Final Four set: VCU pulls off major upset; UK knocks off UNC

Ladies & gentlemen, it is official. For only the third time in tournament history, the Final Four will NOT feature a No. 1 seed. The #11 VCU Rams made sure of that as they avenged their neighbors, the Richmond Spiders, by becoming the third 11-seeded team to make it to the Final Four (LSU-1986; George Mason-2006) with a major upset win over #1 Kansas, 71-61 in the Southwest regional finals of the NCAA tournament.

Tournament MVP Jamie Skeen of VCU led all scorers with 26 points, as well as grabbing 10 rebounds and picking up two steals. Classmate Brandon Rozzell was the only other Ram in double-figures with 12 points, but it was the defense that stole the show. Kansas, who came in averaging over 81 points a game and led the country in field-goal percentage, was held to just 61 points and 36% from the field, including a 2-for-21 performance from beyond the arc. The 61 points was the least amount of points the Jayhawks have scored all year.

With the introduction to expanding the tournament field to 68 teams this year, the Rams are the very first team to go from First Four to Final Four. Along the way, they have conquered the "power" conferences, which includes the Pac-10 (USC), the Big East (Georgetown), the Big 10 (Purdue), the ACC (Florida State) and now the Big 12 (Kansas). A new conference now stands in their way, a "mid-major" known as the Horizon League in the form of the #8 Butler Bulldogs. These two teams will face each other on Saturday, April 2nd at 8:45 pm ET at the Final Four inside Reliant Stadium in Houston, TX.




Wildcats' Brandon Knight led his team with 22 points as #4 Kentucky advanced to the Final Four for the first time since their 1998 national title with a 76-69 win over #2 North Carolina in the East regional finals of the NCAA tournament. The Wildcats turned back a late surge by the Tar Heels, who erased an 11-point deficit before running out of gas in the final 2 minutes. DeAndre Liggins added 12 points for Kentucky, including a 3-pointer from the corner with 37 seconds remaining to help lift the Wildcats.

A season after falling a game short of the Final Four behind a roster filled with future NBA stars, the Wildcats are heading to the national semifinals for the 14th time behind Knight's heady play and head coach John Calipari's relentless energy as they head into Houston, TX at Reliant Stadium to face the #3 Connecticut Huskies. The game will be played on Saturday at 6 pm ET.