This is why every March an entire nation gets caught up in an out-of-control Segway ride known as the NCAA Tournament, which leave players and coaches crying and the winning coach, Notre Dame’s Mike Brey, opening his press conference by wondering out loud:
“Are you kidding me?! Are you freaking kidding me?! That was unbelievable!’’
If you’re a Notre Dame fan, it surely was.
The Fighting Irish advanced to the Sweet 16 when Rex Pflueger’s tip-in with 1.5 seconds left ended Stephen F. Austin’s dream season, 76-75, at Barclays Center. Notre Dame will meet Wisconsin, a last-second winner over Xavier, on Friday in Philadelphia.
And that’s just a tweet of what was one of the most riveting games of the first weekend.
Beyond the dichotomy of mid-minor No. 14 seed Stephen F. Austin (28-6) facing America’s athletic program, No. 6 seed Notre Dame (23-11), was the polar-opposite contrast of the players that decided the game.
Pflueger is a freshman who started one game this season. Stephen F. Austin’s Thomas Walkup is a senior and two-time Southland Conference Player of the Year.
Pflueger’s tip-in was his first basket of the game and his first since March 5. Walker was the game’s leading scorer with 21 points, but couldn’t deliver on two possession in the final 90 seconds.
“Are you kidding me?! Are you freaking kidding me?!”
With 1:03 remaining and the Lumberjacks leading, 75-72, Walkup missed a deep 3. After Notre Dame’s Demetrius Jackson converted two free throws for the Irish, Walkup missed a running layup with 23 seconds left, leaving the Lumberjacks clinging to a 75-74 edge.
“We put the ball in Tom’s hands, and I’ll do it again every single time,’’ said Stephen F. Austin coach Brad Underwood, who hesitated to chew on some ice so he wouldn’t break down in tears. “I’m going to live and die with that young man.”
Pflueger knows the feeling. At nationally renowned Mater Dei High (Calif.), he missed a tip-in in a semifinal playoff game that cost his team a shot at a state title.
“Same exact kind of situation that I missed it, and we ended up losing that game,’’ Pflueger said. “So it was nice to get that one.’’
Pflueger, who had offers from Cal, San Diego State and Texas A&M among others, got his chance when Jackson’s layup attempt didn’t go. Neither did Zach Auguste’s putback try.
A pack of players went for the rebound, but it was the 6-foot-6 Pflueger who got there first.
“He does stuff like that in practice all the time,’’ Brey said. “So it’s not kind of out of left field.’’
Walkup’s emergence as a top college player did come out of left field. He played his high-school ball at Deer Park (Texas). He missed most of his senior season with injury and had offers from Stephen F. Austin and Houston Baptist.
“Extremely tough,’’ a red-eyed Walkup said of Pflueger’s tip. “That’s all I have to say. It’s a ball we should have came up with after the first one, and it’s tough to see it go through.’’
Walkup has been sporting a Brooklyn hipster beard that has gone unshorn while his team ripped off a nation’s best 21 straight wins. After scoring 33 points in an upset win over West Virginia on Friday, he was the face of the Tournament.
Now the clean-shaven Pflueger, who still looks more like a high school junior than a college freshman, is the face NCAA Tournament joy.
“Are you kidding me?! Are you freaking kidding me?!”