2011 NCAA Tournament Third Round – Southwest Region
#3 Purdue Boilermakers vs. #11 VCU Rams, United Center, Chicago, IL
Sunday, March 20, 2011, 7:10 pm Eastern, TV: TBS
Opening Line: Purdue -9.5
Current Line: Purdue -9
Opening Total: 135.5
Current Total: 135
Money Line: Purdue -485 / VCU +385
The 11th-seeded VCU Rams (25-11) continue to prove they were a wise at-large pick by the selection committee for the 2011 NCAA tournament field, winning their first two games heading into this Southwest Region third-round matchup with the third-seeded Purdue Boilermakers (26-7) on Sunday at the United Center in Chicago. The Rams have been underdogs in their last four games going back to the Colonial Athletic Conference tournament, where they lost to Old Dominion 70-65 in the championship game.
Three teams from the Colonial wound up in the Big Dance, with Virginia Commonwealth and George Mason both still standing in the third round. The Monarchs were bounced by Butler 60-58 in the second round after winning the conference’s automatic bid.
The Rams have been very impressive in both of their first two NCAA tournament games, winning both by double digits. They knocked out #6 Georgetown in a 74-56 rout on Friday in the second round after beating USC 59-46 on Wednesday in the First Four. The UNDER cashed in both of those games and has gone 7-2 in the team’s last nine going back to the regular season.
VCU made 12 of 25 attempts from 3-point range to bury the Hoyas, as Brandon Rozzell led the way with 6 of 10 en route to a team-high 26 points. The Rams held a 35-24 lead at halftime and never let Georgetown back in the game, going up by as many as 25 points after the break.
Purdue (-9) snapped a three-game skid against the spread with a 65-43 victory against #14 St. Peter’s in the second round as a 15.5-point favorite. The Boilermakers had also lost their last two games straight-up heading into the Big Dance, including a 74-56 blowout loss to Michigan State in the Big Ten Conference tournament.
Seniors E’Twaun Moore and JaJuan Johnson continued to lead Purdue against the Peacocks like they have all season, scoring 19 and 16 points, respectively. Johnson also grabbed a game-high 16 rebounds to give the team a huge 40-26 advantage on the boards.
The Boilermakers are trying to make their third straight trip to the Sweet 16, where they have lost each of the past two years. They have allowed just one opponent to score more than 70 points in their last 12 games, with the UNDER cashing in their last three overall along with five of six. Both teams are giving up an average of less than 60 points in their past five games.
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