Mario's shot
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Someone here told me once I get offended easily at media slights! They're right.
I loathe the attention Laettners shot gets and Mullins shot will get forever. Great shots obviously. THEY WERE QUARTERFINAL GAMES. Those shots won their teams nothing.
Because I'm seeing lists of greatest NCAA buzzer beaters. Some doofuses argue it literally has to be zero seconds on the clock to qualify for this inane best of crap.
Well here's what irked me just a bit. Jeff Goodman, a national writer and NCAA hoops expert. https://x.com/GoodmanHoops/status/2038579820628418790
It doesn't matter really. Right?
But where in the Sam Hill is Mario Chalmers shot? This tool has shots that were in the first round of the tournament. Really, they rank higher than Mario?
No way. The kid from Nova, awesome shot. Keith Smart for Indiana, amazing shot. Mario. Incredible shot. Those are the only true NCAA championship winners. The rest of these shots are just good shots in clutch situations.
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@wissox83 Mario's choice was improbable and mind-boggingly clutch. But it only ties the game. The others were game-winners. That is the difference I've seen cited over the years.
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@wissox83 me too.
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@mayjay But if he misses we don't win right at that moment. He cites other shots from players that don't even win the national championship. Heck, the Nova guys team keeps playing if he misses because the game was tied.
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@wissox83 my argument is that Mario had no other option. Had to be a 3. Opponent set up D for it. We already had expended tremendous energy getting back to that point too. The deficit overcome should count too.
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Maybe possible to isolate factors for a formula...
- Shots that win (the team was behind or tied) the national championship at or near the buzzer (~3 sec or less)
- Shots that force any OT in the national championship
- Shots that win the Regional Finals at or near the buzzer
- Shots that force any OT in the Regional Finals
- Shots by underdogs that win NCAA Tournament games at or near the buzzer
etc...
Some context should also be considered to rank within those categories -- For instance,
- What kind of shot (3pt, 2pt, free throw?) and how far? (logo? beyond midcourt?)
- Size of the deficit overcome
- How little time the winning team led in the game.
- How many lead changes
- How high was the probability of winning for the losing team during the game and especially at the end of the game.
- Number of OTs
etc....
Given that UConn was 19 down, there were only 2 lead changes and they led less than a minute (~50 seconds), made this game all the more sensational.
Duke's probability of winning peaked at 98.7% with about 1:30 left in the first half. It was 95.3% with 5:03 left in the game. And it was 89.6% with 6 seconds left, when the turnover was committed.
While the UConn win was one for the ages, I think fantastic finishes in a National Championship have to be considered greater than fantastic finishes in lesser games.
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@bskeet I like the formula. FF games deserve even more 'points' than regional finals! Suggs shot was awesome. Harrison knocked out the 2014 Badgers with a do or die 3 for Kentucky. FAU had a FF buzzer beater just a couple of seasons ago.
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Speaking of Mario's shot, how many had turned the game off? Be honest, we won't kick you out! I stuck with it but I do know some who had turned it off.
