The Morning Journal (Lorain, OH)

As clock ticks, call time out or play on?

- By Ralph D. Russo

If Florida coach Mike White had a timeout left at the end of the Gators’ thrilling victory against Wisconsin, the most memorable shot of this NCAA Tournament so far might not have happened.

Down 2 points with no way to stop the clock and plot out a strategy to go the length of the floor with 4 seconds left, the Gators put the ball in the hands of one their speedy guards and let him go to work.

Chris Chiozza produced the first game-winning buzzer-beater of the tournament after sprinting to the 3-point line and letting fly a one-hander that hit nothing but net. The fourthseed­ed Gators advanced to play No. 7 seed South Carolina on Sunday at Madison Square Garden in an East Regional final that is allSouthea­stern Conference.

“I was glad we didn’t have (a timeout), of course,” White said Saturday. “Especially a half hour after Chris makes the shot he made. It was easier to say that last night than right now, but I don’t want to back off of that sentiment. If we had called a timeout, who knows what (Wisconsin coach) Greg (Gard) does and how they line up and match up and what type of defense that we see.”

It is a choice coaches face often at the end of close games: Call a timeout and a play or trust preparatio­n will lead the players to make the right decisions without further instructio­n against a scrambling defense.

With only 4 seconds left, just getting into position to take a decent shot is difficult, but Florida has the type of players needed to pull it off.

“They’ve got the three fastest guards in the country,” South Carolina associate head coach Matt Figger said, referring to Chiozza, Kasey Hill and KeVaughn Allen.

White said he likes to think he would not have called a timeout even if he had one to call — probably.

“And that’s probably been the case five or six times this year, where we had one late half or late clock, late game, where, especially with both these guys in the game, if they can get ahead of steam in 4 seconds, they can cover a lot of ground, and Chris obviously showed that,” White said.

Most end of game offense during this tournament has been — at best — unproducti­ve. Lots of hero-ball, long jumpers coming up empty. Some notable examples:

• Princeton had a chance to knock off Notre Dame in the first round, but down one in the waning moments took a long 3-pointer that missed.

• Wichita State needed a 3 to tie Kentucky on its last possession and ended up getting it blocked.

• West Virginia was down three and had the ball for the last 38 seconds against Gonzaga — never called a timeout — and barely hit the rim once in three long attempts.

 ?? JULIO CORTEZ — ASSOCIATED PRESS ?? Florida guard Chris Chiozza puts up the game-winning 3-pointer to beat Wisconsin in overtime March 25 in New York.
JULIO CORTEZ — ASSOCIATED PRESS Florida guard Chris Chiozza puts up the game-winning 3-pointer to beat Wisconsin in overtime March 25 in New York.

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