Perspective: A Final Four game’s messy finish could set up a perfect ending for Virginia
By Jerry Brewer Jerry Brewer Sports columnist Email Bio Follow Columnist April 6 at 11:41 PM MINNEAPOLIS — By grit, by luck, by any basketball means necessary, Virginia lives. The Cavaliers cannot die, it seems. They will not die. After years of collecting despair in the NCAA men’s basketball tournament, they have been granted a spring full of grace. Drama, too. But mostly grace.
“Mine is still lasting,” Diakite said, smiling in the locker room. “He’s got the title of the most incredible free throws ever. It wasn’t a shot, though, like mine.” It was subtle. But it happened. And with the game on the line — a game that featured so few fouls until the end that both teams were scrambling to use the fouls they had to give before they were in the penalty — Breeding called it. Was he right? By the letter of the law, yes. But we’re also used to officials swallowing their whistles during such situations and letting the players decide the game.
The freewheeling, three-point-shooting Tigers were predictably forced to play at Virginia’s pace from the beginning. They were okay with that, however. There’s much more to Auburn than playing fast and hoisting jumpers. They have proved that over the past month, winning 12 straight games, capturing the SEC tournament title and running through the Midwest Region of this tournament by defeating superpowers Kansas, North Carolina and Kentucky.
“They’re great,” said Diakite, who scored only two points but blocked five shots and grabbed six rebounds. “There’s no one way to describe them. They’re physical. They’re athletic. They’re fiery and competitive, but they’re cool. They don’t seem to be what people think of them, as far as how cocky you think they play. Hats off to them. We’ll always respect them.”
“These are the moments that every basketball player has dreamed of,” Guy said. “Kind of had that feeling in your stomach, like a good nervousness.”“I can’t question none of that,” Doughty said.
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