2011 NCAA Tournament Elite Eight – Southwest Region
#1 Kansas Jayhawks vs. #11 VCU Rams, Alamodome, San Antonio, TX
Sunday, March 27, 2011, 2:20 pm Eastern, TV: CBS
Opening Line: Kansas -11.5
Current Line: Kansas -11.5
Opening Total: 146
Current Total: 146
Money Line: Kansas -800 / VCU +600
The 11th-seeded VCU Rams (27-11) can become the lowest seed to make the Final Four since George Mason in 2006 when they square off against the top-seeded Kansas Jayhawks (35-2) on Sunday in the Southwest Regional Final at the Alamodome in San Antonio. Like the Patriots, the Rams are from the Colonial Athletic Association and will need to beat the best team from their part of the bracket in order to advance to the national semifinals for the first time in school history.
Kansas (-11.5) has won 11 straight games after crushing #12 Richmond 77-57 in the Sweet 16 on Friday as a 10-point favorite behind a team-high 18 points from senior guard Brady Morningstar. The Jayhawks were able to overcome a lackluster performance from twins Markieff and Marcus Morris, who combined for 18 points and 13 rebounds as they battled foul trouble. Thomas Robinson picked up the slack though with 12 points and a team-high 14 boards.
The Spiders shot just 34 percent from the field and got off to a terrible start, trailing 35-11 with 4:43 remaining in the first half. They never recovered and could not get closer than 15 points after halftime. Kansas shot 52 percent in the first half and outrebounded Richmond by a 41-33 margin for the game. The team is 3-1 against the spread in the last four games after going 0-4-1 in the previous five.
While the Jayhawks have been favored by eight points or more in all three of their previous games in the NCAA tournament, Virginia Commonwealth has won four in a row as underdogs, starting in the First Four at Dayton. The Rams were one of the most questionable selections in the Big Dance but won their first three games by an average of more than 16 points.
VCU is coming off a 72-71 overtime victory against #10 Florida State on Friday in the Sweet 16 despite blowing a 57-49 lead with 10:16 left in regulation. The Rams scored only one basket in the last 7:54 of regulation and were fortunate to play an extra session after the Seminoles settled for a 3-pointer with a chance to win the game in the final seconds.
Bradford Burgess scored a game-high 26 points for Virginia Commonwealth and made the game-winning basket in overtime after Florida State had gone up 71-70 with 30 seconds remaining. The Seminoles shot 37 percent from the floor and outrebounded the Rams 45-28 but still fell short.
The OVER has cashed in VCU’s last two games along with four of six following UNDERs in the previous five. The UNDER has cashed in three straight for Kansas along with six of eight.
Now that you have read this NCAA tournament college basketball betting preview featuring Kansas & VCU, check out the NCAA basketball odds on this and all the games to compare the best lines at multiple sportsbooks.
