Northwestern found a way to survive and advance on Thursday in its first ever NCAA Tournament game. The Wildcats took down Vanderbilt, 68-66, partly thanks to an unfathomable mistake late in the game by Commodores guard Matthew Fisher-Davis.
Vanderbilt went up by one with just under 18 seconds remaining. Fisher-Davis, unaware of the score and thinking that his team was actually trailing, committed a foul that sent Northwestern’s Bryant McIntosh to the line. McIntosh, an 86 percent free throw shooter, drilled them both.
Vandy with the late go-ahead bucket! And then… the… foul????? pic.twitter.com/qDI1ANU3NC
— CBS Sports (@CBSSports) March 16, 2017
Vanderbilt got an opportunity to go ahead after this, but the three attempted by Riley LaChance did not go in. Northwestern got the ball back, extended its lead with another free throw, and the prayer thrown up by Vandy didn’t go in.
Northwestern has been an incredible story this year, and it’s cool to see them move on, but you can’t help but feel for Fisher-Davis. He was the leading scorer for the Commodores, scoring 22 points on 7-for-15 shooting from the field. It’s the classic case of someone having a big game erased in the blink of an eye because they made a mistake late in the game.
After the game, his mistake unsurprisingly weighed on him heavily.
Fisher-Davis in Vandy locker room didn't offer a great explanation other than: "I made a dumb-ass foul."
— Dan Wolken (@DanWolken) March 16, 2017
Matthew Fisher-Davis: "It was a collective effort in coming back, and it was my dumb mistake why we lost."
— Adam Sparks (@AdamSparks) March 16, 2017
Matthew Fisher-Davis: "You gotta be smarter than that in that situation."
— Adam Sparks (@AdamSparks) March 16, 2017
Regardless, the Wildcats are marching on, and are headed towards a showdown with Gonzaga.