One and a half seconds remain. University of Virginia’s Kyle Guy receives the inbound pass on the corner of the 3-point line with Auburn University’s Samir Doughty closing out on him instantly. Guy shoots with 0.6 seconds remaining, but it is just off, the red lights flash and the buzzer sounds.
Auburn has done something no one truly thought was possible in knocking off four Goliaths of college basketball – Kansas University, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, University of Kentucky and Virginia – en route to a shocking NCAA Tournament championship appearance. That is, until a foul is called on Doughty who just grazed the mid-section of Guy with the Tigers up, 62-60.
Shock and awe. The Tigers had a chance to be up three points but missed one of the two free throws a few seconds prior. Now, Virginia’s best free throw shooter is at the line and calmly hits all three shots, Bruce Pearl draws up a solid in-bound play, but there is not enough time to run it successfully and so it ends with Auburn falling just shy by the slightest of margins.
For one side, it is jubilation. Under Tony Bennett, Virginia has consistently come up short of expectations, with the inability to get this far in the tournament since 1984, despite regularly being one of the top seeds.
On the other side, a team feels robbed. A double dribble was missed by the officials with around five seconds on the clock, which, if called, would have given possession back to Auburn, to which they likely would have been intentionally fouled, and assuming they hit the free throws, would have put the game away and its historic season would have one more chapter.
Then, a foul was called to end the game. It was certainly a foul, but it is the fact that no one ever wants to see a game that ends by way of officiating, especially when they missed a call just a few plays earlier.
Now, both teams move on in different directions, with the Cavaliers looking to hoist their first championship ever, and the Tigers head home wondering, "what if?"
Monday night, Virginia will face a red-hot Texas Tech University that just got off handling Michigan State to advance to the championship game after knocking-off one seed Gonzaga University in the Elite Eight and two seed Michigan in the Sweet Sixteen.
If Virginia wants a chance to win, it will need to stick to its game plan: defend Jarrett Culver at all cost. Culver, who is averaging 19.2 points per game in the tournament, is coming off his worst game in the tournament, where he had only 10 points.
The Cavaliers can’t expect him to play that poorly again. They need to play Virginia ball, which means playing it slow and steady offensively, while battling on the other end. If they get a lead, they can not squander it like they did against Auburn, mainly because of how potent an offense Chris Beard runs with his Red Raiders.
The matchup is set. Virginia has a chance to get a major monkey off its back, but it won’t come easy. The chance to cut down the nets is in reach. The Cavaliers just have to snatch it.
Correction: A previous headline of this article misspelled Virginia. The IDS regrets this error.
