As Travis Busch launched the pass the length of the court with 1.5 seconds left, any faint chance Minnesota had of reaching the NCAA tournament rested on its accuracy.
When Blake Hoffarber caught the pass, turned and hit the shot, the Gophers went from likely NIT team to a squad that’s now part of NCAA tournament bubble conversation after earning a 59-58 victory over Indiana in the quarterfinals of the Big Ten tournament Friday.
The same player who won an ESPY when he hit a shot while sitting down in the state high school tournament gave the Gophers an extra chance to earn an NCAA at-large berth.
A pile of Gophers pounced on Hoffarber after the shot, celebrating their victory. They’ll face Illinois in the semifinals on Saturday.
“It happened in slow motion,” said Lawrence Westbrook, who finished with seven points. “I saw the ball in the air and it just kept pausing and pausing. … When Blake hit it, I looked ’cause I was kind of falling backwards, and I saw it go in. I just tackled him. I hope I didn’t hurt him.”
Big Ten Player of the Year D.J. White shot four free throws in the game’s final 10 seconds. He hit only one with 1.5 seconds left, but it was enough to give Indiana a 58-57 edge, after Minnesota had led by 16 points earlier.
Hoffarber said his shot Friday night is worth as much as his ESPY. But on this play, he wasn’t supposed to take the final attempt: “I was actually supposed to be the decoy.”