2.2 Seconds

Myles

What a game. Butler upsets #1 Pitt in the craziest 2.2 seconds of basketball ever. Can you imagine playing in that game? On Butler’s side, emotions go from we have this in our pocket after the layup, to heartbreak after the Shelvin Mack foul, relief that at least you got it to overtime and finally shock, more than anything else, that Nasir Robinson committed a foul on Matt Howard with less than a second left to hand Butler back the win.

I said at half that if Pitt can’t pull away by the end of the game, Butler will win it. They always manage to come out on the winning end of those tight games.

From my standpoint, I had Pitt going to the Final Four, so that game sucked. However, Butler deserved to win that game. I think that neither foul in those 2.2 seconds should have been called (though the one on Pitt was more questionable). What really did Pitt in was the seeming forgotten possession when they had the lead and the ball. They bled down the clock and forced up a horrible shot. If Pitt draws up a good play there and hit a shot, or at least get to the line, then this game takes a whole different turn. Butler is forced to put up a three, and assuming they hit it (which is a whole lot less likely than hitting that easy layup) Pitt probably just holds the ball to send it to overtime. Instead, Pitt gave Butler the chance to win with just 9 seconds left, and Butler made no mistakes.

2.2 seconds, and things completely changed. I guess this is why it’s called madness.