Let me preface this by saying that this is not the reason Villanova lost, they had plenty of chances to put the game away down the stretch. But this feels like a pretty big deal, and we want to point it out.
When Justin Moore was fouled with 10 seconds left and Nova holding a one-point lead, it was in fact Virginia Tech's 10th team foul and Moore should have been shooting two. Instead, he was awarded a one-and-one, of which he missed the front end. Tech came down and hit the go-ahead basket, adding another point on the and-one call. So much could have been different if Moore had gotten the two free throws he was entitled to. Perhaps he makes both knowing he has two. Or, if things played out the same way they did except that Moore had made the second after missing the first, then his two free throws to force overtime would have actually put Nova up one with a second to go, avoiding overtime. Again, this is not the reason Villanova lost. It had a 12-point lead with like eight minutes to go, and missed several front ends down the stretch in addition to giving up three offensive rebounds on Tech's second-to-last possession. But this feels like a big deal nonetheless, and I'm not sure how it slipped through the cracks. Another point of frustration in what turned into a frustrating night for the Cats.
We'll have our full recap of the game up shortly, but this felt like it deserved to be addressed on its own. Again, pretty frustrating that this was missed by everyone.
When Justin Moore was fouled with 10 seconds left and Nova holding a one-point lead, it was in fact Virginia Tech's 10th team foul and Moore should have been shooting two. Instead, he was awarded a one-and-one, of which he missed the front end. Tech came down and hit the go-ahead basket, adding another point on the and-one call. So much could have been different if Moore had gotten the two free throws he was entitled to. Perhaps he makes both knowing he has two. Or, if things played out the same way they did except that Moore had made the second after missing the first, then his two free throws to force overtime would have actually put Nova up one with a second to go, avoiding overtime. Again, this is not the reason Villanova lost. It had a 12-point lead with like eight minutes to go, and missed several front ends down the stretch in addition to giving up three offensive rebounds on Tech's second-to-last possession. But this feels like a big deal nonetheless, and I'm not sure how it slipped through the cracks. Another point of frustration in what turned into a frustrating night for the Cats.
We'll have our full recap of the game up shortly, but this felt like it deserved to be addressed on its own. Again, pretty frustrating that this was missed by everyone.
