Vanderbilt commits dumb foul to blow game vs. Northwestern

Vanderbilt had trailed by 15 points with a little more than 13 minutes to play. There’s plays throughout the whole game that coaches can call better, that players can play better.

In the dying seconds of their first-round game against Northwestern, Vanderbilt guard Matthew Fisher-Davis made a crucial mistake.

The sequence was set up after Riley LaChance made a layup with 18 seconds remaining to put the Commodores up by one.

The 2015-16 season ended with a 70-50 loss to Wichita State in one of the NCAA Tournament’s First Four contests. “Coach … pointed at him, but he was just telling me that was my matchup”.

This is a tough one for Fisher-Davis, as he played so well throughout the game.

“It was the same as it has been all year: resiliency”, Fisher-Davis said.

“I think experience is really important, and especially at the end of the year”, first-year coach Bryce Drew said.

Nope: McIntosh checked the scoreboard. He was going to the free-throw line for two shots. And yes, it was incredibly dumb: At least Chris Webber had a bench yelling “TIMEOUT” at him in 1993 when he called the timeout MI famously didn’t have; Fisher-Davis’s mistake was bolder. It begins with the older gentlemen who is in a state of shock and awe – understandable after Northwestern looked completely done until the saddest player in America from Vanderbilt chose to commit a foul.

“I’m enjoying it”, Siemian said.

McIntosh hit two free throws when Northwestern was down one in the final seconds of the game to give Northwestern a one-point lead, which were arguably the most important points of the game. But he’s never even had a chance to perform a stage like this.

Further boosting the aura around the Wildcats’ win was that sports media is full of Northwestern alumni.

“They may have not known that they were up one, ” McIntosh added. “You envision yourself hitting the game victor”. When his desperation heave missed it’s mark, Fisher-Davis hung his head and buckled over grabbing his shorts at the knees. For much of Thursday’s second half Fisher-Davis was the star. Nobody was telling him to foul, and it’s a lot easier to track the score of a game than it is to know how many timeouts you have. “It was just a dumb-ass foul”. He looked over at me before.

Northwestern found a way to survive and advance on Thursday in its first ever NCAA Tournament game. “He’s such a good player, he probably saw the scoreboard and thought they were down one instead of being up one. You dream about being great, having confidence and winning”. Yes, they blew a 15-point, second-half lead, but Vanderbilt’s shooters drilled several high degree-of-difficulty shots to claw back into the game. Those things happen, and you kind of feel bad for them.

“We’re just excited to see another day”, Collins said.