- 10.6 seconds \nWith Minnesota up 57-55, IU senior forward D.J. White blocks a potential layup by Golden Gopher Dan Coleman.\nThe Hoosiers immediately call timeout to draw up a play.\nIU inbounds the ball 94 feet away from the basket. Freshman guard Eric Gordon takes the ball and slowly dribbles to center court. With about seven seconds left, he turns on the jets. He zigs in and out of the Minnesota defense en route to the basket. He leaps but is bumped by a Gopher defender. He sends a shot into the air that hits off the backboard and bounces off the rim. The shot is off, but Gordon is going to the line.
- 3.4 seconds\nGordon is an 85.3 percent free-throw shooter. If he hits both shots, the game is tied and IU and Minnesota are likely bound for overtime. \nHe squares up at the line. He dribbles a few times, eyes the basket and shoots. \nClank. \nA miss. \nNow Gordon’s only hope is to intentionally miss the shot and hope a teammate can get a rebound and tip the ball in the basket. \nGordon lines up again, but this time shoots a high, arching shot. It bounces off the back of the rim, hits the backboard and rattles around the metal for a few brief moments. \n“I knew the only person that would get it was D.J.,” Gordon said after the game. \nWhite leaps toward the left side of the basket, grabs the ball, takes a slap on his wrist and puts it back on the glass. The ball rolls around the rim twice before making its way through the net. The not-so-neutral Conseco Fieldhouse crowd erupts in excitement. \n“There was a foul – there were so many fouls and tip-ins, so I don’t even remember what happened,” Minnesota sophomore Travis Busch said.
- 3.1 seconds\nThe score now tied, White has one shot to give the Hoosiers the lead. IU interim coach Dan Dakich calls a timeout to relax him. \nAfter the brief break, White steps to the line and shoots. His shot is long – it bangs off the back of the rim and bounces out toward the baseline. White jumps out from the foul line, grabs the rebound and gets knocked over by a Gopher. White will head to the free-throw line again after the foul.
- 1.5 seconds\nWhite steps up to the line and shoots his first of two shots. To the dismay of Hoosier fans, it hits the front of the rim and falls to the hardwood. \nWhite practices his shooting motion a couple times before taking the ball again. He dribbles and shoots. \nSwoosh. \nThis time, White drains the free-throw. \n“That was pretty deflating,” Busch said.\nIU’s up 58-57 with 1.5 seconds left. Minnesota coach Tubby Smith calls a timeout and furiously draws up a play. The Gophers have to go the length of the court and score in less than two seconds. \nDakich waits to see how the Gophers set up before calling a timeout of his own. \n“Anybody can get beat no matter what time it is,” IU junior guard Jamarcus Ellis said. “Whether there’s five seconds left, anything can happen as you saw today. Anything happened with 1.5 seconds left.”\nAfter the timeout, Busch takes the ball beneath IU’s basket and tries to inbound the ball.\n“We thought we had the game won,” said IU junior forward Kyle Taber. “One stop, one and a half seconds left, we win the game. We were excited about that.”\nBusch, still out of bounds, runs quickly to his left and back to his right and throws the basketball 75 feet down the court, like a quarterback heaving a Hail Mary at the end of the game. \n“It was a great pass,” said freshman Golden Gopher Blake Hoffarber. “I just went up and grabbed it because I couldn’t see anybody around.”\nIf anybody can make a miracle shot for Minnesota, it’s Hoffarber. During Minnesota’s 2005 high school basketball state championship game, Hoffarber sank a buzzer-beating shot to send the game into second overtime – all while sitting on the floor after getting knocked over. \nNow, Hoffarber had another chance to make an improbable shot. \nA lefty, he turned to his right, squared up and with his left hand sent up a prayer. \n“I was falling toward the baseline, so I couldn’t really see if it was on target,” Hoffarber said. “But it felt good.”\nSwoosh. \n0.0 seconds
