RSS
March Madness 2010: The Play of the Tournament So Far
Down one.
Just a little more than 6 seconds to play and your best decision maker is on the bench wearing (sweet-looking) sweats and a boot Shaquille O'Neal would have trouble fitting into.
Your 6'7," 240-pound sixth man (Draymond Green) catches the inbounds pass and dribbles into the frontcourt.
Three seconds left.
That power forward almost blasts your starting power forward (Delvon Roe) in the head with the ball; but he ducks.
Two seconds left.
Your back-up point guard (Korie Lucious) catches the pass.
One second left.
Gives a little upfake. Takes a step to his left. Fires up a three for the win...
Cash money.
That's exactly how the end of Michigan State's second round, 85-83, win over Maryland in the second round of the 2010 NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament went.
Forget the fact we were up 16 with 12 minutes and change left. Don't harp on the fact the Spartans had a 9-point lead with 2 and a half minutes left. The team pulled out a tough win without its best player, Kalin Lucas, who will most likely not be able to play basketball until August because of a tear in his Achilles tendon.
There were a number of big plays made in that game from several players. But the biggest play came from someone who didn't take a shot, grab a rebound or take a charge.
How many games have you seen over the years where a squad will be down two with little to no time on the clock, take a desperation heave and see it fall, only for a whistle to be blown on the release because a coach called time out? More often than not, that time out doesn't result in a win.
Ironically, that happened to Maryland earlier this season in a home game against Georgia Tech, which the Terps won by two after coach Gary Williams called a timeout following a heave from halfcourt that went in. Maryland won on a second buzzer-beater.
But MSU Coach Tom Izzo - who, after watching the replay, oh, 657,986 times over the past 20 hours, looked like he was ready to signal for a timeout once Green crossed the timelime - didn't overcoach or overthink. Izzo's instincts kicked in and he let his players handle their business.
People always say it's better to be lucky than good sometimes. Well, sometimes it's better to let things happen spontaneously.
And that's what Izzo did, basically saying, "*$@# it. These guys are winning it on their own."
And because of that, his team lives to play another weekend.
Just a little more than 6 seconds to play and your best decision maker is on the bench wearing (sweet-looking) sweats and a boot Shaquille O'Neal would have trouble fitting into.
Your 6'7," 240-pound sixth man (Draymond Green) catches the inbounds pass and dribbles into the frontcourt.
Three seconds left.
That power forward almost blasts your starting power forward (Delvon Roe) in the head with the ball; but he ducks.
Two seconds left.
Your back-up point guard (Korie Lucious) catches the pass.
One second left.
Gives a little upfake. Takes a step to his left. Fires up a three for the win...
Cash money.
That's exactly how the end of Michigan State's second round, 85-83, win over Maryland in the second round of the 2010 NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament went.
Forget the fact we were up 16 with 12 minutes and change left. Don't harp on the fact the Spartans had a 9-point lead with 2 and a half minutes left. The team pulled out a tough win without its best player, Kalin Lucas, who will most likely not be able to play basketball until August because of a tear in his Achilles tendon.
There were a number of big plays made in that game from several players. But the biggest play came from someone who didn't take a shot, grab a rebound or take a charge.
How many games have you seen over the years where a squad will be down two with little to no time on the clock, take a desperation heave and see it fall, only for a whistle to be blown on the release because a coach called time out? More often than not, that time out doesn't result in a win.
Ironically, that happened to Maryland earlier this season in a home game against Georgia Tech, which the Terps won by two after coach Gary Williams called a timeout following a heave from halfcourt that went in. Maryland won on a second buzzer-beater.
But MSU Coach Tom Izzo - who, after watching the replay, oh, 657,986 times over the past 20 hours, looked like he was ready to signal for a timeout once Green crossed the timelime - didn't overcoach or overthink. Izzo's instincts kicked in and he let his players handle their business.
People always say it's better to be lucky than good sometimes. Well, sometimes it's better to let things happen spontaneously.
And that's what Izzo did, basically saying, "*$@# it. These guys are winning it on their own."
And because of that, his team lives to play another weekend.
Labels: College Basketball, March Madness, Michigan State, NCAA Tournament
posted by Jason Carmel Davis at
12:20 PM
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
Subscribe to Post Comments [Atom]
<< Home