Minneapolis – All eyes have been on Villanova’s sensational guards the entire season.
So no one can blame Boston College for concentrating on Allan Ray and Randy Foye and forgetting all about Will Sheridan.
Not even Sheridan.
“That’s what I would do,” Sheridan said.
Down 59-58 in the closing seconds of overtime Friday night, Sheridan set a screen for Ray and slipped behind the defense to get an inbounds pass under the hoop. Eagles forward Sean Williams was late getting over and was charged with goaltending when he batted the shot away with three seconds left, giving Villanova the lead.
Louis Hinnant’s desperation 3-pointer at the buzzer missed everything, allowing the Wildcats to escape with a 60-59 victory.
“I turned around on the inbound and wondered how this man got open like that,” Williams said. “So I get there and I didn’t make it, I guess.”
Foye carried the load for most of the game, scoring 29 points and playing all 45 minutes to offset a horrendous night from Ray and the rest of Villanova’s vaunted four-guard lineup.
Foye scored six straight points for top-seeded Villanova (28-4) at the end of regulation, then added a 3-pointer and a tough driving layup in overtime for a 58-55 lead.
“He was exhausted,” Villanova coach Jay Wright said of Foye. “I said, ‘Do you have more?’ He said, ‘It’s my career. I have got it.’ He was the best.”
Jared Dudley and Craig Smith came right back with layups, the last one by Smith with 12 seconds to go to give No. 4 seed BC a 59-58 lead.
On the ensuing possession, Foye was foiled on a drive to the hoop and ‘Nova took the ball on an inbounds play under its own basket. With the Eagles (28-8) blanketing Foye on the play, Sheridan sneaked in for the open look – the same play that beat Cincinnati earlier in the year.
The Villanova faithful leaped out of their seats after the goaltending call, hoping their Wildcats might be headed back to the Final Four for the first time since Rollie Massimino’s underdogs shocked Georgetown for the national championship in 1985.
It was a heartbreaking loss for Boston College, which controlled the game for the first 35 minutes.
The Eagles slowed the game’s pace to a crawl to neutralize those super-quick Cats, leading by 14 points in the first half and nine midway through the second half. But they fumbled away a chance to play for the school’s first Final Four appearance.
Playing in their first regional semifinal since 1994, the Eagles looked every bit the newcomers. They committed 21 turnovers and had a hard time getting stars Smith and Dudley into the offense, despite an overwhelming height advantage.
“I can’t explain,” a somber Smith said. “It is pretty tough. It was a tough loss losing by one. Not much you can say.”
FLORIDA 57, GEORGETOWN 53
Minneapolis – Florida’s Corey Brewer made one basket in the second half, and he made it count.
Brewer turned a twisting, falling-down shot into a three-point play with 27.5 seconds left, lifting the third-seeded Gators over the Hoyas.
Brewer and rest of Florida’s super sophomores are erasing memories of the Gators’ recent tournament failures. The Gators hadn’t been past the second round since 2000, when Mike Miller led Florida to the championship game.
“Sometimes there’s things that are out of your control in these games,” said coach Billy Donovan.
Those Gators tied a school record for victories, set by their 1993-94 Final Four team. These Gators have done them both one better in the win column.
Florida (30-6) will play top-seeded Villanova on Sunday in the final, with the winner advancing to next weekend’s Final Four in Indianapolis.
Joakim Noah had 15 points, 10 rebounds and five blocks in yet another all-around effort. Fellow sophomore Taurean Green scored 13 points, and Al Horford, another sophomore, added 12 points to give the Gators what they needed to get past the tenacious, seventh-seeded Hoyas (23-10).
“I want to thank Corey Brewer for saving my butt, because I missed a wide-open layup at the end,” Noah said. “Corey’s play – not to say anything against Corey – a lot of luck comes into making a shot like that.”
It was more than just Noah who missed on that wild possession.
Brewer was the last one to grab the ball on the right wing, and he threw up an off-balance shot that somehow went in as he fell to the court and got fouled by Bowman.
