With so many great games in one night, it's easy to expect some fireworks. Tuesday gave us fireworks with a cherry on top — late-game heroics.
No. 9 Duke edged out Wake Forest on a dunk with less than a second left. South Carolina provided one of the moments of the year to beat the buzzer and take down Ole Miss.
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There were also two huge games between ranked opponents Tuesday night.
Let's take a look at how it all went down.
Mark Williams puts No. 9 Duke past Wake Forest with authority
Duke's Paolo Banchero drove the hoop with under three seconds to play in a 74-74 game. He tossed up a layup and it went off the front of the rim. That's when center Mark Williams slammed home the put-back dunk with less than a second on the clock.
MARK WILLIAMS PUTBACK WITH .2 LEFT!!@MarkWi1liams | @DukeMBB pic.twitter.com/tP3nIcJvZZ
— ACC Men's Basketball (@accmbb) February 16, 2022
Officials reviewed the play for basket interference, but found the dunk to be legal, giving Duke the 76-74 lead. The Blue Devils went on to beat Wake Forest by that same score.
Here's how it looked from the floor.
BIG MARK FTW!!! (sorry Coach Scheyer was blocking us for a second) pic.twitter.com/k5cxPR9X5E
— Duke Men’s Basketball (@DukeMBB) February 16, 2022
Williams' game-winning dunk finished off a terrific game from the sophomore. His 16 points were tied with Wendell Moore for the team lead. His 10 rebounds led the team in that category as well.
Duke was without head coach Mike Krzyzewski after the first half. Coach K wasn't feeling well, per the team. Jon Scheyer was acting bench boss for the rest of the night.
South Carolina's James Reese at the buzzer
South Carolina's Jermaine Cousinard had to inbound the ball from behind his own hoop with the score tied, 74-74, and two seconds left on the clock in overtime. Given the circumstances, a second overtime looked to be necessary.
That was until Cousinard found James Reese at halfcourt. Reese caught it and in one motion, chucked it towards the Ole Miss hoop.
JAMES REESE CALLED GAME‼️‼️‼️@GamecockMBB #SCtop10 pic.twitter.com/n0bZ44I10g
— SEC Network (@SECNetwork) February 16, 2022
The bank was open. It bounced off the backboard and in, giving South Carolina the incredible 77-74 win.
Erik Stevenson led the way for the Gamecocks with 17 points and six rebounds. Freshman Devin Carter turned in a double-double with 16 points and 11 rebounds.
No. 10 Villanova edges out No. 8 Providence, 89-84, in massive game for Big East
Collin Gillespie picked a good time to put up his highest point-total of the year.
COLLIN. GILLESPIE. @Colling1021 | #RoadAttitude pic.twitter.com/NUXIKWz78S
— Villanova MBB (@NovaMBB) February 16, 2022
The graduate student guard led Villanova into Providence to take down the Friars, 89-84. Gillespie was clutch all night, finishing with a game-high 33 points.
Villanova separated itself from Providence with terrific three-point shooting. The Wildcats shot 47.8 percent from beyond the arc, while the Friars could only shoot 21.7 percent. It also helped the Wildcats that they shot 50.9 percent from the field.
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Providence stays in first place in the Big East but with the win, Villanova makes things even tighter at the top.
No. 16 Tennessee handles No. 4 Kentucky with 76-63 win
The Volunteers took down Kentucky, 76-63, in Tennessee on Tuesday night, winning a huge SEC clash.
Rise + 🔥
— Tennessee Basketball (@Vol_Hoops) February 16, 2022
📺 ESPN
📲 https://t.co/YTuXiwV147 pic.twitter.com/fUiXfDUrZC
Tennessee controlled the game for most of the night. That was in large part due to Santiago Vescovi putting up a team-high 18 points. Helping out on the offensive side was Kennedy Chandler with 17 points and then Zakai Zeigler and John Fulkerson with 14 apiece.
Oscar Tshiebwe led the way for Kentucky with 13 points.
With the win, Tennessee is tied with Kentucky for second place in the SEC. Both teams are chasing Auburn.
