“Play of the Century” Helps Wahoos to 2019 Final Four

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LOUISVILLE, Ky — Dreams of a Final Four appearance seemed all but gone for Virginia when Purdue’s Ryan Cline stepped to the free throw line with 17 seconds remaining in regulation. The Boilermakers were already up 69-67 before the free throw attempts and a pair of makes would leave Virginia needing multiple buckets with little time to do so.

Cline, a reliable shooter, made the first and the Purdue-heavy crowd went nuts. In all, there were probably 30 Purdue fans for every Wahoo present.

The next shot changed the course of the game entirely at KFC Yum! Center in Louisville.

CLANK!

Virginia’s Ty Jerome grabbed the defensive rebound and raced up the court. With five seconds left in regulation, down by three, Jerome was fouled and forced to the line himself. The first attempt was true, cutting Purdue’s lead to 70-68, but the hard part was still to come; Jerome needed to miss the second attempt on purpose in hopes of a quick rebound and put-back to force overtime.

Jerome placed it perfectly, right on top of the rim so his teammates would at least have a chance to make a little magic happen.

The rebound came off the rim and immediately went toward Virginia forward Mamadi Diakite. The big man couldn’t grab it, though, instead back-tapping the ball towards the three-point line. As the seconds ticked away, Virginia’s tiny cheering section, Purdue’s massive fanbase, and the impartial spectators held their breath.

The ball eventually rolled all the way to the other end of the floor — a prospect that likely gave Purdue some relief — before Virginia freshman Kihei Clark corralled it with less than three seconds remaining. Jerome, near half-court, begged for the ball. For a brief second, it looked like it was half-court buzzer-beater or bust for Virginia.

Clark had other ideas; he looked up and noticed Diakite was wide open near the free throw line. Purdue’s Grady Eifert, brother of NFL tight end Tyler Eifert, had lost track of him. The 5-foot-9 freshman zipped a long pass up to Diakite for a chance at overtime and, all in one motion, Diakite caught the pass and raised up for a short jumper.

Splash!

Overtime.

Incredible.

From the 17-second mark until Diakite’s buzzer-beater, Virginia fans went from dread to euphoria. Now, all the Hoos needed to do was win a five-minute OT period.

Overtime was just as nerve-wracking as the final minute of regulation, yet, when De’Andre Hunter plopped in a go-ahead layup at the 28-second mark, it was the beginning of the end for Purdue. 

Aided by some fine shooting at the free throw line down the stretch, Virginia escaped with an 80-75 victory and their first Final Four appearance in the Tony Bennett era. Additionally, it was Virginia’s first Final Four ticket since 1984.

After the final buzzer, all the Virginia fans in the building huddled near the floor to watch the Hoos cut down the nets. One by one, Virginia players climbed up to get their piece of twine, with Bennett, the last to go, punctuating their improbable victory with a triumphant yell towards his team from atop the ladder.

Photo Credit: Casey Pazzalia/Slackie Brown | LOUISVILLE, Ky — Virginia head coach Tony Bennett climbs the ladder to complete their net-cutting ceremony on Saturday evening.

Speaking to the media after the game, Ty Jerome called the Clark-to-Diakite sequence “the play of the century.”

Kyle Guy finally bounced back from his slump to lead Virginia in scoring. In total, he had 25 points, including five made three-pointers, and a team-high 10 rebounds. Jerome wasn’t far behind with 24 points, while also leading the Hoos with seven assists.

Diakite (14 points) and Hunter (10 points) also scored in double figures for Virginia.

Virginia will now head to Minneapolis for the Final Four. They’ll face No. 5 Auburn, who beat Kentucky on Sunday, on April 6th.