Rutgers beats Villanova on a four-point play

In what may end up being the wildest ending to a game this season, Rutgers beat Villanova 77-76 on Wednesday night thanks to a four-point play from Jonathan Mitchell with 0.8 seconds left on the clock.

After freshman James Bell buried a three to put the Wildcats up 75-70 with just 16 seconds left, James Beatty answered by banking in a deep three pointer with 11 ticks remaining. The Scarlet Knights fouled Corey Fisher, who hit 1-2 from the line, setting up this wild finish:



"I always want to take the last shot," Mitchell said after the game. "I always want the game on my shoulders. J.B. (James Beatty) did a great job kicking it back to me off the screen and I just let it fly. I got the whistle and the shot went in."

The call appears to be a bit ticky-tack, but from the reverse angle you can see that Fisher hit Mitchell on the arm as he raised up to shoot the ball.

"I don't think it was a mistake," Villanova head coach Jay Wright said. "I would say if it was. You're supposed to deny there. If he went and whacked him, I would say, but he wasn’t going to contest the shot, he was trying to deny the pass, the pass went over his hand, his hand was there, and to go through a hand and finish that play is a pretty tough play."

Wright deserves credit for not arguing the call, because Villanova has no one to blame but themselves for the loss. They were up 13 with five minutes left. They were up eight with less than two minutes left. They were up five with 16 seconds on the clock.

But a couple of turnovers in the span of 20 seconds with less than two minutes left turned a 70-62 Villanova lead into a 70-68 Villanova lead. Throw in a couple of missed foul shots down the stretch, and its not difficult to see why the Wildcats lost.


Rutgers, on the other hand, deserved this win. Mike Rice has a team that is out-talented just about every night in this league. But his kids play hard, they fight, and they've come so close to a couple of very good wins, losing by three to Pitt and then by two at St. John's.

"We kept fighting and improving, but in the Big East sometimes no one knows it because you keep getting the L's," Rutgers coach Mike Rice said. "So finally, to break through, to do this — it's special. But it's the seniors who won't let us quit. Who won't let us stop improving, it means a lot for them to have a game like that."