If the bracketological consensus of the moment is correct, the Virginia Commonwealth Rams are headed for a No. 6 seed in the NCAA tournament. And here at GK Central, we can't help feeling that's a case of a talented underdog getting too famous too fast.
Oh, not because VCU doesn't deserve a good seed. Most analytics systems peg the Rams as a top-20 team, so if anything, VCU ought to get a No. 5 seed. It's just that we're moved to ask: After years of underappreciating Shaka Smart & Co., now the NCAA is going to turn VCU from Killers into Giants? Seriously?
Because, you see, VCU in 2013 has giant-killing potential like no team we have ever seen before. Smart and his crew have refined their strategies for beating overdogs to the point that it looks like they wrote the code for our Giant Killers statistical model. And we would love to see VCU get one more crack at taking down top seeds from below before they turn into the next Gonzaga.
To read Peter Keating's full breakdown of VCU, sign up for ESPN Insider today.
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Giant Killers Blog
Giant Killers is Insider's annual metrics-based forecast of NCAA tournament upsets. A Giant Killer is a team that beats a tourney opponent seeded at least five spots higher. For a full explanation of our model, click here.
Peter Keating
Peter Keating is a senior writer at ESPN The Magazine, where he has covered investigative and financial stories since 1999. His work on concussions in football has earned awards from the Deadline Club, the New York Press Club and the Center for the Study of Sport in Society. He joined the Giant Killers team in 2008.
Follow Peter Keating on Twitter.
Jordan Brenner
Jordan Brenner is a contributing writer for ESPN The Magazine and ESPN Insider. He has covered pro and college basketball for the last decade and launched the Giant Killers project in 2006.
Follow Jordan Brenner on Twitter.
