Having seen the final shot in slow motion several times, I really don't think the ball left his hand totally before the backboard lit up and buzzer sounded.  Did anybody else notice this?

He got the shot off before 0.0. ESPN showed it several times in slow motion. You can see clearly that the clock on the opposite side of the court (and the backboard light) did not go off until after the ball was out of his hand. But it was very close.

Fortunately that is a reviewable play and takes the decision out of the refs hands in real time.

He definitely got it off.

But WHAT an ending.  Was that 5 lead changes in the last 65 seconds?  And what was the Gonzaga guy inbounding the ball even thinking about?

The angle they showed on ESPN.com from behind made it look like it was a micro-nano-second late (but they did say it was reviewed to be sure it was OK)

it was good and whatever we have to pay Stevens when KS leaves we need him at VU!!!

bhoyal wrote: The angle they showed on ESPN.com from behind made it look like it was a micro-nano-second late (but they did say it was reviewed to be sure it was OK)

The view from behind is a bad view as the hand is blocking the view of the ball even after the ball is out.  On the side view it was pretty clear.

Better than the one KY got off against us.

vusportsfan wrote: it was good and whatever we have to pay Stevens when KS leaves we need him at VU!!!

A great coaching matchup, but there's no way Vanderbilt will ever be able to hire either Brad Stevens or Mark Few. Both have already turned down offers from higher profile programs for a whole lot of money. They like living where they live and coaching where they coach and are well compensated by their universities. Plus they're not stupid. Few was an assistant and best friend of Gonzaga's Dan Monson, who led them to the Elite Eight. Monson did leave for greener pastures that year, at Minnesota. It was a disaster and he has always said he should've stayed at Gonzaga. He's only now repairing the damage to his career, coaching with good success at Long Beach State. While there are plenty of examples of guys with great success at mid-majors who have gone on to similar success at major programs (e.g., look at the list of great coaches who left Tulsa, which includes Nolan Richardson, Tubby Smith, Buzz Peterson, and Bill Self), there are far more examples of guys who struggled and regretted it. Neither of those guys is going anywhere anytime soon, if ever.

TwoSaints wrote:

vusportsfan wrote: it was good and whatever we have to pay Stevens when KS leaves we need him at VU!!!

A great coaching matchup, but there's no way Vanderbilt will ever be able to hire either Brad Stevens or Mark Few. Both have already turned down offers from higher profile programs for a whole lot of money. They like living where they live and coaching where they coach and are well compensated by their universities. Plus they're not stupid. Few was an assistant and best friend of Gonzaga's Dan Monson, who led them to the Elite Eight. Monson did leave for greener pastures that year, at Minnesota. It was a disaster and he has always said he should've stayed at Gonzaga. He's only now repairing the damage to his career, coaching with good success at Long Beach State. While there are plenty of examples of guys with great success at mid-majors who have gone on to similar success at major programs (e.g., look at the list of great coaches who left Tulsa, which includes Nolan Richardson, Tubby Smith, Buzz Peterson, and Bill Self), there are far more examples of guys who struggled and regretted it. Neither of those guys is going anywhere anytime soon, if ever.

In particular, the success of Butler and VCU is proof of why they don't need to go anywhere.  Back when all of those guys left Tulse and when Monson left Gonzaga, the perception was that to win a title - to achieve the ultimate success - they *had* to leave Tulsa and Gonzaga and go to a major conference.  And then George Mason went to the Final Four.  And Memphis coulda shoulda woulda won the whole thing.  And Butler missed a National Title by about 6 inches.  Then lost their best player to the NBA and went back to the finals.  And VCU made the final four.

Does anyone seriously not think that a mid major could actually win the NCAA tournament one of these days?  And with conference realignment, Butler has upgraded to the A10, which is a whole lot nigher profile than the Horizon league.  And I don't know what Shaka Smart makes (and am too lazy to look it up), but I know after the finals appearance Butler gave Stevens a fat raise.  The reasons that a lot of guys leave mid-major schools just don't really apply to Stevens and Smart -- they are well paid and believe they can win a national title where they are at.  Why go?