Devil Heaven: Arizona State escapes bubble hell with 55-foot buzzer-beater
The Arizona State Sun Devils were just about done … but “just about” is not the same as “fully and completely.”
Such is the timeless lesson of March … or in this case, late February.
When the intense push for the final few spots in the NCAA Tournament reaches a fever pitch, crazy things happen. That’s why they call it “March Madness.” This is February 25, but it sure felt like March in the college basketball world on Saturday. Some absolutely insane finishes reminded us why March is one of the most fun and special months of the year.
It wasn’t fun for USC or for the Arizona Wildcats, though.
Arizona led Arizona State by one point with 2.9 seconds left in Tucson. Arizona’s Oumar Ballo had two free throws. If he made both, ASU could not have won in regulation. When Ballo missed the first free throw — and ASU having no timeouts — it was an obvious move for Ballo and Arizona to miss the second free throw. ASU would not be able to inbound the ball down the court. It would have to grab a loose ball and then heave it 75 or 80 feet.
Sure, no one thinks that a 55-foot shot will go through the basket, but the odds of that are better than an 80-footer in a loose-ball battle.
Ballo made the second free throw. ASU was able to inbound the ball and give the shooter a running start toward the basket. Desmond Cambridge had a clear look at the basket, moving forward in a way he never would have been able to had Arizona missed the second free throw.
Splash.
ASU 89, Arizona 88.
The Devils needed a prayer. It was answered.
The Devils sent a shot to the heavens, and an angel guided it through the hoop.
Suddenly, the Sun Devils went from bubble misery — having a very minimal chance of making the NCAA Tournament — to being even with USC on the bubble, probably one of the last four teams in the field.
USC meets Arizona State next week. That could be a classic “winner is in, loser is out” bubble game, but we obviously need to see what happens with USC’s game at Utah, which — at the time of publication — hasn’t started yet. It obviously raises the stakes for the Trojans, whose margin for error just shrank.
DESMOND CAMBRIDGE JR. FROM HALF COURT FTW 🤯😱#Pac12MBB | @SunDevilHoops pic.twitter.com/R8V02ImFQA
— Pac-12 Conference (@pac12) February 25, 2023
