Through the first 55 games of the NCAA tournament, there had yet to be a true March Madness moment, with many complaining the event lacked the drama of last year.
Those fans willing to stay awake past midnight ET to watch the overtime period of Florida-Wisconsin were rewarded with a number of moments that more than made up for the lack of drama thus far.
The contest wouldn't have even needed the extra frame had Zak Showalter not nailed an insane triple with two seconds left in regulation to tie the affair.
Once it was determined that an extra session would be required, the story of the Gators' victory could be told with an airball, a block, and a winner.
The Airball
With the Gators holding a one-point lead early in the overtime period, Chris Chiozza drove the lane and tossed up a floater from about 8 feet away. Unfortunately for him, the shot only traveled about six feet and ended in an embarrassing air ball. A floater can be a difficult shot in traffic, but to miss by that distance was pretty shocking. Let's keep this moment of humiliation for Chiozza in mind as we read along, shall we?
The Block
Canyon Barry is a 6-foot-6 graduate transfer known mostly for shooting "granny-style" free throws and being the son of NBA legend Rick Barry. He also entered play on Friday with only 11 total blocks on the season. Khalil Iverson is a freakishly athletic wing who has a number of high-flying dunks on his resume. Naturally, Barry would provide the biggest block of the NCAA tournament, chasing down Iverson and meeting him at the summit to deny him after Wisconsin expertly broke the press. A layup would have given the Badgers an insurmountable 4-point lead. Instead, it gave Florida the ball trailing by only two points.
Chiozza, you'll remember him from the embarrassing floater-miss, would immediately attack and make sure he got as close to the rim as possible, blowing past the Badgers defense to tie the game with a layup.
The Winner
Badgers senior Nigel Hayes drew a foul with just over four seconds to play, and despite making only 59 percent of his free throws on the season, drilled both shots to restore Wisconsin's two-point lead. This forced Florida to go the length of the court in four seconds to attempt a game-tying or game-winning shot. While the Gators point guards Chiozza and Kasey Hill aren't particularly good shooters, they are incredibly fast with the ball, so there was still a glimmer of hope for Florida.
Chiozza took the inbound pass and raced the length of the floor to attempt a desperate shot. One of the principles of defense at any level of basketball is to stop the ball at the earliest possible time. Nobody on the Badgers stepped up to do so, and Chiozza made it to the 3-point line with just under a second to play. Instead of pulling up for a jumper, he decided a wild floater would be the best option to hit a game-winning bucket. That's correct, the same player who only four minutes before had air-balled a 6-foot floater, decided to attempt an incredibly difficult one from 20 feet. Of course, it went in and instantly became the biggest shot in the history of Florida basketball.
The Replay
Florida fans could watch the replays on a never-ending loop, while Wisconsin supporters probably never want to see them again. Why did nobody on the Badgers attempt to stop Chiozza in his mad dash? How did a 59 percent free-throw shooter make both shots and enable Florida, who had no timeouts left, the time to set up an inbound play? How did a player who had just air-balled a much easier floater somehow drain this one?
The answer to all those questions?
This is March.