What a Day of Madness! Chronicling the three Buzzer Beaters
Danero Thomas is mobbed by his Murray State teammates after hitting the game-winning shot to defeat Vanderbilt. (AP Photo/Marcio Jose Sanchez)
This first day of the opening round of the NCAA Tournament exemplified why it is called March Madness. Five teams seeded 10th or higher won.
Ohio throttled Georgetown, Old Dominion slipped by Notre Dame, and Saint Mary’s defeated Richmond. These three victories were considered upsets, and each of these games were thrilling.
But, aside from the edge-of-your-seat atmosphere of Robert Morris’ heartbreaking loss to Villanova, three contests were truly magical.
The Vanderbilt Commodores were not a title contender, but it wasn’t surprising to see them picked as a Sweet 16 participant.
The 13th-seeded Murray State Racers stationed in Murray, Kentucky set out to make sure they didn’t make it out of the first round—and they stunningly accomplished their goal.
The NCAA Tournament is amazing to watch in part because seedings don’t necessarily mean anything. Yes, Murray State is from a lesser-known conference, while Vanderbilt is from the very difficult and well-known SEC, but that doesn’t mean their talent level wasn’t superior.
Double-digit seeds defeating high-profile opponents are considered upsets, but are they really?
Murray State not only played like they were the better team, but they were the better team. Vanderbilt was extremely efficient down the stretch, hitting a wide range of big shots, but the Racers matched them, and drained the final.
After a miss by their guard, B.J. Jenkins, bounced off a Commodore and out of bounds, head coach Billy Kennedy pulled a play previously uncalled out of a hat, wanting guard Isacc Miles to take the last shot.
Miles took the inbounds pass with four seconds left on the right wing, penetrated in the middle and, with nowhere to go, spun around and passed to Danero Thomas, the proclaimed third option, who dribbled around two defenders and pulled up from 17-feet.
His wide-open attempt swished through , and bedlam ensued. A dog-pile formed on the other end of the court, with the Racers racing in joyous celebration. Vanderbilt’s A.J. Olgilvie collapsed to the ground in agony. This is why it’s called March Madness.
And it was only the beginning. Hours later, the Washington Huskies won in similar fashion, and then Wake Forest after that.
The Huskies tried to make a statement that the Pacific-10 isn’t all bad, and they proved there is at least one good team in the conference. They hung with sixth-seeded Marquette behind the play of spunky guard Isaiah Thomas, going back and forth for the majority before the final seconds decided the outcome.
Immensely-talented forward Quincy Pondexter started the contest slow, but finished with a bang. He grabbed a Golden Eagles miss with 34 seconds left, and it was presumed the Huskies would call a timeout to set up a final play...but with the game tied, and the ball in the hands of their best player, head coach Lorenzo Romar let it play out.
Pondexter dribbled at the top, waited for the clock to wind under ten seconds, and made his move. He drove into the lane on the right side, leaped, maneuvered his way under a Marquette defender, and banked in a off-balance short-jumper for the win.
The finish was ever-so exciting, even though it meant another loss for my bracket, but the conclusion to the Wake Forest-Texas game was better.
The Longhorns jumped out to a eight-point lead with three minutes remaining in overtime, but the Demon Deacons would not go quietly against a team that was ranked No. 1 in the country earlier this season.
A put-back dunk by Tony Woods and a pair of free-throws cut the deficit in half, but a jumper by Texas’s J’Covan Brown stretched the margin back to six with two minutes left.
Brown wasn’t done making an impact, but his play that followed was helped Wake Forest significantly. With a chance to drain some clock, and perhaps go ahead by eight or nine with a minute remaining, Brown drove upcourt with a minute and 30 seconds left and tried impatiently to shrug off the Deacon defense.
At halfcourt he used his arm to create space, an illegal move that sent the defender flying. The referee noticed and whistled Brown for a offensive foul. This was the beginning fo the end for the Longhorns.
Woods capitalized with another put-back dunk, trimming the lead to four. The Deacons would have to foul, and after letting 19 seconds drain off the clock, they fouled the right guy. Brown was sent the line, and promptly concluded his nightmarish minute—missing both free-throws to keep the door wide-open for Wake Forest.
Again, the Deacons took advantage of Brown’s inabilities as they grabbed another offensive rebound. Ari Stewart corralled the miss, was fouled, and did what Brown couldn’t—hitting a pair of free-throws to make it a one-possession game, 78-76, with 35 seconds left.
There was no difference between shot and game-clock, so Wake Forest was forced to foul. Brown redeemed himself, making a pair at the stripe, but after a frantic and clutch three-pointer by Stewart, Texas forward Gary Johnson wasn’t as lucky. He was fouled by guard Ishmael Smith, and clanged both free-throws.
Woods had made Brown pay, and now it was Smith’s turn to make Johnson the goat.
Smith dribbled on the left wing, crossed over his defender, and launched. His leaner from 17-feet swished through , and after a desperate heave by Texas fell woefully short, the Deacons celebrated the thrilling victory, capping a magnificent day of college basketball.
These three finishes were extraordinary...and these three weren’t the only buzzer beaters: Northern Iowa’s Ari Farokhmanesh dashed UNLV’s hopes by canning a 25-footer with under five seconds remaining. Four games decided in the final seconds.
What will the second day of the tourney have in store? It will be hard-pressed to duplicate this day of madness...but it’s the NCAA Tournament! Expect the unexpected.
