VCU wasn’t even supposed to be here. If you believe the doubters, and I was one of them, the Rams should’ve never received a bid into the NCAA Tournament. But a week, and three wins, later, VCU is in the Sweet Sixteen after knocking off Georgetown and Purdue in back-to-back games. NCAA bracket spoiler? You bet the Rams are.
VCU hasn’t just won in its second and third round games, either. The Rams have completely dominated two opponents that were, on paper, much better. An 18-point win over Georgetown could’ve been dismissed, but doing it again, this time against Purdue? Well, that’s enough to make even the biggest doubter stand up and tip their cap.
On Sunday, it was a completely dominant performance from the Rams in a 94-76 win over Purdue. VCU took a 10-point lead into the half and blew the game open in the second. The final score doesn’t even begin to do justice to VCU’s performance in the round of 32.
Bradford Burgess came off the bench to lead the way for the Rams with 25 points, overshadowing Purdue star JaJuan Johnson’s 22 points. Joey Rodriguez played facilitator for VCU, finishing with 12 points and 10 rebounds while seemingly grabbing every loose ball throughout the game.
VCU moves on to face either Notre Dame or Florida State in the Sweet Sixteen. At this point, would it surprise anyone to see the Rams in the Elite Eight?
The full Southwest region can be found below and a full, printable bracket can be found at SB Nation.
No. 1 Kansas vs. No. 9 Illinois Fighting Illini
No. 12 Richmond Spiders def. No. 13 Morehead St. Eagles, 65-48
No. 12 VCU Rams def. No. 3 Purdue Boilermakers, 94-76
No. 2 Notre Dame Fighting Irish vs. No. 10 Florida State Seminoles
For the full television lineup, check out our March Madness schedule in the Daily Drip. Be sure to check back in with our NCAA Tournament results StoryStream for updates throughout the day.