:format(webp)/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/59083115/usa_today_10716404.0.jpg)
As I paraded around my living room after Jordan Poole sank a 30-foot three-pointer to send the Michigan Wolverines to the Sweet Sixteen, I came to a quick realization: This win, the one I celebrated as if I myself had hit the shot, will be one of my greatest sports memories for as long as I live.
For all the right reasons, obviously.
The Wolverines march to their second consecutive Sweet Sixteen when they really shouldn’t have. Houston point guard Rob Gray responded to a quiet first half with a second half that seemed to set the upset in stone.
Moritz Wagner went cold again. Duncan Robinson fouled out. A pair of missed free throws by Houston’s Devin Davis with 3.6 left on the clock was the only sliver of hope for the Wolverines.
It was so improbable. Everything that had to go right, did. Isaiah Livers needed to perfect a baseball-pass across the court to Muhammad-Ali Abdur-Rahkman, who then had about three seconds to decide what to do.
He dished it to Poole, and we all know what happened next.
Jordan Poole etched himself into Michigan history with a shot that could potentially bring the Wolverines new life.
And when it was all said and done, as Poole was mobbed by his teammates, it now stands as one of the greatest games/memories I’ve ever experienced as a sports fan.
It joins Magglio Ordonez’s walk-off home run in the 2006 ALCS to send the Detroit Tigers to the World Series, and a four-game sweep of the New York Yankees in ‘12 to bring the Tigers back to the Fall Classic as my top three.
Hell, I think it leapfrogged the two and now sits as my all-time favorite.
Steve Yzerman’s double-overtime goal in Game 7 of the Western Conference Semifinals against the St. Louis Blues is my dad’s favorite. My brother still thinks that Trey Burke shot against Kansas in the 2013 Sweet Sixteen is one of his finest memories.
We can debate back and forth all day about what moment takes the crown in our own personal rankings. Let’s discuss instead.
What are yours?