March Madness arrived with style on Friday afternoon with an insane buzzer-beater.
In the Big South Championship Tournament quarterfinals, Gardner-Webb and USC Upstate battled tooth and nail. The 4 and the 5 seeds in the tournament were playing for a date against top-seeded UNC Asheville. Gardner-Webb led 76-74 with eight seconds remaining.
And that’s when sophomore Jordan Gainey emerged as the hero. Gainey put up a tough three-pointer with seconds racing off the clock. He found the bank and buried the shot to send the Spartans to the Big South Tournament semifinals.
USC Upstate ranked 260th on KenPom to Gardner-Webb’s 212. So, this is a bit of an upset! That’s March for you, in all the best of ways. And all the most brutal ways if you’re Gardner-Webb right now.
USC Upstate now will play UNC Asheville in the semifinals on Saturday. They will once again be an underdog as UNC Ashville is projected to win by seven on KenPom.
The CBB world reacted to the insane buzzer-beater after it went through.
“HOLY COW. THE BANK IS OPEN. MARCH.” exclaimed Mid-Major Madness.
“JORDAN. GAINEY!” said Rob Dauster.
“Are you serious?” asked The 5-12 Matchup.
“March is here!!!” one reporter exclaimed.
The associate AD for USC Upstate also chimed in!
And then, one fan proclaimed that it’s the “Best time of the year.” Hard to argue that!
Best time of the year
https://t.co/ZglxZHG6PR — Hakeem. (@Bunssoir) March 3, 2023
About Chris Novak
Chris Novak has been talking and writing about sports ever since he can remember. Previously, Novak wrote for and managed sites in the SB Nation network for nearly a decade from 2013-2022