Rick Pitino: Dylan Darling requested the play for his buzzer-beater in St. John's NCAA tournament win over Kansas
Darling wanted to take the game-winning shot even though he hadn't scored a single point.
St. John’s coach Rick Pitino said Dylan Darling wanted to run a play that would put him in a position to make the game-winning shot against Kansas. Darling hit a layup as time expired to give the No.
5 Red Storm a 67-65 win over No. 4 Kansas and send the school to its first Sweet 16 since 1999. Kansas tied the game with 13 seconds to go on two free throws and had committed just two fouls in the half at that point.
After fouling St. John’s four times — and not running enough time off the clock in the process — the Red Storm had the ball at mid-court with 3. 9 seconds left for an inbounds play.
And Darling wanted the ball. “Here’s the amazing thing and it’s the funniest thing I’ve ever been involved with. So we’re going to run a play — but they’ve got fouls to give,” Pitino said in his postgame news conference.