UConn keeps its Tournament dream alive with a miracle

The road to the NCAA Tournament can tug and pull in ways no one expects. A loss at the wrong time can cause the trap door to open, a win at the right time can make the bubble seem a little less wobbly.

And then there are the moments that just set the whole basketball and sports world on fire, making everything seem tenuous and firm all at the same time. The euphoria of just a good basketball game with high stakes and everyone playing hard.

There is nothing quite like the back and forth affair that was the quadruple overtime thriller between Connecticut and Cincinnati at Amway Center on Friday afternoon.

There is nothing quite like the way the third overtime ended. Words do not give it justice:

Cincinnati erased a seven-point deficit with 3:36 to go just to force overtime when the two teams seemed unable to give up or take an inch from the other.

It felt like the Bearcats had finally pulled away enough when Octavius Ellis scratched out that offensive rebound a team so desperately needs and fed Kevin Johnson on the wing for a 3-pointer with 0.8 seconds left.

Cincinnati celebrated while UConn inbounded the ball. Jalen Adams flung the ball from well behind half court, banking it in and sending everyone in the Amway Center — even Huskies alumnus Ray Allen, who was in attendance — into euphoria and awe.

The Huskies took control in the fourth overtime and held on for a 104-97 win over the Bearcats, a win that was absolutely necessary for the Huskies’ NCAA Tournament hopes. UConn was literally hanging on by a thread, but it was enough.

“I saw them make a three, I was upset about it, but the least I could do was to get a shot up,” Adams said. “Daniel [Hamilton] passed me the ball, and nobody was in front of me, so I shot the ball as quick as I could it go in. And that was just amazing.”

Adams was in much shock as anyone else. An incredible moment in a game that seemed to have so many. And so much importance too.

UConn came out very sluggish and sloppy and had to really buckle down defensively and focus on taking care of the ball offensively to climb back into the game. Adams scored 22 points in the game and Justin Hamilton had 32.

Just a taste of the absurd stats that come in a quadruple overtime game. Because the Huskies played a strong second half, looking every bit the Tournament team many thought they would be at the beginning of the season.

“We just stuck together,” Huskies coach Kevin Ollie said. “There’s no magical speeches at this time. Players make plays. And they started making plays. We had a good game plan coming in, and our defense stayed packed. They made a couple shots, [Farad] Cobb got off early, but we just stayed together, and we kept huddling, and we kept playing together, we kept encouraging each other and that’s what it’s all about. It’s a team victory. And then players stepped up and made plays. Jalen made plays, Daniel made plays. That’s what it’s all about. I just love these guys. We just willed it. That’s what it comes down to when it’s one and go home. We lose and we go home.”

The Bearcats entered the tournament with perhaps the most secure position on the NCAA Tournament bubble. They are by no means automatically in. But this strong performance even in defeat is likely enough to get the team into the tournament.

Troy Caupain scored 37 points and grabbed 10 rebounds. Octavius Ellis had 13 points and 12 rebounds and Gary Clark had 12 points and 12 rebounds.

Still there is that disappointment. Fate is no longer in their hands. And it was not like they did not earn that opportunity either. The game went into four overtimes and both Cincinnati and UConn had every opportunity to win. And both deserved to win.

“The game’s never over until it’s over,” Caupain said. “Until one team wins. As you see, we went into four overtimes and the game was never over. But we thought the game was over too early and he hit a shot that put it into another over time. Which let us know that the game wasn’t over and we had to fight another round, another battle. I wouldn’t say that we gave up. We fought to the finish. The game ended how it did.”

And it was quite the ending. One that will be the talk of the conference tournaments and probably all of March.

It will define UConn’s Tournament bid and could be a boost heading into a matchup with top-seeded Temple on Saturday and yet another opportunity.