VCU had its share of doubters heading into this year’s NCAA tournament. They had a few less after Wednesday’s defensive dominance of USC. Tonight? I’m not sure there are any left. VCU took it’s first round momentum and turned it into a 74-56 domination of 6th-seeded Georgetown. The Rams came out hot offensively, continued their impressive defense from round one, and put together perhaps their best all around performance of the year. The teams traded baskets early, and Georgetown’s Jason Clark gave the Hoyas an early 19-18 lead. But Brandon Rozzell answered with his third 3-pointer of the game, in what would be the story of VCU’s 2nd-straight upset over a power conference team. The Rams took an 11-point lead in the half and never looked back, piling on the points by hitting 12 of their 25 attempts from long range, and holding the Hoyas to 15 points below their season average. Brand Rozzell lead the Rams off the bench with 26 points in 28 minutes of play. The output was his fifth 20-point performance, and a season high for the senior from Richmond. Joey Rodriguez lead the Rams with 7 assists on the evening, and followed up Rozzell’s high with 17 points of his own. Bradford Burgess and Jamie Skeen, the two Rams VCU has perhaps leaned on more than any others, posted a matching 12 points each. Burgess, a 6’6 G/F hybrid, lead all players with 8 rebounds. The win was VCU’s 25th of the season, and moves them into what is now being called a “third round” matchup (after this year’s new “First Four” round) against the Purdue Boilermakers. The win was also the CAA’s second against the vaunted Big East Conference in a matter of hours, as George Mason had previously taken out Villanova in an 8 v. 9 matchup. The Rams have one day to rest and enjoy the praise and press they are sure to receive after being criticized so heavily by ESPN pundits. VCU tips off against Purdue this Sunday at 7:10PM Eastern Time.

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Warmed up Rams knockout Georgetown