NCAA Final Four: Can VCU dance? Yes, they can.
Ever since the NCAA instituted the three-point field goal in 1986, it has allowed the "Davids" across the college basketball landscape to slay many a top-seeded "Goliath."
Dr. Edward Steitz, the late progenitor of the three pointer, said it best. "It accomplished everything the rules committee wanted. The dunk is no longer the home run of basketball; the 3-point shot is," Dr. Steitz told the New York Times.
The NCAA tournament's lone remaining No. 1 seed, Kansas, was buried by multiple home runs on Sunday by Virginia Commonwealth, the improbable 11th seed, in the Southwest Region final, 71-61.
The VCU Rams hit 12 three-pointers in the contest; the Jayhawks sunk just two, out of 21 attempted. KU was also done in on the free-throw line, missing 13 of 28 charity-stripe attempts. In the end, VCU controlled the flow of the game long enough to pull off perhaps the greatest upset in the history of the NCAA tournament.
In the East Region final Sunday, Kentucky avenged a regular-season defeat at the hands of University of North Carolina by beating the Tar Heels when it counted, 76-69. The Wildcats had five players with double-figure scoring, led by freshman guard Brandon Knight's 22 points.
VCU and Kentucky join Butler and UConn for a chance at a national championship next weekend in Houston. Butler, still considered a mid-major, even after last year's national championship game loss, looked anything but in defeating Florida in overtime Saturday.
Then, on Saturday evening, UConn and Arizona staged a 15-round heavyweight prize fight. Both sides landed knockout shots and came back for more. The Huskies had one final run at the end for a terrific 65-63 victory.
The last time there were no No. 1 seeds in the Final Four was 2006, when another No. 11 seed, George Mason, went, along with UCLA, LSU, and national champion Florida.
It should be quite the Texas two-step basketball bash in Houston on Saturday.
