The first upset of the 2018 NCAA Tournament came on a buzzer-beating 3-pointer, like a cherry on top of a sundae.
Donte Ingram sank a long 3-pointer in the final second to lift No. 11 Loyola-Chicago over No. 6 Miami, 64-62.
The Ramblers did not have the lead in the second half until that final basket and trailed the Hurricanes by as many as seven points, but kept the game close all afternoon.
Down two points in the final minute, Loyola’s Marques Townes drew a foul but only made one of his two free throws. The Ramblers fouled Miami’s Lonnie Walker with nine seconds on the clock, and because Miami was only in the single-bonus, Walker had a one-and-one.
Walker missed his foul shot, Ben Richardson grabbed the rebound for Loyola and set up Ingram for the last-second attempt.
The officials first allowed the clock to hit 0.0 seconds, but then added three-tenths of a second. Miami couldn’t capitalize on a desperate full-court heave.
Loyola’s Clayton Custer led all scorers with 14 points and Ingram netted 13.
Loyola, the Missouri Valley Conference champion, was a popular first-round upset pick in advice columns and fans’ brackets around the country. 35.6 percent of fans who submitted a bracket on ESPN picked Loyola to beat Miami, the highest amount for any team seeded No. 11 or lower.
• Adam Zielonka can be reached at azielonka@washingtontimes.com.
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