Twitter reacts as Badgers, Gators combine for instant classic
Wow. Just wow.
Friday's Sweet 16 game between Wisconsin and Florida at Madison Square Garden had everything. There was a double-digit comeback by the Badgers, a clutch shot by senior Zak Showalter to send the game to overtime, a furious comeback by the Gators, a pair of go-ahead free throws by UW senior Nigel Hayes with 4.0 seconds left to put the Badgers up by two and finally a game-winning, buzzer-beating three by Gators junior Chris Chiozza to give Florida an 84-83 victory and set a date with South Carolina in the Elite Eight on Sunday.
BOX SCORE: Florida 84, UW 83
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The craziness started with 6.5 seconds left in regulation. That's when Wisconsin called timeout trailing Florida, 72-69. Senior Bronson Koenig, UW's go-to clutch shooter who had led the Badgers' comeback after they trailed by 12 with 4 1/2 minutes left, limped to the sidelines, obviously in pain.
Koenig took the court after the break, but he was little more than a decoy as the ball was instead inbounded to Showalter, who approached the three-point arc, jumped off his right foot and nailed a running three-pointer. He then turned toward Green Bay Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers sitting in the crowd and imitated Rodgers' famous championship belt celebration.
That shot sent the game to overtime — marking the first overtime game of this year's tournament — and sent Twitter into a frenzy.
The Badgers carried that momentum into the overtime period, using a 6-0 run to take a 78-73 lead with 1:40 left. With 34 seconds left and leading by two, the Badgers beat the Gators' press by sending the inbound pass deep to Khalil Iverson, who looked to have a wide-open lane for a dunk or layup.
Instead, Gators senior Canyon Barry made a huge play, chasing down Iverson for a block. That led to a Chiozza layup at the other end that tied the game with 24 seconds left.
Following that sequence, Wisconsin had the ball with the shot clock off and the game tied. As time ticked down, Hayes drove toward the hoop and was fouled with 4.0 seconds left, setting up a pair of crucial free throws for the 58.7% free-throw shooter, who was 5 of 12 from the line Friday night heading into that moment.
Hayes made the first, then made the second.
That set the stage for the craziest four seconds of the tournament, as the Gators charged across the court virtually unimpeded and Chiozza floated a running three-pointer from the top of the key as time expired. It caught nothing but net to seal the win for Florida and end Wisconsin's season.