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March Madness 2015: Top Plays From Day 1 Of NCAA Tournament

By Gerald Bourguet

Mar 19, 2015; Jacksonville, FL, USA; Georgia State Panthers gather around Panthers guard R.J. Hunter (right) following their victory over the Baylor Bears in the second round of the 2015 NCAA Tournament at Jacksonville Veteran Memorial Arena. Georgia State defeated Baylor 57-56 on Hunter
Mar 19, 2015; Jacksonville, FL, USA; Georgia State Panthers gather around Panthers guard R.J. Hunter (right) following their victory over the Baylor Bears in the second round of the 2015 NCAA Tournament at Jacksonville Veteran Memorial Arena. Georgia State defeated Baylor 57-56 on Hunter /
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March Madness
Mar 19, 2015; Louisville, KY, USA; Purdue Boilermakers forward Vince Edwards (12) reacts as Cincinnati Bearcats guard Troy Caupain (10) and Cincinnati Bearcats guard Kevin Johnson (25) celebrate after defeating the Purdue Boilermakers 66-65 in the second round of the 2015 NCAA Tournament at KFC Yum! Center. Cincinnati Bearcats win 66-65 in OT. Mandatory Credit: Brian Spurlock-USA TODAY Sports /

No. 8 Cincinnati vs. No. 9 Purdue:

It wasn’t pretty when the Bearcats’ leading scorer, Octavius Ellis, was ejected for a senseless elbow he hit his man with in the face. It wasn’t pretty when Cincy trailed the Boilermakers by seven points with less than 50 seconds to go. It didn’t look pretty when Troy Caupain missed a point-blank layup that would’ve cut the deficit to three with 1:02 to play.

And yet, somehow through all that adversity, Purdue PurD’OH-ed its way out of the tournament and Caupain made the most of his opportunity for redemption.

A three-point play from Caupain gave the Bearcats a glimmer of hope:

But his layup to send the game to overtime was the shining moment of this game. With less than a second remaining, Caupain’s drive to the basket resulted in a shot that rolled around the iron and seemed to hang there for what felt like forever before dropping in the cup:

Cincinnati outscored Purdue by one in overtime to secure the 66-65 victory and pull off the last-minute comeback. But there are two lessons from Caupain for all you aspiring basketball players out there: 1) Never let a miss stay in your head for too long and 2) With the game on the line, GO. TO. THE. BASKET.

Next: UNC Survives Harvard Scare