March Madness: Pure drama!

What a crazy finish! The Michigan Wolverines and Houston Cougars are engaged in an incomprehensible exchange of blows. Jordan Poole finally sinks the Buzzer-Beater to victory and allows the Wolverines around the German Moritz Wagner to enter the Sweet 16.

Top scorer: Moritz Wagner, M. Abdur-Rahkman (12) – Rob Gray (23)

Only 3.6 seconds were left to play in the Intrust Bank Arena in Wichita when Devin Davis stepped onto the line. Shortly before, the forward had grabbed the defensive rebound for his Cougars at the other end of the court at 63:61. With 17 points and 7 rebounds he had made an important contribution to leading the number 6 seed. Now he had the chance to make everything clear from the free-throw line.

But things turned out differently. Davis put the first free throw on the ring and the second did not want to fall either. After Moritz Wagner secured the rebound, he took a time-out in a flash. With 3.6 seconds left on the clock, the Wolverines actually had another chance to force the overtime – or even win the race.

Previously, both teams had a balanced exchange of blows over the full 40 minutes. The Cougars took an interim 6-point lead in the second half, that was all they could do for both sides in this tight game. Wagner, who scored 10 of his 12 points (5/9 FG, plus 7 rebounds) after the break, introduced Michigan together with Muhammad-Ali Abdur-Rahkman (also 12). Then the drama took its course.

In the last attack of the game, Abdur-Rahkman found 18-year-old Guard Jordan Poole on the right wing. Without hesitation, he sent the off-balance triple on its journey, observing the trajectory with his arms and legs wide outstretched – nothing but net!

“I’ve seen everyone celebrate,” Poole said after his heroic deed,”I always thought that when I hit a throw like that, I don’t want to get tackled to the ground. However, this only worked out shortly before the team-mates caught up with Poole and celebrated the victory that was no longer considered possible.

“We didn’t play well, Houston deserves a lot of praise for that,” Michigan coach John Beilein then analysed the performance of his team, which only scored 35.6% of his field tries, “We were lucky” His opponent, Cougars coach Kelvin Sampson, expressed disappointment: “I think we deserved the win. 39 minutes and 57 seconds were the best time. The Wolverines will now face the winner of the match between North Carolina and Texas A&M in Sweet 16.