EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. –- Yes, it was an extraordinary shot by an extraordinary player, but let's be honest here, folks: Georgetown got lucky.
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| Jeff Green has a spring in his step thanks to a lucky shot. (Getty Images) |
"I got lucky," said Green.
He has that right. With Georgetown down by one and coming out of a timeout with 14 seconds left, the Hoyas wanted to look for a quick backdoor cut to Patrick Ewing. But if there was nothing there, Green was under instructions to do what he could do to score.
So he did.
After looking for Ewing, he turned his back to the basket. Then he fumbled the ball before picking it up, spinning to split a double team and carom a one-handed shot put off the backboard.
"It was one of those plays when things just happen so fast that you try to get it up there," said Green, who played every minute. "That's what happened. I tried to get it up off the glass."
But you saw that. What you might not have seen is what TV replays revealed later: Green appeared to shuffle his feet after picking up the dribble to commit a turnover. OK, let's get more to the point: It was "clearly a walk," as CBS Sports' Clark Kellogg said.
But there was no call, and please, let's not remind the Commodores. They feel bad enough about letting this one get away.
"We knew what was coming," a disappointed Vanderbilt coach Kevin Stallings said of the game-winning shot. "I thought we defended him fairly well, and then he made a tough shot.
"I'm certainly not going to take anything from the dignity of the game. I haven't seen the replays, and I don't care to. The officials didn't see anything, so there must not have been anything. The young man made a terrific play, and the ball went through the basket."
Green's shot ended a roller-coaster ride for the Hoyas that saw them overcome an eight-point halftime deficit, thanks largely to the re-emergence of center Roy Hibbert. But you win some, you lose some, and the Hoyas lost Hibbert to fouls with 3:58 left.
That was supposed to finish them -- especially with Hibbert controlling the boards and inside play in the second half. But Georgetown responded by buckling down on defense, holding Vandy to no field goals in the final 4:44 and it turned to Green and teammates DaJuan Summers and Jessie Sapp for the offense that Hibbert took with him to the bench.
