournament and not be in the championship game. They did that because they had to play in one of the First Four games against the USC Trojans.
The Rams were a very controversial at-large bid after going just 23-11 in the regular season and losing in their conference tournament. Many people thought that they should have been left out and most picked them to lose their first game.
Shaka Smart and VCU had other plans. They took care of USC in the First Four game by 13. Then, they really turned it on. They blew out both the Georgetown Hoyas and the Purdue Boilermakers in the next two rounds by 18 points each.
Smart had his defense playing smothering defense. It caused the Hoyas to turn the ball over all game long. Georgetown would have 17 turnovers. Purdue would have better luck with just seven, but it disrupted their offense and VCU took advantage.
In the Sweet 16 game, the Rams would need overtime to slip by the Florida State Seminoles. They nearly blew a late nine-point lead, but responded to win in the extra frame. A layup by Bradford Burgess and blocked shot at the buzzer would send the Rams to the Elite Eight to face the top-seeded Kansas Jayhawks.
VCU kept rolling against Kansas, as they harassed the Jayhawks and led by 14 at the half. The Jayhawks would hang around in the second half, but the Rams would never really be threatened in their 10-point win that would send them to the Final Four to meet another cinderella team in the Butler Bulldogs.
Butler would keep their amazing two-year run going in beating the Rams in the Final Four, but VCU not only proved the critics wrong, they showed they belonged with the big boys. And not only did they belong, they dominated them throughout the tournament.
VCU went from a crazy at-large selection to one of the last four teams standing. In one of the most memorable and crazy runs in tournament history, the Rams put Smart on the map as one of the best young coaches in the game and showed that they were a very good mid-major team.