Davidson’s heartbreaking collapse allows Marquette to escape first-round upset
This should have been an upset. This WAS an upset, right until literally the final second. Marquette rode a stream of three-pointers to a stunning last-second win over Davidson, 59-58.
Davidson was up by five points with 30 seconds left. Marquette had no timeouts. This was over. OVER. And then Marquette wriggled free and won the game. This one's going to sting for a long, long time for Davidson fans.
This game was nearly won on the free-throw line, as Davidson shot approximately 80 percent as a team and kept Marquette at bay until the final seconds. But Marquette ran a three-points-for-two exchange to perfection in the game's final minute, and snatched victory from a near-certain defeat.
Even into the waning seconds, this game was Davidson's to lose. Marquette had hit the third of its three treys with ten seconds left, but Davidson still led by one. Needing only to run out the clock or wait to get fouled, Davidson turned over the ball on an errant pass. Marquette took possession, and guard Vander Blue — yes, that's his name — hammered home the win by weaving through for a go-ahead layup with just one second remaining.
There was plenty of concern about whether Marquette was overseeded and Davidson underseeded, and Nate Silver's prediction about this game bore that out: Davidson had a 34.5 percent chance of winning this game, a huge advantage over those of other 14 seeds.
Marquette now goes on to face Butler on Saturday. Davidson has a long drive back to North Carolina.
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