The Talented VCU Rams

Virginia Commonwealth University were told they didn’t deserve to be in the First Four and tonight they face another outsider in the NCAA Basketball Championship. Unfancied by almost everyone and told they shouldn’t be in the competition by most of the media, it appears that a lot of those naysayers are still saying they can’t do it.

Only two out of the nearly six million brackets completed online got the correct Final Four, and it was VCU that would have taken most of them out of the equation. This young side have truly beaten all the odds. Ryan Wolstat of the Toronto Sun starts his column today with “Sadly, one of the greatest stories in NCAA tournament history will come to an end on Saturday night. Sorry Virginia Commonwealth, Butler is going back to the main event.” Wolstat points to the fact that Butler like it ugly, and that if VCU get drawn in to a scrappy game then it is lights out for their hopes this year. He thinks the influential Shelvin Mack (27 points against the Gators) and Matt Howard, will ensure that the Bulldogs get the job done.

57% of voters polled are taking Butler over VCU (ESPN Sportsnation), although 22% of those admit they aren’t confident in their pick. That has to be the approach this weekend. With what we have seen so far, how can you be confident with any prediction? That’s the stance being adopted by Jeff Goodman of Fox Sports. Goodman closes his column today with “I should be shocked to see VCU one win from the national championship game, or Stevens roaming the sidelines for the second consecutive year. There’s no way I would have said this was the year for Kentucky to get back to the Final Four or for UConn to be nationally relevant again. But this season, there’s been no shortage of surprises, and don’t be shocked if it continues until the nets are snipped.”

Some journalists will play it safe and some will pin their colours to the mast, but whatever your stance today, you are pretty much untouchable whoever you pick so you might as well be bold. On that note, I’m taking VCU. No matter how much Butler want to mess up their rythym, Virginia Commonwealth can do the damage from outside the paint. But that can also of course be the sure fire way to book their ticket home. If Skeen and Burgess have washed the magic dust off their hands and the rim sees most of the action early doors then Butler won’t have to upset VCU’s composure.

But why would you bet against them? Their run and their three point scoring has been nothing short of insane, and it is more fun to believe in the fairytale. The Star Tribune’s Myron P. Medcalf points out that we can stop referring to them as plucky underdogs now, and can stop referring to their heart. Butler and VCU are there because they deserve to be on merit, because of their talent.

Seedings have counted for nothing this year, so don’t be fooled by the numbers that come after UConn and Kentucky’s names. It is perfect for this year’s tournament that whatever happens, we will be left with a clear favourite against a talented underdog in the championship game. The Rams have butted their way past Gerogetown (6), Purdue (3) and Kansas (1) to get this far, so why is an eighth seed going to stop them now? The reason they remain as equally unfancied as they are dangerous is because a lot of onlookers can’t actually work out how they’ve done it.