Ta’Lon Cooper’s 63-Foot Heave Gave Us Our First Bad Beat Of The 2024 NCAA Tournament

The 2024 Men’s NCAA Tournament continued in earnest with the true start of March Madness on Thursday afternoon. An upset win from Duquesne and a dominant victory from Michigan State headlined the first wave of games, with South Carolina and Oregon meeting in a highly anticipated Midwest Region matchup in Pittsburgh as part of the second wave. Dana Altman’s Ducks put together a strong first half effort, leading by five points at the break, but Oregon’s lead was on track to be larger before some fireworks just before the final buzzer.

Oregon’s Jackson Shelstad made a jumper with five seconds to go, giving the Ducks an eight-point lead with the clock running. However, South Carolina managed to inbound the ball to Ta’Lon Cooper, who connected on a 63-foot heave that had significant implications in the “bad beat” department.

First and foremost, Cooper’s shot was highly impressive and perhaps gave the Gamecocks a jolt of energy after a sluggish first half. Beyond that, the first half over/under total closed at 62 or 62.5 at most sportsbooks, and this heave took the game from 60 to 63 after 20 minutes.

Not only did Cooper’s shot have a very low probability of falling from that distance, but the bad beat was even made possible by what was already a pretty difficult shot from Shelstad. That combination was incredibly unlikely but, hey, it’s the time of year for madness. This was a wild one.