March Madness is upon us. Northern Iowa is headed to the NCAA Tournament after Wes Washpun's buzzer-beating jumper clanged off the rim, hung in the air long enough for the buzzer to sound and dropped through to give the Panthers the MVC title.
This is the second straight year the Panthers have won the MVC Tournament. Evansville was looking for its first NCAA Tournament bid since 1999. Neither team had a particularly strong resume, so this game essentially served as a tournament eliminator.
Washpun played an incredible game, scoring 18 points and repeatedly dazzling the Purple Aces with his crossover. The last minute of this game was incredible. Washpun hit a jumper to give the Panthers a 54-52 lead with 50 seconds left. Evansville missed two shots at the other end, but grabbed two offensive rebounds and star player D.J. Balentine laid the ball in with 28 seconds to go.
Balentine, the active career leading scorer in college basketball, will end his career without getting the Purple Aces to their first tournament since 1999. He played an amazing second half, but was clearly devastated after Washpun hit the game-winner.