Not counting the play-in games that happened earlier in the week, the first round of the 2011 NCAA men’s basketball tournament has been nothing short of spectacular.
Matt Howard’s put-back lifted Butler over Old Dominion and Temple’s Juan Fernandez beat the buzzer against Penn State. But the best buzzer-beater from the opening week was executed by Morehead State’s Demonte Harper.
Harper buried a 3-pointer from the top of the arc with 4 seconds left to put 13th-seeded Morehead State ahead, 62-61, over fourth-seeded Louisville. Then, when Louisville’s Mike Marra tried to launch a last-second shot from the wing Morehead State center Kenneth Faried stuffed Marra’s attempt and no foul was called. Ball game!
Replays show that Faried got a lot of basketball on the blocked shot, and it would have been a shame if the game ended on a controversial foul call. Watch the play: