Northwestern, Minnesota Endings Headline Crazy Night In College Hoop

If you’re a fan of last-minute drama and late-game heroics in college basketball, then Thursday was a great night of action for you.

It all started in the little town of Farmville, VA, where the Longwood Lancers were hosting the High Point Panthers. With less than seven seconds on the clock, Lancers guard Colby Garland drove towards the bucket, pulled up from about 10 feet away, and calmly drained a sweet jumper to give Longwood an 82-80 lead they would not relinquish.

I didn’t see this shot live, because I was too busy watching a game that was taking place less than an hour from this one. In the small town of Lynchburg, VA, my alma mater - the Liberty Flames - were hosting the UTEP Miners. Both teams played exceptionally well in this tight matchup, but Ahamad Bynum buried his own mid-range jumper with less than three seconds on the clock to give the Miners a solid conference win.

The late game heroics weren’t just limited to Old Dominion, or the East Coast for that matter. Out in California, Stephan Swenson buried a contested triple as time expired to give UC Santa Barbara a 66-63 win over UC Riverside (this was Swenson’s second game-winning buzzer beater of the week for the Gauchos - not too shabby if I do say so myself).

Read: CBB With Danny Z: Indiana Player Blasts IU Fans, Mick Cronin Goes Off Again, And More

Two separate games in the midwest had their own dramatic endings (the late-game crazies were spreading all across the country last night, weren’t they?). The Northwestern Wildcats had just 0.7 seconds to get a shot off an inbounds play against the Maryland Terrapins, but that’s all Nick Martinelli needed to hit an off-balance mid-range jumper to seal a 76-74 win in overtime.

As if all of these endings weren’t dramatic enough, the Michigan Wolverines and Minnesota Golden Gophers delivered the wildest ending of them all. Tied at 81 in overtime, Dawson Garcia casually called for the ball from the logo in the waning seconds of OT. With the most nonchalant body language ever, he launched the dagger from 30+ feet to seal an 84-81 win for Minnesota.

What a night for college basketball. If the tournament has half the excitement of last night’s action, this will be a postseason to remember.

Is it March yet?