South Carolina gives biggest March Madness vibes yet with insane buzzer-beater
One of the best things about March Madness is the buzzer beater. Whether it's winning a game or closing out a half, the hold-your-breath heave that goes in after the buzzer sounds is pure magic.
In the 2024 NCAA Tournament, we only had to wait a few hours before someone delivered one of those moments.
South Carolina's Ta'Lon Cooper nailed one from 3/4s down the court as halftime arrived in the first-half matchup between the No. 6-seed Gamecocks and the No. 11-seed Oregon Ducks.
Ta'Lon Cooper's buzzer beater was the first magic moment of March Madness
TA'LON COOPER BEATS THE BUZZER FROM HALF-COURT 👀#MarchMadness pic.twitter.com/tuwJkiR04v
— NCAA March Madness (@MarchMadnessMBB) March 21, 2024
The only thing preventing that shot from going down in tournament history is that it came at the halftime buzzer. It wasn't a game-winner.
It was still a spectacular shot with potentially huge implications for the Gamecocks.
Oregon went into the half leading 34-29 in part because South Carolina went eight minutes without a made field goal. Cooper couldn't have picked a better way to end the scoring drought. The difference between being down by eight at halftime and just five is big.
Cooper finished with just five points on 2-of-5 shooting in the first half. Meanwhile, Jermaine Couisinard led the Ducks with 14 points and four assists.
Even though South Carolina was the higher seed, Oregon came into the game as the 2.5-point favorite. The Ducks justified that status by shooting 60.9 percent from the field and taking a lead as large as 10. Points in the paint were the different in the opening frame with Oregon doubling SCar's total. The fact that South Carolina shot 32.1 percent from the field didn't help their case.
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