With 0.6 seconds left, Auburn hit a miraculous shot to seemingly beat Texas A&M — but after a review, the game was reversed, and the Tigers fell 90-88.
Things started getting strange with 13 minutes to go in the Texas A&M at Auburn men’s basketball game. After a back-and-forth first half, Auburn had built up their largest lead of the game at 16.
Then Texas A&M and their “Bucky Ball” went on an 11-0 run in about 30 seconds. Takeaways, pressure, steals. That run then stretched to 33-6.
Suddenly the Aggies were ahead by 10. Auburn chipped away at that lead.
In the final two minutes, things got stranger. In the final ten seconds, things got strangest.
With .6 seconds left in the game, A&M led 90-88. Auburn was to inbound the ball from side court. They got it in to KeShawn Murphy, who flung a Hail Mary.
It miraculously went in with zero on the clock. Auburn wins 91-90. Or so the Auburn team and fans thought. So did the initial call and the play clock. So did the announcers.
With the game clock on 0.00, a review was going on. The refs took a look at the inbound pass and Auburn’s three-point shot from downtown Opelika. They reversed and called it no good. Texas A&M won 90-88. Final. Finally.
That was how things ended. How they got there was a game of Auburn’s size and physicality vs. A&M’s “Bucky Ball.” A&M has a small but fast team.
“Bucky Ball” is the term invented by sportswriters to describe the style of basketball taught by Coach Bucky McMillan, Jr.
Bucky Ball had been a hit in McMillan’s 12 years as head coach at Mt. Brook High School, where he won five state championships. It transitioned with him into the college ranks with five years as head coach at Birmingham’s Samford University, which included the school’s first-ever trip to the NCAA Tournament.
Now, Bucky Ball is in its first year in the SEC, with McMillan as head coach of Texas A&M.
McMillan and his 12-3 Aggies came to Auburn (then 9-5) and Neville Arena (“the Jungle”) Tuesday night, a tough place to be the visiting team. There was a full house of Auburn fans with their 77th consecutive sellout.
It was a battle of two first-year head coaches.
McMillan and his Aggies beat Steven Pearl and his Tigers.
A&M was coming off a 75-72 victory over LSU Saturday.
Auburn and Steven Pearl have just lost two SEC games in a row that they had an opportunity to win at the end. They now host #15 Arkansas Saturday at 5 p.m.
Jim Zig Zeigler is a contributing writer for Yellowhammer News. His beat includes the positive and colorful about Alabama – her people, events, groups and prominent deaths. He is a former State Auditor and Public Service Commissioner. You can reach him at [email protected]
