Clutch hitters abound in NCAA

It’s the closing seconds of a tight game in the NCAA Tournament and the coach needs someone to take a big shot.

Experience helps, as does talent and preparation. There is another variable, too, that can’t necessarily be quantified.

“Those kids, they’re not afraid of the moment, and they really just rise to the occasion, all those clichés you want to use,” North Carolina coach Roy Williams said.

Marcus Paige did it last year for 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 year with a jumper with 0.3 seconds 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 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 Chris Chiozza hit a buzzer-beating 3 in overtime on a play that started with 4 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.

A look at some memorable March moments and thoughts from coaches and players about performing in the clutch:

NORTH CAROLINA: Experi- ence paid off for the Tar Heels. Williams runs plays in practice with a 15-second shot clock for precisely the kind of scenario that the team encountered in the regional final against the Wildcats.

“Believe it or not, we have practices where we play with a 15-second shot clock because I want them to push the ball hard enough to get a great shot in 15 seconds, not just throw it up,” Williams said. “We’ve won a few games like that.”

OREGON: The Ducks may not have had the opportunity to reach the Final Four had Tyler Dorsey not come up with key buckets down the stretch of a 75-72 win over Rhode Island in the second round. Dorsey hit a contested, go-ahead 3 from the top of the arc with 38.4 seconds after tying the game with a 3 with 1:45 left.