March Madness is all about Cinderellas and fairy tale endings, and this year’s tournament has been full of them. So what were the best finishes so far?
5. No. 13 Morehead State 62, No. 4 Louisville 61 » A dream come true for the Eagles. Coach Donnie Tyndall had a vision the night before the game that was executed to perfection. Down two with time winding down, Tyndall decided he wanted to go for the win. Guard Demonte Harper stepped into a game-winning 3-pointer with 4.2 seconds left for the biggest second-round upset of the tournament.
4. No. 8 Butler 60, No. 9 Old Dominion 58 » It wasn’t pretty, but whatever works. With the game tied at 58-58, guard Shawn Vanzant drove into the lane and threw the ball toward the basket as he was falling. All Andrew Smith could do was tip it off the backboard, and Matt Howard was on the backside to grab the rebound and quickly put in the layup as time expired. Butler’s second-straight trip to the Final Four was underway.
3. No. 5 Arizona 70, No. 4 Texas 69 » Texas was up two points with possession of the ball and only 13 seconds remaining but still found a way to lose in regulation. Cory Joseph was called for a questionable five-second violation, which opened the door for Arizona. Derrick Williams drove to the hoop and threw the ball over his head as he was fouled. The ball found its way in, Williams completed the three-point play and Texas missed a wild last-second shot.
2. No. 8 Butler 71, No. 1 Pittsburgh 70 » This was like a car crash — gut-wrenching yet difficult to turn away from — as two unfathomable fouls were committed in less than two seconds. Butler guard Shelvin Mack’s halfcourt hack was topped by Pittsburgh forward Nasir Robinson’s fullcourt flub. Howard converted one of his free throw attempts, and Butler ended up on top in this foul-filled finish.
1. No. 4 Kentucky 62, No. 1 Ohio State 60 » Wildcats freshman guard Brandon Knight could be on this list twice, but the game-winner against the tournament’s top seed gets the nod over the buzzer-beater over Ivy League champ Princeton. Ohio State’s Jon Diebler hit a 3 with 21 seconds left to tie it up, and Knight responded by making a well-defended pull-up 15-foot jumper to regain the lead. Ohio State had one last chance, but its last-second 3-pointer fell short.
