Final Four: VCU reaches new heights

Jamie Skeen is scared to death of heights. So as Virginia Commonwealth's forward started up the ladder to snip a piece of championship net, he stopped on the second rung.

Skeen is 6-foot-9, but that was barely enough to reach the net with the scissors. Somewhat nervously — he was afraid teammate Ed Nixon was going to shake the ladder — he finally got his piece of twine.

"I'm on cloud nine right now," Skeen said, relieved after he climbed down.

That scene was appropriate, because Skeen and the Rams climbed heights unimaginable Sunday.

VCU is going to the Final Four.

The Rams continued their romp through the Southwest Region, taking down the final No.1 seed left in the NCAA tournament, storied Kansas, 71-61 in the final at the Alamodome and punching their ticket to Houston.

VCU (28-11), the third 11th seed to make the Final Four, will play eighth-seeded Butler (26-9), the Southeast Region champ, in another improbable matchup Saturday at 6:09 p.m.

"Nobody else believes it but us," Rams point guard Joey Rodriguez said. "We're shocking the world, but we're not shocking each other. We always knew we could come out and compete with these teams."

Who can doubt the Rams at this point? A team that was much maligned as an unworthy at-large selection, a team that finished fourth in the Colonial Athletic Association — and needed a last-second shot from Skeen to advance past the quarterfinals in the CAA tournament — a team that hasn't snipped nets all year because it didn't even win the CAA, has put it all together with a stunning, head-shaking run.

"It wasn't in our heads earlier [that we could get to the Final Four]," Nixon said. "Once we beat USC, it was like, 'OK.' Then we beat — was it Georgetown? — it was like, 'OK.' Then we beat Purdue, was it? It was like all right, we can do this. Came here and beat Florida State, the best defensive team in the nation. It was like all right, they're tough, but they ain't that tough. And now we beat a No. 1 seed."

Kansas came in as the second-ranked team in the nation, with a 35-2 record. In the pregame meeting for captains, Rodriguez said one of the Jayhawks' Morris twins — Marcus or Markieff, he didn't know which one — told him, "Y'all had a good run. It's about to end now."

"We'll see," Rodriguez said.

Kansas jumped to a 6-0 lead and was ahead 10-9 with 14:18 left in the first half. That was the Jayhawks' last lead.

With 3-point-happy VCU bombing in nine shots from behind the arc, the Rams opened a 14-point halftime lead. When the inevitable run came from Kansas — 17-5 to start the second half — VCU weathered the comeback and pulled away.

"We knew in the second half they were going to make a run, a strong run," VCU's Bradford Burgess said. "They're No.1 for a reason. If we stuck together and handled their run, we'd be able to make a run of our own."

The Jayhawks cut the gap to two with 13 minutes remaining, and things seemed to be unraveling for the Rams. Coach Shaka Smart had been hit with his first technical of the year after Nixon was called for an offensive foul. The crowd of 14,299, heavy with Kansas supporters and sensing the kill, raised the noise to an almost deafening level.

"That was crazy because the crowd got so loud," Skeen said. "I'm not going to lie. I was nervous. At the same time, I knew we could counterpunch."

Skeen made two free throws. Darius Theus made a layup. Toby Veal made a hook shot. Skeen made a 3-pointer, and suddenly VCU was back up by nine with 10:52 left.

Clutch 3-pointers by Rodriguez and Burgess and nearly flawless free-throw shooting down the stretch made sure Kansas never got closer than five.

Skeen, the region's most valuable player, had 26 points and 10 rebounds. He hit four of the Rams' 12 3-pointers. Brandon Rozzell, enjoying his 22nd birthday, hit four treys and had 12 points.

Kansas, averaging 81.7 points, made just 2 of 21 3-pointers, shot 35.5 percent overall and connected on just 15 of 28 free throws.

"It's still hard to believe, but we did it," Rozzell said. "I knew we could come in and play great basketball, but I had no idea it would carry us this far."

The Rams spent a long time celebrating. As they were waiting for the trophy to be presented, freshman Rob Brandenberg did a little dance on the stage. "Coach didn't tell me we were going to the Final Four when he was recruiting me," he said.

They eventually made their way into the stands to slap hands with a strong contingent of fans and family members. Smart, the last one up the ladder, walked around with the net around his neck.

"Ever seen the movie 'Major League?'" he said. "I can't say exactly what the guy says, but they get in some situations, and there's only one thing left to do, win the whole blank thing. And that's all there is left to do."

tpearrell@timesdispatch.com

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