Atlanta – It’s the kind of good-luck irony that keeps hopes alive and, in this case, carries a team into the NCAA Tournament’s Elite Eight.
Second-seeded Texas ousted one of the nation’s best 3-point shooting teams Thursday night with, yes, a game-winning 3-ball.
Senior guard Kenton Paulino buried a 3-pointer from the left wing as time expired to give the Longhorns a 74-71 victory over sixth-seeded West Virginia in an Atlanta Regional semifinal that had everybody in the Georgia Dome holding their breath.
“The play was designed if they hit a 3, to run down the court and look for a shot,” Paulino said. “When it left my hand it felt good. I had an idea it was going in.”
“We were going to push it in transition,” Texas coach Rick Barnes said. “If they made a 3, we were going to push it right on top of them. Somebody was going to get an open look.”
Texas (30-6) will play fourth-seeded LSU at 2:40 p.m. Saturday. Neither team has won a national championship in men’s basketball.
It appeared West Virginia’s star player, 6-foot-11 senior Kevin Pittsnogle, would send the game into overtime when he bagged a 3-pointer with five seconds left.
Texas’ 6-10 sophomore, LaMarcus Aldridge, tried to get out to Pittsnogle, but was too late.
“Nobody made the switch, and I just tried to contest it,” Aldridge said. “He made it, like he always does. He’s a great player.”
After the inbounds pass, Texas freshman guard A.J. Abrams almost flew down the court with his dribble. To his left, he spotted Paulino alone.
“I’ve never hit a game-winner before,” Paulino said. “I can remember missing a game-winner in junior high. But I’ve never hit a game-winner.
“I’m just glad the shot went in.”
Officials had to check a television monitor for a replay before determining that Paulino had beaten the clock. A malfunction of the scoreboard and the buzzer complicated matters.
West Virginia’s emotions went from joy to heartbreak in a split second – six-tenths of a second, to be exact.
“It was an up-and-down situation, but that’s basketball,” said Pittsnogle, who led the Mountaineers with 19 points and had hit four of his previous eight attempts from beyond the arc.
West Virginia (22-11) hit an amazing 15-of-33 3-pointers but once again missed a trip to the Final Four. The Mountaineers lost in overtime to Louisville in the Elite Eight last year.
Working the ball inside at every opportunity, Texas hit 64.3 percent in the first half and took a 39-27 lead into the break. Aldridge, who finished with a game-best 26 points, didn’t miss in the first half, going 8-for-8 from the field.
West Virginia came out firing after the break. As always, most of the shots came from long range. The Mountaineers opened the second half with a 10-1 run to get back into the game.
“They turned up the intensity and we didn’t counter it,” Aldridge said.
Pittsnogle made a 3-pointer from the right corner with 8:13 remaining to tie the game at 58-58. West Virginia took a 3-point lead on a trey by Mike Gansey with 7:19 to go, but Texas didn’t rattle.
A tough 12-foot turnaround by Aldridge put the Longhorns back in front 63-61 with 5:30 left. From there, it became a battle to the end.
“We did not have a good first half, and buried ourselves a little bit,” West Virginia coach John Beilein said. “But we fought back and darn near won the game.”
