San Diego State's Free Throws With 0.7 Seconds Left Netted Them An All-Time Backdoor Cover Against Charleston

Matt Fitzgerald3/16/2023 10:14 PM

What a tough scene for those who were pinning their hopes on Charleston as one of those classic 12th-seeded Cinderellas to advance past the Round of 64. Or at least, you know, to cover the spread. I can tend to stretch word counts out to their limit, but for this one, what do you even say to Cougars backers? And by Cougars I mean the Charleston mascot. Let's not get too far afield here.

My big takeaway in the moment was that the multiple Cougars could've easily fouled San Diego State's Micah Parrish on that defensive rebound. When Parrish ripped his board down, the clock had about 5.2 seconds remaining. It was like Charleston was in between no longer giving a fuck because the outcome was decided, or they only half-assedly reached in and didn't draw a whistle. Either way, they could've offered their students, fans and those who picked them in the bracket the solace of a covered spread.

Had Charleston wrapped up and fouled Parrish right away, there would've definitely been time for one more shot, even if it was a low-percentage look.

OR, YOU KNOW, DON'T FOUL AT ALL! PRESERVE THAT COVER!! What wound up happening instead, obviously, is the Cougars split the difference, pitter-pattered and basically patty-caked underneath the rim and left their many suddenly ardent supporters in agony. Meanwhile, those who had the Aztecs covering experienced the ultimate elation. March Madness is indeed officially here.

We had another bad beat shortly before this in the Alabama-Texas A&M CC game. The 16th seed clipped the Tide's massive spread right at the end. THE PAIN.

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