How the heck did Virginia escape upset at Louisville?
This is the shot fans will see on every highlight show: a banked 3-pointer at the buzzer that saw No. 1 Virginia stave off Louisville's upset bid.
UVA WITH THE HAIL MARY 3!! #SCtop10 pic.twitter.com/96ZwOMEDgP
— SportsCenter (@SportsCenter) March 2, 2018
While it was an incredible shot and should be celebrated as such, the fact Virginia even had the chance to win Thursday is mind-boggling.
Here's the remarkable sequence of events in the final six seconds that saw Louisville blow its chance at one of the season's biggest wins:
6 seconds left - Louisville takes 66-62 lead
Darius Perry's two free throws with six seconds left gave the Cardinals a four-point lead - an advantage that would have most writers ready to file their final stories. Virginia needed two possessions to have a chance to tie the game, provided Louisville didn't commit the cardinal sin of fouling a 3-point shooter.
0.9 seconds left - Louisville commits the cardinal sin
Well, if there wasn’t already enough to this game, a foul called on Ty Jerome shooting a 3 with 0.9 left should do it.
— Jeff Greer (@jeffgreer_cj) March 2, 2018
When Ty Jerome launched a triple with 0.9 seconds left, Virginia was essentially signaling defeat, hoping to make it just a one-point loss. However, Perry did the unthinkable and fouled Jerome. That meant three free throws for the Cavaliers sharpshooter, with the caveat that he had to miss the final one on purpose in hopes of a game-tying tip-in. Jerome did his part by making the first two, but was whistled for a lane violation on the third. That gave Louisville the ball on the end line, meaning the only thing the Cardinals needed to do for the win was get the ball in bounds.
0.9 seconds left - Louisville can't get the ball in bounds
Here's a look @ the play before the Hunter game-winner that got Virginia the ball back. You can't see in the video but the ref very clearly told Deng Adel that he couldn't run the baseline (result of the FT lane violation) but he did anyway. KFC Yum Center was absolutely deflated pic.twitter.com/MiNlcdVlhw
— Mike Schmitz (@Mike_Schmitz) March 2, 2018
Even if Deng Adel threw the ball to a Cavalier by accident, the lack of time remaining would've made it difficult for them to get a shot up. Essentially, the only thing he couldn't do was commit a violation from out of bounds. Unfortunately for Cardinals fans, that's exactly what happened, as Adel moved three steps to throw the ball in - a violation unless it's after a made basket. That turned the ball over to Virginia in the same spot with the same amount of time on the clock. Even with that turnover, the Cavaliers had to hit a miracle shot to win.
0.0 seconds left - Virginia hits a miracle shot to win
One of the most bizarre endings I've ever seen. Louisville all but had the upset but a few costly Cardinals mental errors and a huge triple from Hunter at the buzzer wins it for Virginia. pic.twitter.com/YD78Q6WsiB
— Mike Schmitz (@Mike_Schmitz) March 2, 2018
March isn't even 24 hours old and the madness has already arrived.