VCU dances with glass slippers in NCAA tournament


By
 in ,

Cinderella manages to make an appearance every March in the college basketball world, and this year, the shoe fits for Virginia Commonwealth University.

The same team that knocked off USC in one of the NCAA Tournament’s inaugural “First Four” games has defied all expectations by winning two more games and earning a spot in the Sweet Sixteen.

Led by second-year coach Shaka Smart, the No. 11 Rams knocked off No. 3 Purdue and No. 6 Georgetown to be one of four teams left in the Southwest bracket. Both victories were resounding: VCU beat Georgetown 74-56 on Friday and Purdue 94-76 on Sunday.

Sunday’s victory was especially sweet for a team many analysts and fans said had no room being in the tournament — even as a First Four team that had to play an additional game to get in the field of 64.

“I think the committee is sitting back smiling now,” VCU senior guard Brandon Rozzell told ESPN. “I’d tell them, ‘Thanks for putting us in a position to make a name for ourselves.'”

Though the Rams might have proven they belong, the road to Houston still has some uncertainty. VCU faces No. 10 Florida St. on Friday, the same team that had an upset of its own, topping No. 2 Notre Dame 71-57 on Sunday night. If the Rams pull off another victory, they face either No. 12 Richmond (who upset No. 4 Louisville) or the No. 1 Kansas Jayhawks, a team looking to make its second Final Four appearance since 2008 — the same year they won the title game.

Still, VCU players say they are in it to win — regardless of what critics have said.

“To everybody we play, we’re still gonna be little ol’ VCU that’s not supposed to be here,” senior forward James Skeen told ESPNW’s Sarah Spain. “We just gotta keep proving people wrong.”