When the clock hits zero and the horn sounds, the ball is not visible.
Michael O’Connell’s desperation heave as time runs out on NC State’s season had such a steep trajectory that the ball arced out of the top margin of the TV broadcast picture.
By the time it appears, an instant later, falling as if dropped from the rafters, O’Connell is leaning to his right, trying to will the ball in with his body. A few steps away, coach Kevin Keatts leans way back, following the ball’s descent, wondering if his tenure as Wolfpack coach is over or has at least five minutes left.
The Wolfpack’s run had already been improbable and would be talked about for years to come. The Pack arrived in D.C. losers of four straight, by an average of nearly 10 points.
The season was over. State was 17-14, in 10th place in the ACC. Dennis Parker Jr., who had played in 29 of State’s 31 games, was not suiting up for the tournament due to illness. Big man Mohamed Diarra was fasting until sundown each day in observation of the holy month of Ramadan. By all accounts, it would be a short stay at the conference tourney, and then Keatts, who had made the NCAA tournament just once in his time as State coach, would be dismissed.
State gave itself a stay of execution, beating league doormat Louisville on the tournament’s first day, then scoring a mild upset over Syracuse the following day. That earned the Pack a date with Duke in the quarterfinals. The No. 11 Blue Devils had beaten the Pack by 15 at PNC Arena just 10 days earlier, but State pulled off a five-point upset win to earn a spot in school lore and live one day longer.
It was a fun run, but as any observer of ACC basketball over the last decade will attest, the University of Virginia was where fun went to die. The Cavaliers’ slow pace and excruciating defense ground down many an opponent, and, throughout the second half of their game, it appeared State would be the latest victim to UVA’s war of attrition. UVA led for 15 minutes and nine seconds of the second half, including from the 7:19 mark all the way until the final horn had sounded.
However, the game wasn’t over when the horn sounded.
The ball still had to fall from the sky.
Michael O’Connell’s arrival in that moment was a journey just as improbable as the rest of Wolfpack March. He originally committed to the University of Maryland coming out of high school—to play lacrosse.
He changed sports and time zones, playing basketball at Stanford instead, before transferring to State for his final year of eligibility.
“I’m still living it, so it’s hard to grasp the whole journey and what exactly has gone on,” he said during State’s postseason run. “After the season is done, I’ll be able to sit back and look back on it and enjoy it. But right now it’s a little surreal, so it’s hard to put into words.”
UVA led, 58-55. Casey Morsell missed a potential game-tying three with eight seconds left, and UVA got the rebound. O’Connell committed the desperation foul to send Virginia’s Isaac McKneely to the line. There were 5.3 seconds on the clock. A free throw would put the game out of reach.
He missed. Thanks to UVA’s glacial pace, State hadn’t committed enough fouls to put Virginia into the double bonus, so the ball was live after it caromed off the rim. Morsell grabbed the rebound, dribbled once and passed to O’Connell, who was speeding up the left side of the court. He caught the pass two steps shy of midcourt. There were 3.9 seconds left.
He dribbled once, twice, then gave his UVA defender a crossover to create some space. The clock was at 1.1 seconds.
He went up, shot, and the ball disappeared. The horn sounded. The red light behind the backboard lit up, signifying game over.
On the other side of the court, Jaden Taylor raised his hands to the sky as O’Connell released the shot, then slowly let them fall to his sides. In the middle of the floor, Morsell took two steps toward the basket to get in rebounding position, then stopped, realizing there was no time for second-chance points.
The ball smacked against the backboard, rolled around the rim, once, twice.
Then it fell in. O’Connell flexed. Keatts threw an air punch. Morsell jumped. Taylor slowly strolled back to the bench. There was still an overtime to play, an ACC title to win the following day, and a Final Four to reach.
“I had a little space and room, and I just rose up and shot it,” O’Connell said. “It went in. When you let it go, you’re sitting there waiting for it to go in. You’re not thinking you’re going to miss.
“Definitely pretty cool I was able to keep winning alive.”
