2026 NCAA Tournament General Discussion

[BB73]

This shot by Mullins was only the third last-second 3-point game-winner in the Elite Eight or Final Four.

The other two were by Gonzaga‘s Suggs against UCLA in an Elite Eight game in 2021, and Nova’s title-clinching shot by Jenkins from 10 years ago. Both of those shots would have resulted in overtime if they were missed, however. This shot was win-or-lose, so it was taken under greater pressure.

That‘s an important distinction about buzzer-beaters that announcers typically ignore.

 

[BB73]

I just flipped on the game with about a minute to go and figured I would see how it ended as the lead from halftime was about gone. Hell of an ending! The announcers said tourney teams with a 15 point lead at half were like 100+ something and zero. Guess Duke is now that 1.

And can someone who knows about college basketball explain why the duke coach did not take a timeout before the final possession to tell them to just hold it once they got it inbounds? I think they still had a timeout.

They had 1 timeout left, and it’s worth not using it because you might have trouble getting the ball in bounds. Calling a timeout lets the defense get set also, so it’s not always a plus. Duke didn’t even have to cross midcourt, since it was exactly 10.0 seconds left, but a held ball would have gone to UConn. They got it in, and Cayden Boozer had 2 guys in the front court that were very open, he just choked by trying to throw it over guys. At this point in the season, a coach shouldn’t need to tell his guys that when they’re up 2 with 10 seconds left they just want to play keep-away. They just didn’t execute it, it hurt not having a true point guard there.

 

[Thump]

Unbelievable ending.

 

[Bestbuck36]

Any of y'all who picked ttun, just stuck at life. Tell em what I mean @ScriptOhio

 

[DZ83CK]

Any of y'all who picked ttun, just stuck at life. Tell em what I mean @ScriptOhio

No one in the BP pool picked them to win the championship.

 

[Bestbuck36]

No one in the BP pool picked them to win the championship.

Thank you sir for confirming my belief in this place!