For years, there have been two regional finals that stood out as the pinnacle of college basketball: Duke vs. Kentucky in 1992 (the Laettner shot) and Illinois vs. Arizona in 2005 (the comeback). We can add one more to the list after Saturday night.
Kentucky vs. Notre Dame was a classic text your friends, wake up your kids, go crazy even though you didn’t have a rooting interest NCAA tournament game. You sit through the 78-39 drubbings for magic like this. What a great freaking game. It’s what we live for as sports fans.
1. There were 11 ties and 17 lead changes.
(Getty Images)
In the first half, the game was either tied or the teams were separated by one or two points for 18 of the 20 minutes. In the second half, Kentucky burst out to a five-point lead early, while Notre Dame took a four-point lead about three minutes later. Back and forth they went with the biggest lead coming with 6:15 left and Notre Dame winning 59-53. From then on, Kentucky attempted six shots and made all of them.
2. It went down to the buzzer.
(USA TODAY Sports Images)
Andrew Harrison made two free throws to break a 66-66 tie with six seconds left, giving Notre Dame plenty of time to get down the court for the game-tying or game-winning score. But much like the final five minutes of the game, when Notre Dame went 1-3 from the field and 2-5 from the free-throw line, the team panicked. Jerian Grant literally cornered himself before launching a three-pointer at the buzzer that never had a chance. A made buzzer beater would have put Saturday night on par with that Laettner shot from 23 years ago.
3. You changed your mind about who was going to win about 15 times in the second half.
(AP)
Even when the game was close in the first half, I figured it was just a matter of time before Kentucky pulled away. When the ‘Cats ran the lead to five at the beginning of the second half, everyone thought, “here we go.” But then the Irish went on a 13-4 run and, for the first time, you started to think, “maybe they can do this.” Then Kentucky would hit a three and you expected the run to come. But the Irish would respond, putting them back in the driver’s seat. Back and forth they went, mano a mano, until Notre Dame turned the ball over with 33 seconds left, leading to those Harrison free throws. It was the team’s first turnover in 29 minutes of game time.
4. Every few minutes you reminded yourself that this was history in the making.
(Getty Images)
The historic 40-0 mark was on the line and you couldn’t help but feel the tension in Cleveland, even if you were thousands of miles away. History was on the line: Either Kentucky’s run would continue or Notre Dame would pull off the greatest upset since Duke beat UNLV in 1991. Every possession matted. Every shot was a potential game-winner. And here we were, watching it live, fully aware of the ramifications and savoring every second of it.
5. The ecstasy and the agony.
(USA TODAY Sports Images)
Only in college sports do you see the kind of post-game exuberance and sadness that we saw after Kentucky’s win. This is a win the Wildcats will remember for the rest of their lives. And, sadly, it’s a loss Notre Dame players will still be thinking about when they’re grandfathers.
6. It’s the perfect reminder of why you love sports.
(AP)
Some of us love sports so much that you wilingly wake up exhausted on a Friday morning because you stayed up until 12:50 a.m. watching a tournament game you didn’t particularly care about. But the previous 57 games in the tournament — some of them good, some of them okay, some of them terrible — almost mean nothing after watching Kentucky-Notre Dame. It was everything a great sporting event should be: Tight, brilliantly played and, most importantly, complete and utter fun. There are only five games left in this year’s NCAA tournament and I, for one, can’t wait to see what happens next.
(USA TODAY Sports Images)
