Road to the Final Four

Author:
SI Staff
Publish date:
Mar 31, 2011

Road to the Final Four

(11) VCU 59, (11) USC 46

A recap of each of the four teams' tournament win on the road to Houston, starting with surprise entry VCU. Jamie Skeen scored 16 points and the Rams more than held their own inside against bigger and stronger Southern California in a 59-46 "First Four" victory.

(11) VCU 74, (6) Georgetown 56

Brandon Rozzell led four players in double figures and VCU made 12 3-pointers to stun Georgetown with a 74-56 win that showed any remaining doubters the Rams do, indeed, belong in the NCAA tournament. Rozzell tied his career-high with six 3-pointers and finished with 26 points.

(11) VCU 94, (3) Purdue 76

The Rams pressured Purdue, broke through its defense for numerous layups, and overwhelmed the Boilermakers 94-76 to earn their first trip to the Sweet 16.

(11) VCU 72, (10) Florida State 71 OT

Bradford Burgess made a layup off an inbounds pass with 7.1 seconds left in overtime, and Rob Brandenberg (inset, left) blocked a shot at the buzzer, giving VCU a 72-71 victory over Florida State in a Southwest Region semifinal.

(11) VCU 71, (1) Kansas 61

Head coach Shaka Smart's Rams stunned the Jayhawks 71-61, becoming just the third 11th seed to make the Final Four.

(8) Butler 60, (9) Old Dominion 58

Matt Howard's tip-in at the buzzer carried the Bulldogs past Old Dominion and into the next round of the Southeast Regional.

(8) Butler 71, (1) Pittsburgh 70

Matt Howard made one free throw with 0.8 seconds left to cap a wild final sequence that enabled Butler to advance to the Sweet 16 and deal Pittsburgh its latest painful exit from the NCAAs.

(8) Butler 61, (4) Wisconsin 54

After narrowly surviving its first two NCAA tournament games by margins of two points or fewer, Butler led by 20 points before holding on for a 61-54 victory over the Badgers. Matt Howard (54) had 20 points and 12 rebounds, and Shelvin Mack (1) scored 13 points for Butler. Jon Leuer, normally one of the Badgers' top offensive forces with 18.7 points per game coming in, was 1-of-12 shooting and finished with three points.

(8) Butler 74, (2) Florida 71 OT

Shelvin Mack (right) scored 27 points, including five in overtime, and Butler reached the Final Four for the second year in a row under head coach Brad Stevens (left) with a 74-71 victory over Florida.

(4) Kentucky 59, (13) Princeton 57

Freshman guard Brandon Knight missed his first seven shots and even found himself on the bench in the final minute against Princeton. Held scoreless for more than 39 minutes, Knight made a driving layup with two seconds remaining to lift Kentucky to a 59-57 win over Princeton.

(4) Kentucky 71, (5) West Virginia 63

Less than 48 hours after his only basket helped the fourth-seeded Wildcats survive their tourney opener against Princeton, Brandon Knight led an 11-0 run coming out of halftime and made six free throws in the final minute to close out a 71-63 victory over fifth-seeded West Virginia. Knight scored a career-best 30 points in the game.

(4) Kentucky 62, (1) Ohio State 60

Brandon Knight added to the Buckeyes' March misery by knocking down his second winner of the postseason, a 15-footer with 5 seconds left to lift the Wildcats to a 62-60 victory.

(4) Kentucky 76, (2) North Carolina 69

Brandon Knight scored 22 points as coach John Calipari (right) and the Wildcats advanced to the Final Four for the first time since their 1998 national title with a 76-69 win over North Carolina.

(3) Connecticut 81, (14) Bucknell 52

Kemba Walker had a career-high 12 assists, a UConn record for an NCAA tournament game, scored 18 points and grabbed eight rebounds to lead Connecticut to an 81-52 victory over Bucknell.

(3) Connecticut 69, (6) Cincinnati 58

Kemba Walker scored 33 points, including 16 over the final 10 minutes, as Connecticut knocked off conference foe Cincinnati 69-58 to advance to the Sweet 16.

(3) Connecticut 74, (2) San Diego State 67

Kemba Walker sliced up San Diego State's defense for 22 points on shots from all angles and distances in the second half of Connecticut's West regional semifinal. Walker scored 36 points in yet another dynamic postseason performance, driving UConn down the stretch to a 74-67 victory.

(3) Connecticut 65, (5) Arizona 63

Jim Calhoun could scarcely watch when the most improbable postseason run of his coaching life at Connecticut came down to an open 3-point attempt by Arizona's Jamelle Horne. The shot clanged off the back of the rim. The clock hit zeros. Earning its second Final Four berth in three years, UConn simply hasn't lost since a .500 Big East regular season, winning five games in five days at the conference tournament before this NCAA run.

Road to the Final Four