March Madness: 15 Greatest Gus Johnson Moments (w/ video)
By Jacob Rude
12. “He Got It! He Got It!”
Here’s an overlooked one for you that even I didn’t at first realize was Johnson. In a back-and-forth affair between Princeton and the Bruins of UCLA.
The Ivy League underdogs were looking for the monumental upset over the Pac-12 giants and, after getting a stop and calling the timeout, had the ball with 21 seconds left. The Law of Young Gus was just as effective and, to the surprise of no one, Princeton got a backdoor pass and lay-in with just under four seconds left.
Which makes you wonder, what exactly was UCLA thinking Princeton would run? A lob play? If you watch the defender of the Princeton player who would score, his back is completely turned to his man, he bites hard on a pass to the perimeter, and is beaten just as badly.
The color analyst could barely finish the sentence “You know they’re going to try to run a backdoor play if they can get it” before Princeton ran a backdoor play.
Also, what is it with Gus and backdoor lay-ups in big moments?
Next: 2008 - Davidson vs. Wisconsin