Here’s Virginia Tech, Troy, and Army. National Leaders in College Basketball.
What are the leaders? A word that carries a certain aura with the promise that something exciting is about to happen.
More time.
College basketball games where 40 minutes are not enough to find a winner will be unforgettable. Not many boring games in overtime. They are at their best in March, but not as common. Texas’ 85-83 win over Arkansas in the NCAA Tournament last spring was the only Sweet 16 game in overtime. The streak for OT games in a tournament is seven. In the last four overtimes, Gonzaga beat UCLA in 2021 on a Jalen Suggs dunk, and in the last championship overtime, Virginia beat Texas Tech in 2019. Played only 8 times in 86 championship games. In 2005, Illinois, Louisville and Michigan finished in the top eight when OT was needed to reach the Final Four.
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This season? There have been 136 overtimes through Monday, about one in every 24.5 contests. As we reach the halfway mark of the season, there are some particularly great moments to honor. Call it gratitude overtime.
Step forward to be recognized, Virginia Tech. The Hokies are 9-4 in regulation, but 4-0 when the clock runs to zero and the score is tied, and no one else can say that. The Hokies got through it in a variety of ways: overtime, a 107-101 win over Providence, an 86-83 win over South Carolina, an 82-819 win over Elon when neither team trailed by 19 points with 2:42 left, and Virginia’s Game 85 win. 73 of 171 shots from behind the arc.
“They don’t surprise me anymore,” coach Mike Young said.
Take the Troy bow, which went into overtime four times in the first 10 games. A 103-97 OT win at Kent State to open the season was the Trojans’ first 100-plus game against a Division I opponent in nearly nine years, but they were just getting warmed up. In a span of 48 hours in November, they defeated San Diego State 108-107 in double overtime. Southern Cal then lost 107-106 on a 3-pointer in 3 overtimes. It was Troy’s 35th lead change in two games. Twelve days after that, Troy lost to West Georgia 93-89 in overtime. They are now 11-6.
In the 10th game of the season, the Trojans played 40 extra minutes.
Then the army. Four of the past nine games have gone to OT, three of which have been won. The Black Knights hit two 3-pointers just before the regulation buzzer to force overtime.
It is not always more time to remember, but the way it is created.
Here’s to Chicago State and Stonehill defying logic. Chicago State led 71-69 with 0.1 seconds left in regulation. Impossible to miss. Well, almost impossible. The Cougars had a timeout they didn’t have, which resulted in a technical foul and two free throws on Stonehill. Hermann Coffey made them both, which meant overtime and Stonehill won 85-82.
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A 15-point TCU lead in the final five minutes came to Kansas, where Darrin Peterson’s three free throws in the final two seconds forced overtime. The Jayhawks eventually won 104-100, marking just the 13th time in Division I history that a team trailed by 15 or more points in five minutes to win. Had Kansas not rallied in its history, the Jayhawks would have started league play 0-2 for the first time in 43 years.
Here, San Diego State rallied from a 24-point lead against Boise State, saving a 3-pointer with 0.4 seconds left in the first overtime to win 110-107 in the third OT. The most points scored in an Aztec game since 1971, but just two more than six weeks ago against Troy.
Here are Northern Iowa and UC Irvine, joint nominees for this year’s wildest finish. Both teams combined for seven points in the final eight seconds of overtime. First, Deryn Saran scored, fouled, missed a free throw and scored again to give UC Irvine a 69-67 lead with 6.8 seconds left. Trey Campbell then went coast-to-coast, scored, was fouled and hit a free throw with 0.6 seconds left to give Northern Iowa a 70-69 win.
Here’s a look at Vanderbilt, whose 16-0 record has mostly come from gorgeous offensive performances. But on Dec. 17 against Memphis, the Commodores fell 77-70 in overtime. A real grinder. The Tennessee duo combined for 40 steals, 43 baskets, 66 free throws, 51 shots from beyond the arc and 10 points. Vanderbilt shot 32.3 percent from the field, its lowest since 2014. It also marked the fifth time in the last 30 seasons that the Commodores have committed 20 turnovers and won.
Here’s Providence, the early favorite for the Close-Only-Counts-Horseshoes-and-Grenades award. The Friars went on three overtime drives, scoring 101, 110 and 98 points. They lost all three.
Here’s a look at Bradley and Indiana State forgetting what it’s like to play just 40 minutes every time they get together in Terre Haute. Bradley’s 108-99 win in three overtimes made it Indiana’s third straight game in overtime.
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Take Rutgers, who is 0-4 in the Big Ten after the game lasted just 40 minutes, but went into overtime tied 2-0. Going back to last season, five of the Scarlet Knights’ last 12 games against conference teams went into overtime, and they won four.
For the first time in school history, they won three overtime games and came to Northern Colorado on December 6th.
Here’s a look at Cornell and Colgate over 18 ties, a 21-point lead and two overtimes before Cooper Noard tied the game with a 3-pointer with 5 seconds left in regulation and two free throws with 2.5 seconds left to give Cornell a 95-94 victory.
Overtime for No. 1 Arizona or No. 2 Iowa State has yet to happen. Purdue has yet to play a game closer than seven points in regulation. Duke hasn’t gone overtime in nearly three years and hasn’t won a single in nearly six.
How normal.
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