The Shot (Valparaiso University)

"The Shot" refers to a play by Valparaiso University's Crusaders that occurred in the first round of the 1998 NCAA Tournament. The play came in Valpo's game against the University of Mississippi Rebels at The Myriad in Oklahoma City on March 13, 1998, and gave the #13 seed Crusaders a 70–69 victory over #4 seed Ole Miss. The game was part of a Valparaiso Cinderella run in the tournament that ended in the Sweet Sixteen when the Crusaders lost to Rhode Island.

Although Ole Miss was a much higher seed than Valparaiso and was expected to win easily and advance to the second round, the Crusaders played tough throughout and were down 69-67 with less than ten seconds left. Bryce Drew, Valpo's star guard and son of coach Homer Drew, missed a three-pointer with approximately five seconds left, and after Mississippi grabbed the rebound Valparaiso fouled Ole Miss' Ansu Sesay to stop the clock and send the 74% free-throw shooter to the line.

Although Sesay had made three of his last five attempts at the charity stripe, he missed the first of two. Coach Drew then called his last time out before Sesay could take his second free throw, in order to draw up a play for the Crusaders' last possession. When play resumed Sesay missed his second free throw, and after a battle for the loose ball Valparaiso was awarded possession after Ole Miss guard Keith Carter knocked the ball out of bounds. This left Valpo with 2.5 seconds to get off a shot, and forced inbounder Jaime Sykes to put the ball in play from the far end of the court.

The Crusaders' play for this situation was known as "Pacer". Sykes threw the inbounds pass over the midcourt line, where Bill Jenkins outjumped a Rebel defender for the ball and immediately tapped it over to a running Drew, who let fly with a 23-foot 3-point shot. The ball went in as time expired, giving Valpo a 70-69 win and eliminating Ole Miss from the tournament.

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