The Cavaliers and Boilermakers staged an epic Elite Eight battle Saturday night. Both teams played a phenomenal game, both looking to go back to the Final Four in decades. And despite an amazing 42 points from Carsen Edwards of Perdue, Virginia advanced to the Final Four for the first time since 1984.
Virginia found itself down 3 after Ryan Cline missed the second of two free throws with less than 20 seconds remaining. Purdue, hoping to avoid a game-tying 3-pointer, fouled.
Ty Jerome made the first shot then missed the second. Virginia tapped the rebound all the way into the backcourt. Kihei Clark raced back to get it. He threw the ball ahead to Diakite who got the shot with 0.4 seconds left in regulation.
WE’RE HEADING TO OT! ????#MarchMADNESS | #Elite8 pic.twitter.com/pmX7SHt35Z— NCAA March Madness (@marchmadness) March 31, 2019
In overtime, Purdue’s hopes for a game-tying 3-pointer ended when Edwards’ long pass to Ryan Cline went out of bounds with 2.1 seconds left.
The Cavs will now play the winner of the Kentucky/Auburn game next Saturday. The Wildcats vs Tigers matchup takes place today at 2:20 p.m. E.T.
Photo by Jason Morenz at Mission – Navy Yard