No. 13 La Salle, taking a page from VCU’s 2011 “First Four” playbook, won their third game in the opening week of the NCAA tournament when Tyrone Garland made the “Southwest Philly Floater” in the waning seconds to defeat No. 12 Ole Miss 76-74 on Sunday.
With the game tied at 74, Garland broke down Ole Miss’s zone defense and threw in the floater with two seconds left. He dubbed the shot the “Southwest Philly Floater” in a post-game interview.
Ole Miss attempted a game-winner from half court and missed as time ran out.
La Salle will play No. 9 Wichita State, a team that shocked No. 1 Gonzaga on Saturday, in a Sweet 16 game on Thursday in Los Angeles, California. No. 6 Arizona will play No. 2 Ohio State in the other Sweet 16 game in the West Regional.
The Explorers beat Boise State in a play-in game on Wednesday and then knocked off Kansas State in what was essentially a home game for Kansas State at Kansas City, Missouri. They then beat the SEC champions, who upset No. 5 Wisconsin on Friday.
The Explorers, out of the tough A-10 Conference, have only one true big man, and Mississippi had the size advantage in the paint, but La Salle found a way to neutralize Ole Miss’s big men during some of the game’s most important moments.
Ramon Galloway had 24 for the Explorers. Tyreek Duren added 19. And Garland added 17 with his last two points being the most important.
Ole Miss’s flamboyant Marshall Henderson had 21 points but made only 3 of 15 three-point jumpers. It appeared like Henderson was fouled during the possession before Garland’s jumper. In the last minutes of the game, Henderson, the man who has a flair for the dramatic, could not get off shots. Murphy Holloway had 14 points and 13 rebounds for Ole Miss.
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