Clutchness a crucial intangible at tourney time
North Carolina with a clutch basket late in the national title game before Villanova’s Kris Jenkins knocked down a game-winner. Luke Maye joined the clutch club this season with a jumper with 0.3 seconds left to beat Kentucky to get the Tar Heels back to the Final Four .
Williams drills his players through those situations in practice every day. But it’s one thing for someone to hit a shot on the practice court.
Pressure is magnified under the bright lights of the NCAAs. These are situations in which intangibles may set clutch players apart.
Wisconsin pulled off a memorable victory after beating overall top seed and defending national champion Villanova in the second round on a game-winning reverse layup by Nigel Hayes with 12 seconds left. Hayes and guard Bronson Koenig were the headliners of a savvy senior class that produced in crunch time.
“And then you’ve got to be a little lucky too once in a while,” coach Greg Gard said before the regional semifinals. “You’ve got to make shots at the right time, get a stop at the right time. … One little thing here or there tips the scales in a team’s direction.”
The Badgers experienced heartbreak the next game, when Florida’s Chris Chiozza hit a buzzer-beating 3 in overtime on a play that started with four seconds left.
“But in my off night when I’m in the gym or something I might do that two or three times the whole time I’m in there, and it normally doesn’t go in,” Chiozza said.