The No. 11 seed Virginia Commonwealth Rams, the final remnants of #3Bids4CAA, and the most unlikely of the bunch if you listened to the pundits, trail the No. 3 seed Purdue Boilernmakers 18-17 at the 10-minute mark of the first half.
Ryne Smith, who produced a goose egg in the points column a game ago, already has 11 points and three rebounds in ten minutes of play. Purdue's two stars, JaJuan Johnson and E'twaun Moore, have been held in check, with only Johnson scoring a bucket.
Juvonte Reddic and Jamie Skeen have led the Rams with six and five points, respectively. Much like with Purdue's Smith, Reddic's offense is an extremely pleasant surprise for Shaka Smart's club.
In just ten minutes of play Purdue has shown a much greater competency against the VCU pressure than the Georgetown Hoyas mustered in their upset loss to the Rams. This game has "tight contest throughout" written all over it, something CAA hoops fans need after the George Mason debacle that just wrapped.