VCU deserves to celebrate after victory over Florida State

If you haven't had the privilege of seeing a VCU's postgame celebration, it's something worth watching.

After Friday 72-71 overtime victory against Florida State, VCU coach Shaka Smart went into the locker room, said few words and then yielded the floor freshman forward Heath Houston for the traditional postgame dance.

Houston started off by doing the Seminoles Tomahawk Chop with his left arm then pretended to cut off the arm with his right end. Then he transitioned into what could best be described as a series of MMA moves culminating in Houston and his teammates stomping their opponent on the floor of their locker room.

Remember, this is the same VCU team that was giving Florida State players high fives and daps as they passed the Seminoles in the arena hallway after defeating Purdue to get to the Sweet 16. Florida State was preparing for its game against Notre Dame.

But on this night VCU deserved to celebrate because the Rams survived a game that they should have lost twice. Had it not been for poor clock management by Florida State and the Seminoles inability to consistently make shots, the Rams could have been blown out of San Antonio.

VCU actually blew a nine-point lead and scored just three points in the final 7 minutes and 37 seconds of regulation.

But VCU came up big with it needed it the most. With 7.9 second remaining in overtime, guard Joey Rodriguez inbounded the ball to Bradford Burgess, who made a layup with 7.1 seconds remaining. It would ultimately be the game winner and send the Rams to the school's first Elite Eight appearance.

The lowest remaining seed in the tournament will now advance to play Kansas, the highest remaining seed, on Sunday.

VCU becomes the first team to win four games to reach the Elite Eight -- this is the first year with multiple play-in games -- and is just the fifth 11-seed to make it to the Elite Eight.

So go on and dance VCU. You've earned it.

Related: Florida State Seminoles

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Friday’s Three Stars: Sens, Pens blank; rough night for Florida

No. 1 Star: Craig Anderson(notes), Ottawa Senators

Anderson stopped 31 shots, including 12 in the third period, as the Senators upset the Ovechkin-less Washington Capitals, 2-0, who had won 11 of their last 12. It's his second shutout of the season and with the Senators. He has now allowed one goal or less in 9 of the 13 games he's played with Ottawa.

No. 2 Star: Drew Stafford(notes), Buffalo Sabres

Stafford was clutch for the Sabres in their 4-2 victory over the Florida Panthers. He broke a 1-1 tie in the second period by finishing off a nice passing play with Brad Boyes(notes) and Tyler Ennis(notes). In the third, he put the game away by scoring 13 seconds after he assisted on teammate Jordan Leopold's(notes) power-play goal. It was Stafford's fifth multi-goal game in 2011.

No. 3 Star: Marc-Andre Fleury(notes), Pittsburgh Penguins

The King of March 25 struck again. Fleury made 21 saves and pitched his fourth shutout in five seasons on that date, blanking the New Jersey Devils, 1-0, in the shootout. James Neal(notes) had the lone goal in the skills competition. The Penguins goalie faced one shot in a first period that saw his team put just three shots on Marty Brodeur (26 saves).

Honorable mention: Huge win for the Carolina Hurricanes to keep pace for the playoffs, topping the Tampa Bay Lightning, 4-3. Erik Cole(notes) had two goals and Eric Staal(notes) scored a power-play goal and added an assist. Simon Gagne(notes) scored two power-play goals for the Bolts, who saw Dwayne Roloson(notes) peppered with 39 shots. … Roberto Luongo(notes) made 30 saves, including 12 in the third, as the Vancouver Canucks defeated the Atlanta Thrashers, 3-1. Mason Raymond(notes), Alex Bolduc and Alex Burrows had the goals. Bryan Little(notes) scored unassisted for the Thrash. … Colin Greening(notes) scored a goal that went to the review booth and Erik Condra(notes) had the other tally for the Sens. … Sergei Samsonov's(notes) goal gave him 10 points in 13 games since being acquired by the Panthers.

Did you know? Samsonov's goal 4:01 into the game ended the Panthers' scoring drought at 135:35. (AP)

Dishonorable mention: Close call for David Booth(notes) tonight. The Panthers forward took a puck to the throat with 2:31 left in the first period, and was taken to the hospital for precautionary reasons. He was cleared and accompanied the team to Pittsburgh. … The Panthers were eliminated from the playoff race, and will be out of the money for an NHL record 10th consecutive season. Ouch. … "I don't know how Buffalo played, but if they win I think we're done," said Ilya Kovalchuk(notes) after the Devils' loss. And so it was. … Steve Downie(notes) had a 10-minute misconduct for the Lightning. … Finally, Zack Smith(notes) was given 5 for fighting, 2 for instigating and a misconduct for this fight with Matt Bradley(notes). The Caps forward got 2 for boarding and 5 for the fight.

Related: Dwayne Roloson, Colin Greening, Erik Condra, Tyler Ennis, Mason Raymond, David Booth, Eric Staal, Drew Stafford, Steve Downie, James Neal, Marc-Andre Fleury, Ilya Kovalchuk, Sergei Samsonov, Roberto Luongo, Simon Gagne, Jordan Leopold, Matt Bradley, Erik Cole, Brad Boyes, Craig Anderson, Atlanta Thrashers, Buffalo Sabres, Carolina Hurricanes, Florida Panthers, New Jersey Devils, Ottawa Senators, Pittsburgh Penguins, Tampa Bay Lightning, Vancouver Canucks, Washington Capitals

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Florida coach’s advice ultimately helps Butler into the Final Four

When Butler started the season 4-4, coach Brad Stevens looked to his coaching friends for help.

He was in uncharted territory. He'd never come off a national championship appearance and been so highly rated to start the year. The Bulldogs played a tough early schedule, which included Louisville, Duke and Xavier, and it wasn't handling the pressure or hype very well.

So Stevens turned to Florida coach Billy Donovan, whose Gators had played in back-to-back national championships in 2006 and 2007. Little did Donovan know that his pep talk would not only get Butler out of its funk -- it's gone on to win 23 of its last 28 games -- but that it would also ultimately help the Bulldogs knock the Gators out of the NCAA tournament.

Butler defeated Florida 74-71 in overtime to notch their second consecutive trip to the Final Four.

"I was just asking him what it was like to go and come off of those national championship game appearances and he's had a lot more than we have," Stevens said in the interview with CBS that was taped Friday. "Certainly there's something to be said about a person who's been through that and understands what that target feels like. "

Neither Donovan nor Stevens got into any of the specifics of the conversation and I doubt that Donovan pointed out any of the current weaknesses of his program that could have helped Butler to Saturday's win. But it's interesting that what was an innocuous conversation in December ended up playing a pivotal role in Butler's confidence heading into the tournament and the game, and probably gave Stevens enough confidence to help lead his team to yet another improbable win.

"My responsibility as a coach is to try and help other people," Donovan said during the interview. "I love talking back and forth. I don't know if I helped Brad or not. He's done a great job with his team."

Related: Butler Bulldogs

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Florida Panthers Blueprint Advisory Board, assemble!

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Welcome back to the party, Florida State. Can you stay awhile this time?

Florida State 31, Florida 7. Florida's descent into 7-5 madness has been well chronicled by the large anti-Addazian faction of the Gator fan base, and will be subjected to exhaustive postmortems in the coming weeks. Jimbo Fisher's debut in Year One of the post-Bowden era in Tallahassee, on the other hand, has been significantly quitter – one of the perks of diminished expectations and early flops in high-profile games. But as of today, Fisher's Seminoles…

• Snapped a six-game losing streak to Florida, and not only beat both instate rivals in the same season for the first time since Chris Weinke, Peter Warrick and Co. ran the table en route to the BCS title in 1999, but dominated them: The Hurricanes and Gators fell by a combined 76-24.

• Finished with nine regular season wins for the first time since taking the ACC title in 2003, the last year before the conference expanded with the addition of Miami, Virginia Tech and Boston College.

• Won six ACC games for the first time since 2004, and with N.C. State's loss to Maryland, wrapped up the ACC Atlantic and a trip to the ACC Championship Game for the first time since 2005, the first year of the two-division/championship game format.

• Transmogrified from an underachieving defense that allowed 30 points per game in 2009, 94th nationally, into a unit giving up a little under 18 points per game under first-year coordinator Mark Stoops, 15th nationally before stoning the Gators this afternoon.

At the beginning of the season, the prevailing question in Tallahassee – above specific goals like a division or conference championship, or even ending the losing streak to Florida – was whether a stagnant program could regained momentum toward its birthright as ACC overlord and perennial national contender under the new administration, or whether it would come to the sobering realization that the malaise of the last five years didn't leave with the old man.

It's a little early still for a final verdict when there's still a conference championship game to play. But you know, there is a conference championship game to play, at a place that's been defined for years now by its consistent failure to compete for the ACC crown despite continuing to dominate in-conference recruiting. Since being eviscerated at Oklahoma on Sept. 11, the 'Noles' only two losses have come by a combined six points in the dying seconds against N.C. State and North Carolina. If Christian Ponder doesn't put the ball on the ground on a routine play-action fake with the winning touchdown in sight in Raleigh, FSU could be 10-2 and on the verge of the top 10.

As it is, the 'Noles are a win away from the BCS, which certainly beats another funeral dirge.

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Related: Boston College Eagles, Florida Gators, Miami (FL) Hurricanes, North Carolina Tar Heels, Oklahoma Sooners, Virginia Tech Hokies

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