VIDEO: Shabazz Napier's game-winning three-pointer

Shabazz Napier called out his UConn teammates after a loss to Marquette over the weekend. The sophomore guard almost didn't play tonight due to a foot injury.

Wanna know a great way to shut up all the critics?

Hit a game-winning three-pointer.

And that's just what Shabazz did.



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The Buzzer-Beater none of us saw

I hope you enjoyed th3 weekend.

After all, it was a great weekend of hoops. There were great games, great moments, and a bunch of great finishes.

Saturday featured the most single-day buzzer-beaters of the season. Four of them were documented by the internet's finest (Creighton, Penn, Pacific, Virginia Tech).

They were also ranked by Jeff Eisenberg.

But clearly we didn't do enough sleuthing, because there was a fifth buzzer-beater.



That's Ty Greene of USC-Upstate hitting a game-winning three-pointer against Lipscomb on Saturday night. The Spartans trailed by 13 with 12 minutes left, but Greene, who finished with a game-high 17 points, led a comeback, and capped it off with the game-winner.

The win moved the Spartans to 11-4 in the Atlantic Sun and 18-10 overall, which is a far cry from the team's 5-25overall  and 4-16 A-Sun record from just a year ago.

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VIDEO: Virginia Tech has some late-game magic of their own

Virginia Tech finally got some blessings from the basketball gods on Saturday.

Two days removed from their heartbreaking loss to Florida State and Michael Snaer, the Hokies had their own dose of late-game magic in overtime against Georgia Tech.

After Mfon Udofia hit a tough jumper to put the Yellow Jackets up two, Dorenzo Hudson grabbed a loose ball in front of the Hokie's bench and launched a 3-pointer as time expired.



It's nice to see the Hokies catch a break of their own. Sure, they're not even a bubble team this season, but it seems like VaTech always get the proverbial "shaft".

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Which buzzer-beater was better?

The 2011-2012 season isn't over just yet. But it's quite possible that we've already seen it's two most-signature moments.

Indiana wasn't supposed to beat Kentucky. Sure, it was at Assembly Hall, but this Hoosiers team was still a year away, right? Yeah, Kentucky and Indiana are two legacy programs, but even with Assembly Hall on the brink of eruption, there was no way Indiana was going to beat the Wildcats.

Duke dropped back-to-back home games against Florida State and Miami. The Blue Devils had no superstar leader. Austin Rivers, their all-world freshman, was struggling. People started to doubt Duke. Hell, Duke started to doubt Duke. The North Carolina Tar Heels just had to much size, too much talent, too much everything. Duke was going to keep the game close, but North Carolina would win.

Then Christian Watford happened.





Then Austin Rivers happened.



But which was better?

That question is much more difficult to answer than you may think.

If you are a fan of Kentucky or North Carolina, it's probably a bit easier.

But really, which was better?

The conventional wisdom will suggest that River's shot was best, as it should. That's a shot that kids in North Carolina emulate in the backyards, in their driveways, and on the playground. That's a shot that will forever be stored in the highlight videos for future Tobacco Road showdowns. His team was trailing late, somebody needed to step up. That shot will be replayed, re-aired and rehashed from now until forever.

But Rivers' shot was nailed in the unfriendly confines of The Dean Dome. His shot wasn't set up, rushed or hurried, there were certain elements of "the moment" that were lacking from this shot.

What Watford's shot lacks in historical significance, it makes up for in "spur-of-the-moment" pandemonium.

His shot was the result of a nice drive to the basket by Verdell Jones. His release had just a hint of "step back" to it. When his shot went through, he struck a pose. A beautiful, beautiful pose. Then there was the court-storming. If you ever want to know when/why/and how to storm a court, use that video as a guideline. It was magical. It was marvelous. It was the perfect court storm.

But both of these shots explain why sports are better than any movie or any TV show. You can't script it. You don't want it scripted. The best things in life happen when you least expect it.

So maybe Watford's was better, and maybe Rivers' was better.

And maybe, when it's all said and done, there will be another moment, one we don't know is going to happen, one we can't explain, that will trump both of these shots. Continue reading...

VIDEO: Buzzer-Beater of the Year

Should we care that this wasn't even a D-I game?

Absolutely not.

Top-25 NAIA schools Lindsey Wilson College and Georgetown College went toe-to-toe on Saturday night, and the game was won when LWC's Chase Spreen hit game-winner from the foul line.

The other foul line.

As if the shot wasn't good enough by itself, the call is of Gus Johnson-like perportions.



We will have more to come when the hysteria dies down.

(H/T @JeffWMcClanahan )
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VIDEO: Princeton beats Rider in OT on 3-point buzzer-beater

Finals Week provides students with unnecessary stress. It also provides college basketball fans with very little to salivate over.

Which is exactly why I bring you news of last night's Garden State Showdown between Princeton (4-6) and Rider (1-9).

The one-win Broncs led by as many as 16, but the Tigers clawed back for much of the second half, thanks in large part to Ian Hummer's 21 points, 11 rebounds, 7 assists and four steals.

But in overtime down by two, Mack Darrow, who had yet to make a field goal all game, came up large for Princeton.



The shot may have not been on par with the most recent Princeton buzzer-beater, the Ivy League-winning, NCAA Tournament bid-sealing shot hit by Doug Davis over Harvard last season.

But a buzzer-beater is still a buzzer-beater. And for the Tigers, now 5-6, it is definitely something to rejoice about.

(Apologize for the poor video quality. But again, it's Finals Week. The college students aren't the only ones taking the week off from hoops.)



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Which buzzer beater was crazier?

Generally speaking, when I think of a New Year's Eve buzzer beater, I think of someone scrambling through the party while the ball is dropping in order to find their New Year's Eve kiss partner.

For UC Santa Barbara and Cal State Northridge, getting lucky on New Year's Eve was the result of getting a very different kind of ball to drop.

The Gauchos were down by two to Fresno Pacific, an NAIA school, on the final possession of the game when Jordan Weiner followed up an airball from Orlando Johnson to tie the game at the buzzer:



Not to be outdone, Northridge's Devon Peltier hit a three from the corner with 0.4 seconds left that bounced off the top of the back board before falling through:



My vote is for UCSB's. Why? Because the headline "UC Santa Barbara's Weiner gets lucky on New Year's Eve" could legitimately have been written.
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Buzzer Beaters this weekend

There were some fantastic finishes this weekend, including at least four buzzer beaters. Did we miss any?

Brendan McKillop hits a three with three seconds left, and Steve Rossiter steals the ensuing in bounds and wins the game at the buzzer.



A fantastic block by Derrick Williams leads to Momo Jones banking in a 15 footer for the win.



The great finish to regulation starts at the 4:00 minute mark.



Edgar Sosa scored on a tough, tough drive to the rim to beat UConn.



Evansville has been playing well lately, and that streak continued as the Purple Aces downed Drake on their senior night.

 

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Bradley Beats Oakland on a 70 Ft Buzzer Beater

The NCAA Tournament had no buzzer beaters in its first weekend.

Sure, the end of the Siena-Ohio State game was great. Demetri Goodson made a fantastic play to end the Gonzaga-Western Kentucky game.

But no buzzer beaters.

Maybe you're watching the wrong tournament.

From the Collegeinsider.com Tournament:

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