'Nova-Pitt goes down as an instant classic
Posted: Saturday, March 28, 2009 9:57 PM
Filed Under:
March Madness, Big East
If you could design the perfect finish to an NCAA tournament game, it’d probably feature Tyus Edney – or Danny Ainge, depending on your generation – making a mad dash the length of the floor, or Bryce Drew and Valparaiso, winning off an in-bounds play that had a little trickery.
Or, it could have a little of both. Just like Villanova’s classic 78-76 victory against No. 1 Pittsburgh in the East Regional final.
Brian Snyder/Reuters |
Villanova celebrates Scottie Reynolds' game-winning basket.
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It’s only fair that a game with 15 lead changes – six in the last six minutes – would end with a dramatic flair. To recap:
Pitt’s Levance Fields hit two free throws, tying the game at 76-76 with 5.5 seconds remaining. After a timeout, Villanova’s Reggie Redding inbounded the ball to Dante Cunningham, who immediately dished it to Scottie Reynolds, coming around Cunningham’s side, much like Drew did against Ole Miss in 1998. Reynolds, a la Edney, then dribbled through the Pitt defense and into the lane where he put up an off-balance shot just in front of Pitt’s Gilbert Brown that rattled home just before time expired).
Just like that (well, actually after the officials determined there was half a second left, which allowed Fields to launch a 70-foot heave that missed), a great game became a classic because of the finish and the stakes involved.
"It's an instinct play. You've got to know how much time is on the clock," Reynolds said. “In that situation, you have four dribbles and a shot. That’s five seconds. All that goes in your head. That’s why we practice that every day in practice so we can make an instinct play. We did that,” Reynolds said. “It worked tonight. Only has to work once.”
Once was enough. Now, the Wildcats (30-7) are headed to their first Final Four since winning it all in 1985. The Panthers (31-5), after a season in which they were perhaps the NCAA’s most consistently good team and reached No. 1 in the AP poll for the first time in school history, are headed home.
"A moment where it felt like we had it done," Pitt's DeJuan Blair said. "And then it was anybody's ball game."
It was like most of the great moments in NCAA tournament history - steadfast thinking with a little bit of luck. No doubt it'll get replayed again and again, every March.
The regional finals have featured good games the last few years, like Georgetown’s rally against UNC in 2007 and in 2006 when George Mason stunned UConn.
The 2005 Elite Eight also comes to mind. Michigan State beat Kentucky in double OT and Louisville’s rally against West Virginia were both great to watch.
But Illinois’ remarkable OT comeback against Arizona – down 15 with four minutes to play – was the best NCAA tournament game of the decade. It featured two dominant teams, both of which were worthy of the Final Four, playing superb basketball.
Sounds a lot like Saturday. Great teams, great finish, great game. Maybe even the best this decade.
