March Madness: Sports Illustrated captures Villanova’s perfect shot

The latest cover of Sports Illustrated perfectly captures Kris Jenkins’ championship-winning shot for Villanova.

They say a picture is worth a thousand words. Well, Sports Illustrated magazine’s cover may be the first image that crushes that figure. In the waning movements of the biggest college basketball game this season, Sports Illustrated captured the perfect shot.

To be honest, I thought the “shot of the game” had come a few moments earlier when North Carolina’s Marcus Paige drilled a crazy three-point shot to tie the game. Little did I know the fireworks weren’t over yet.

With under five seconds on the clock and the game tied at 74, Villanova knew that they had one chance to end the game before overtime. After the team in-bounded the ball, every player rushed towards the basket. With under two seconds left, Kris Jenkins was passed the basketball. Jenkins did not hesitate, he simply pulled up from behind the three-point line and fired the prettiest shot I’ve ever seen.

The basketball was flying through the air as time expired. The clock had hit zero, but the three-point attempt sailed through the basket, signifying that the Villanova Wildcats were indeed national champions for the first time in more than 30 years.

And Sports Illustrated managed to freeze that moment in time perfectly.

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