West Virginia had the final possession against Gonzaga with a chance to tie and they could not have taken a worse approach
March Madness is the time when the stars of college basketball lore are made. The big-time buzzer beaters, clutch shots and moments, and the plays that push teams to victory are remembered forever. Likewise, it’s also the time of year—though less celebrated—when players choke under pressure and ultimately look quite foolish. How ya’ doing, West Virginia Mountaineers.
The Sweet 16 battle between West Virginia and Gonzaga on Thursday night was ugly for the majority of the 40 minutes of play. Both teams love to muck up the action and thrive off of defense. That’s what led to a 30-30 score at halftime as the Mountaineers looked for a huge upset of the West Region’s No. 1 seed.
Bob Huggins’ team had a late lead, but the Zags overtook them. Even still, West Virginia found themselves trailing by only three with approximately 37 seconds remaining. Jevon Carter tried to hoist up two threes, but they were off the mark. However, the Mountaineers secured rebounds and reset up top with around 10 seconds left for one final shot as they had no remaining timeouts.
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Carter got the ball back in his hands and then the Mountaineers showed off a masterclass effort in how you don’t perform in the clutch. With no movement off the ball by the offense, the defense collapsed on Carter. The WVU star then held the ball too long before realizing he wasn’t going to get a shot off. He tried to kick it to the wing, but it was too late as time expired without even an attempt at the buzzer:
And now for a more accurate representation of how that final possession played out:
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It’s definitely a shame to see a team like West Virginia, who have been so gritty and tough all season, go down like this. However, when your end-of-game execution looks like that, you’re lucky to have made the Sweet 16. Maybe get a shot off next time. Even if it gets blocked, you weren’t just running around in circles, otherwise known as the path to taking an L.