Push-off? Enthusiasts hero says UF defender ‘slipped’

• Ben Baby, ESPN Staff WriterMar 22, 2024, 09:16 PM ET

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  Ben Child covers the Cincinnati Bengals for ESPN. He joined the company in July 2019. Prior to ESPN, he worked for different newspapers in Texas, most just recently at The Dallas Early Morning News where he covered college sports. He offers everyday protection of the Bengals for ESPN.com, while emerging on SportsCenter, ESPN’s NFL shows and ESPN Radio programs. A local of Grapevine, Texas, he graduated from the University of North Texas with a bachelor’s degree in journalism. He is an accessory journalism teacher at Southern Methodist University and a member of the Asian American Reporters Association (AAJA).

INDIANAPOLIS– What took place in the final seconds of Friday’s NCAA males’s tournament game in between Colorado and Florida depends upon the perspective.On one end of the court

at Gainbridge Fieldhouse, it appeared like a push. On the other, the defender fell.What isn’t up for argument is how the game ended

. With Florida guard Zyon Pullin protecting him, Colorado’s KJ Simpson rattled in a standard jumper to give the Buffaloes a 102-100 win over 7-seed Florida.The shot came with just over a second left. The Buffaloes survived a desperation heave from Florida’s Walter Clayton Jr., who hit nearly whatever else in the closing minutes during the Gators’furious rally.The method Simpson saw it, the space developed for the final shot came with a little bit of luck.Editor’s Picks 2 Associated”I

observed the protector slipped a bit, “said Simpson, who scored a team-high 23 points for the 10th-seeded

Buffaloes

.” I don’t think I did any off-arm or nothing. When I saw it open up, that’s simply a wide-open shot for me. “Florida coach Todd Golden, however, appeared to suggest that Simpson may have played a hand– or a lower arm– in producing the

area for his game winner.”I thought ZP did his task,” Golden said of Pullin.”Stayed in legal guarding position, stayed between the ball and the basket.

And again, in some way Simpson simply developed about 7 feet of separation to get that shot off.”Both groups had a respected scoring night. It was the very first men’s competition game since 2005 in which both groups scored 100 or more points. It was

the second time in tournament history that such a game included a game winner in the final 10 seconds, according to ESPN Statistics & Details. The other came in 1992, when Duke and Christian Laettner beat Kentucky in the Elite Eight.Florida (24-12)came close to managing an improbable resurgence. The 10-seed Buffaloes led by 13 with 4:28 left and appeared on their method to managing the upset in the South region of the bracket.Then Clayton got loose. After handling foul problem early in the half, he practically solitarily pulled the Gators even. He scored Florida’s last 16 points and finished with a game-high 33. After Florida created a late turnover, Clayton drilled a 3-pointer with nine seconds left to connect the score at 100, which prompted a timeout from Colorado. “We opted for a little lineup due to the fact that we knew they were going to try to get threes and really put pressure on us off the dribble,”Buffaloes coach Tad Boyle stated.” We didn’t do an excellent task down the stretch.”But Boyle and the Buffaloes still had one opportunity to avoid the collapse and protect the upset.Coming out of the timeout, Colorado wished to get Simpson in an one-on-one seclusion, with 6-foot-11 center Eddie Lampkin Jr. at the basket to return a potential rebound.Initially, Simpson wasn’t open. But freshman Cody Williams, a projected lotto choice in the upcoming NBA draft, waited long

enough to find Simpson, who drove to his right, located the area to shoot and rattled in the shot.After Clayton’s midcourt heave landed to the right of the rim as time expired, Lampkin jumped through the photographers sitting behind the baseline and climbed into the section of Colorado fans behind the courtside media seating to savor the win.Colorado (26-10 )advanced to face 2-seed Marquette(26-9)in the 2nd round Sunday.Simpson and the Buffaloes weren’t worried about how he got the room to shoot Colorado into the next round. All that mattered was that it went their way.Said Simpson:” It looked excellent once it left my hands.”