VCU Vs. Butler Score: Butler Defeats VCU, Reaches NCAA Championship Game

The VCU Rams racked up a high score of low-seed casualties through the 2011 NCAA Tournament, but it was No. 8 Butler who was finally able to knock out the giant-killers, dispatching No. 11 VCU by a score of 70-62. It was much closer than all that; VCU was within four before falling behind for good and, backs against the wall, playing the joyless intentional-foul game for the rest of the night. Jamie Skeen led VCU with 27 points and six rebounds in the loss. For the winners, Shelvin Mack had 23 points and six rebounds, including a crucial five point run to put the Bulldogs ahead for good in the second half.

Butler advances to the NCAA Championship Game, where they’ll play the winner of the upcoming UConn-Kentucky overdog bracket. It’s Butler’s second consecutive trip to the national championship, having lost to Duke as a No. 4 seed in the 2010 championship after advancing as a much less implausible underdog through that tournament.