NCAA BasketballVideo

La Salle Held On To Beat Kansas State, Thanks In Part To A Final Shot That Was… Uh… Well, Just Watch It

13 seed La Salle built a big lead over fourth-seeded Kansas State in the teams’ first second-round NCAA Tournament matchup today, holding a 44-26 edge at halftime, but then in the second half had to withstand the furious rally that most higher-seeded teams make at some point in these games. In the end, the Explorers held a 63-61 lead, and the Wildcats got the ball for one last possession with eight seconds to go. Obviously, getting a good look is paramount in these sorts of situations – don’t want to have to force up a prayer with the season on the line. So was Kansas State up to the challenge? Uh…

Here is a look at where KSU guard Angel Rodriguez was when he attempted that last shot:

…and here’s the same look, with some helpful notes:

As you can see… not a good look. Makes you wonder why Kansas State coach Bruce Weber drew this up as his team’s final play:

We kid, we kid. But you might wonder: why didn’t Weber call for a timeout when he realized Rodriguez was headed nowhere fast? Well…

As the horn sounded Bruce Weber, was pleading with officials for a time out. It never came

— Blair Kerkhoff (@BlairKerkhoff) March 22, 2013

So you could fault the refs here. But you could also fault Weber for not calling one sooner (and indeed, many chose that route). Either way, brutal loss for K-State… and tremendous win for La Salle. You might remember that in the middle of the season, La Salle beat Butler and VCU in back-to-back games. Have they rediscovered that form at a most opportune time? Between their “first round” win and hanging on today, they just might have. Don’t sleep on this bunch – and if your game against them comes down to the final possession, make sure you’ve got a solid plan.