With the score tied and under 20 seconds to play, Washington coach Lorenzo Romar was thinking timeout. Isaiah Thomas was thinking: score a basket.
Thomas' instinct won out. The speedy guard hit a fadeaway jumper at the buzzer, lifting Washington past No. 16 Arizona 77-75 Saturday in Los Angeles for the Pac-10 tournament championship in the first overtime title game in league history.
"I knew I had a smaller guy on me, so I could get a shot off, and I just made a little step back, and God made the ball go in the hoop," said Thomas, who finished with 28 points to help the third-seeded Huskies (23-10) earn the league's automatic bid to the NCAA tournament.
"One of these days when I'm not coaching anymore, I'll sit back in the rocking chair and reminisce about this game," Romar said. "Reminisce how Isaiah Thomas just totally flagged off his coach, no. I'll remember a lot of things about this tournament, and they're all good."
Pac-10 player of the year Derrick Williams had 24 points and 11 rebounds for the top-seeded Wildcats (27-7), who won the regular-season title and are likely to return to the NCAA tournament after the school's 25-year run of appearances ended last year.
Connecticut 69, Louisville 66: Kemba Walker scored 19 points, and the No. 21 Huskies (26-9) won the Big East tournament by defeating the No. 14 Cardinals (25-8) for their fifth win in as many days in New York.
Ohio State 68, Michigan
61: Jared Sullinger had 14 points and 13 rebounds and Jon Diebler scored 16 points, leading the No. 1 Buckeyes (31-2) to a win over the Wolverines and into Sunday's Big Ten final in Indianapolis. Ohio State will face Penn State (19-13), a 61-48 winner over Michigan State.
Kansas 85, Texas 73: Tyshawn Taylor scored 20 points and Marcus Morris added 17 to lead the No. 2 Jayhawks (32-2) past the No. 10 Longhorns (27-7) in the Big 12 final in Kansas City, Mo.
Duke 77, Virginia Tech 63: Nolan Smith scored 27 points a day after suffering a toe injury, sparking the No. 5 Blue Devils (29-4) past the Hokies and into Sunday's ACC final against North Carolina in Greensboro, N.C.
The status of Smith, the ACC player of the year, was in question until a few minutes before tipoff after he hurt the second toe on his left foot in Duke's win the night before against Maryland.
North Carolina 92, Clemson 87: Harrison Barnes set a freshman tournament record with 40 points to help the No. 6 Tar Heels (26-6) beat the Tigers in overtime. North Carolina rallied from seven down in the final four minutes of regulation to force overtime.
San Diego State 72, BYU 54: Billy White had 21 points, 12 rebounds and five steals, and Kawhi Leonard added 20 points to help the No. 7 Aztecs (32-2) beat the No. 8 Cougars (30-4) in the Mountain West final in Las Vegas. Jimmer Fredette led BYU with 30 points.
Florida 77, Vanderbilt 66: Kenny Boynton scored 24 points, helping the No. 12 Gators (26-6) advance to Sunday's SEC final in Atlanta. Florida will play No. 15 Kentucky (24-8), which defeated Alabama 72-58.
Utah State 77, Boise State 69: Tai Wesley scored 19 points and the No. 23 Aggies (30-3) won the WAC tournament in Las Vegas to earn an NCAA bid.
Princeton 63, Harvard 62: Douglas Davis hit a leaning jump shot at the buzzer in New Haven, Conn., to give the Tigers (25-6) a trip to the NCAA tournament for the first time since 2004.
Georgia Tech: Paul Hewitt, who took the Yellow Jackets to the national championship game in 2004, was fired after his fourth losing season in the past six years.
Utah: Jim Boylen was fired as coach two days after the Utes ended a second straight losing season.
Thomas' instinct won out. The speedy guard hit a fadeaway jumper at the buzzer, lifting Washington past No. 16 Arizona 77-75 Saturday in Los Angeles for the Pac-10 tournament championship in the first overtime title game in league history.
"I knew I had a smaller guy on me, so I could get a shot off, and I just made a little step back, and God made the ball go in the hoop," said Thomas, who finished with 28 points to help the third-seeded Huskies (23-10) earn the league's automatic bid to the NCAA tournament.
"One of these days when I'm not coaching anymore, I'll sit back in the rocking chair and reminisce about this game," Romar said. "Reminisce how Isaiah Thomas just totally flagged off his coach, no. I'll remember a lot of things about this tournament, and they're all good."
Pac-10 player of the year Derrick Williams had 24 points and 11 rebounds for the top-seeded Wildcats (27-7), who won the regular-season title and are likely to return to the NCAA tournament after the school's 25-year run of appearances ended last year.
Connecticut 69, Louisville 66: Kemba Walker scored 19 points, and the No. 21 Huskies (26-9) won the Big East tournament by defeating the No. 14 Cardinals (25-8) for their fifth win in as many days in New York.
Ohio State 68, Michigan
61: Jared Sullinger had 14 points and 13 rebounds and Jon Diebler scored 16 points, leading the No. 1 Buckeyes (31-2) to a win over the Wolverines and into Sunday's Big Ten final in Indianapolis. Ohio State will face Penn State (19-13), a 61-48 winner over Michigan State.
Kansas 85, Texas 73: Tyshawn Taylor scored 20 points and Marcus Morris added 17 to lead the No. 2 Jayhawks (32-2) past the No. 10 Longhorns (27-7) in the Big 12 final in Kansas City, Mo.
Duke 77, Virginia Tech 63: Nolan Smith scored 27 points a day after suffering a toe injury, sparking the No. 5 Blue Devils (29-4) past the Hokies and into Sunday's ACC final against North Carolina in Greensboro, N.C.
The status of Smith, the ACC player of the year, was in question until a few minutes before tipoff after he hurt the second toe on his left foot in Duke's win the night before against Maryland.
North Carolina 92, Clemson 87: Harrison Barnes set a freshman tournament record with 40 points to help the No. 6 Tar Heels (26-6) beat the Tigers in overtime. North Carolina rallied from seven down in the final four minutes of regulation to force overtime.
San Diego State 72, BYU 54: Billy White had 21 points, 12 rebounds and five steals, and Kawhi Leonard added 20 points to help the No. 7 Aztecs (32-2) beat the No. 8 Cougars (30-4) in the Mountain West final in Las Vegas. Jimmer Fredette led BYU with 30 points.
Florida 77, Vanderbilt 66: Kenny Boynton scored 24 points, helping the No. 12 Gators (26-6) advance to Sunday's SEC final in Atlanta. Florida will play No. 15 Kentucky (24-8), which defeated Alabama 72-58.
Utah State 77, Boise State 69: Tai Wesley scored 19 points and the No. 23 Aggies (30-3) won the WAC tournament in Las Vegas to earn an NCAA bid.
Princeton 63, Harvard 62: Douglas Davis hit a leaning jump shot at the buzzer in New Haven, Conn., to give the Tigers (25-6) a trip to the NCAA tournament for the first time since 2004.
Georgia Tech: Paul Hewitt, who took the Yellow Jackets to the national championship game in 2004, was fired after his fourth losing season in the past six years.
Utah: Jim Boylen was fired as coach two days after the Utes ended a second straight losing season.
There's so much I could say, but I will limit my comments to three games.
ReplyDeleteCongratulations to the Washington Huskies on winning the Pac-10 Tournament in yet another thrilling finish to a game Saturday! That was an amazing conference championship game, capped by a fantastic buzzer beater!
Congratulations to Connecticut on winning five games in five days! That really is a remarkable accomplishment, especially when you consider who they beat. Kemba Walker showed just how dominant he can be by destroying the Big East Tournament’s scoring record. Hopefully, they will get a respectable seed in the NCAA Tournament and their momentum will carry over in order to allow them to make a nice run.
Last, congratulations to Princeton on the last-second win! I wish the game had been televised where I am. Looks like Harvard will have to wait to see if they get an at-large bid to the NCAA Tournament. They do have some impressive wins this season. They beat Colorado and Boston University at home. They also defeated Boston College and George Washington on the road. Harvard is definitely a team the NCAA selection committee will discuss thoroughly.