Virginia Chokes Away March Madness Win By YEETING Hail Mary Pass Directly To Furman For Game-Winning Three
Furman University had not been to the NCAA Tournament in 43 years, but pulled the first-round upset of Virginia on Thursday. It was the Cavaliers' game to lose in the final minute and that is exactly what they did in heart-breaking fashion.
First and foremost— credit to the Paladins. The 13-seed never gave up.
They were down five points at halftime, and battled back to set themselves up for the upset win.
However, the big story here is Kihei Clark, unfortunately. Virginia's fifth-year guard ended his college career with an all-time blunder.
The Hoos held a two-point lead with 12.3 seconds left. Clark inbounded the ball and got it right back.
In that moment, Furman's defense swarmed. They trapped Clark in the corner, and with 8.3 seconds remaining on the clock, he YEETED the ball back across the court.
He must have thought that he could run out the clock. He couldn't.
Clark's pass was intercepted at half court, Furman flipped the ball to J.P. Pegues, and Pegues knocked down the go-ahead triple with 2.2 seconds left. It was absolute pandemonium.
Even the Paladins couldn't believe it.
Virginia called a timeout and tried to draw something up. They put the ball in, and junior guard Reece Beekman got a great look.
The ball hung in the air, bounced off of the backboard, bounced off of the rim, and out. Game over.
Furman, which last went dancing in 1980, took down the No. 4 seed Virginia in tremendous fashion. It could not have been a more "mad" start to March Madness.
To make things even better, the Paladins set the tone all afternoon with the most explicit chant in college basketball. They know exactly what they're doing!
After taking down its first-round opponent, Furman awaits the winner of San Diego State and Charleston on Saturday. Will the slipper continue to fit?!