Minnesota got the win.
The No. 14 Gophers downed 25th-ranked Alabama 89-84 at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, N.Y. to improve their undefeated record to 7-0 and hand the Crimson Tide its first loss of the season in the only college basketball game on Saturday's docket that pitted two teams in the AP poll against each other.
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But who cares? The result of the early-season contest will only matter months from now when the NCAA Tournament Selection Committee starts tabulating quality wins and losses should both squads be up for a bid in the The Big Dance. However, how it all unfolded, especially the last 10-plus minutes of the game, is immediately (and likely eternally) important in college basketball lore.
Those on-hand and the 20,000 who wound up streaming it on Facebook courtesy of Stadium, the only way it could be seen live, got to witness one of of the weirdest affairs in the history of the game. Alabama was forced to finish playing 3-on-5 for the majority of the second half and, amazingly, nearly pulled away with what would've been an unthinkable victory thanks to a lionhearted performance by freshman sensation Collin Sexton and strategy that was wise as a serpent courtesy of second-year coach Avery Johnson.
Scheduled during the thick of college football's rivalry week action, most Alabama fans, if they're not fronting and keeping eight more than 92 with you, only heard wind of the Crimson Tide's precarious predicament on the hardwood via their social media feeds. Preoccupied with watching the No. 1 Crimson Tide implode late against Auburn in the Iron Bowl, Alabama's basketball team, ranked in the top 25 for the first time since 2011, was putting up a more valiant fight 1,000 miles away.
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14:40 — Things didn't really start popping off until the second half when the ultra-competitive Sexton (The dude once trash-talked NBA legend-turned coach Penny Hardaway during a game against the Memphis native's prep squad) and Minnesota senior Nate Mason started going at it.
It all started shortly after Sexton tripped over his teammate's foot and dropped to the floor as Mason was making a hesitation move into a shot. Mason looked back at Sexton a la Randolph Childress on Jeff McGinnis in the 1995 ACC Tournament (If you never seen this, please stop reading and click here... now, continue reading) before draining his third 3-pointer over a a defender's outstretched arms that gave Minnesota a 57-43.
14:06 — Mason and Sexton were hit with double technical fouls on the Gophers' next offensive possession after Mason committed a turnover, dribbling the ball out of bounds. Sexton said something slick to Mason as Alabama was preparing to inbound the ball, Mason retorted and the two began jawing at each other.
Mason gave Alabama's bench a piece of his mind near midcourt as Sexton walked to the bench and was ejected upon being assessed a second technical foul. That set Minnesota coach Richard Pitino off and earned him a tech after berating officials when Mason was tossed.
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13:39 — Sexton connected on three of four free throws awarded as a result of the technicals on Mason and Pitino, then dished it to Riley Norris for a 3-pointer that pulled the Crimson Tide to within seven at 57-50, but as the ball swished through the net on Norris' jumper from the top of the key, Alabama's Dazon Ingram and Gophers guard Dupree McBrayer became entangled, causing a shoving match between the two.
At some point shortly after, a full-on fracas broke out, and McBrayer and Crimson Tide freshman John Petty stood toe-to-toe. No punches were thrown, but Alabama's entire bench came onto the floor, earning them all techs and leaving the Crimson Tide with just five players: Sexton, Petty, Norris, Ingram and Galin Smith for the rest of the way.
11:37 — The Crimson Tide was trailing by nine when Ingram picked up his fifth personal foul while trying to wrestle away a rebound from Minnesota's Reggie Lynch, sending him to the bench. Just like that Alabama was down to four players.
10:50 — Petty launched a 3-pointer and missed. He landed awkwardly on his ankle and couldn't return to the game, and Alabama had just three players: Sexton, Smith, a freshman who didn't attempt a shot in six minutes of action in Alabama's win against BYU this past Friday, and Norris, a senior who'd only seen action in two games prior to Saturday's meeting with the Gophers. The Crimson Tide trailed 67-54 after Minnesota's Davonte Fitzgerald added a layup nine seconds later.
Unbelievably, Alabama would outscore the Gophers 30-22 the rest of the way in a game announcers wondered if Johnson would simply throw in the white towel and forfeit.
On defense, the Crimson Tide utilized an ingenious makeshift 1-2 zone put together by Johnson. Packing it in the paint, the three remaining players forced the Gophers to pass the ball around the perimeter and second-guess whether they should take the wide-open 3-pointers or step in and try to get a look at the longer-than-mid-range jumpers that were open too.
"I haven't (encountered a game such as this one)," Johnson told RollTide.com "That's a new one right there. It's amazing when you come into a game and you don't expect anything like that to happen. But we didn't make any excuses. We were still in the huddle drawing up plays, trying to solve problems."
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On offense, Sexton was the only solution Alabama needed. Clearly exhausted, the 6-3, 190-pounder received extra oxygen and fluids every time he and his teammates went to the sideline. But once he stepped inside the lines, the former McDonald's All-American nicknamed "The Young Bull" charged ahead.
He used his elite ball handling and quickness to to beat the two defenders Pitino ran at him every time he touched the ball to get into the lane and create scoring chances for himself, Norris and Smith. When that didn't work, he simply elevated over the top of defenders and nailed rainbow 3-pointers.
Sexton scored 31 of his Alabama freshman record 40 on 12-for-22 shooting, including 4 of 7 from 3-point range, while connecting on 12 of 16 free-throw attempts, proving why he could be the first point guard taken in the 2018 NBA Draft.
3:11 — Minnesota went up 10 on a jumper by standout freshman Isaiah Washington, then the Crimson Tide went on a 7-0 run and nearly stole the game. Sexton knocked down a ridiculous triple off the dribble to cut his team's deficit to single digits.
1:39 — Sexton grabs a defensive rebound, beats Minnesota's entire team down the floor and finishes with a slick lefty layup off the glass to pull Alabama to within three at 83-80.
Alabama comes up with a stop on the other end, but can't get any closer after Sexton misses a jumper with 1:18 to go, and Minnesota holds on to end one of the more gutsy efforts you'll ever see.
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"Collin Sexton, he could beat a single team just one guy on himself. He's that good," Pitino said during his on-court, postgame interview. "Obviously, that was just absurd. just the whole experience. We were shooting these weird 2s that we're not comfortable with, but credit to their defense, I haven't worked on an offense against three players. So, give Sexton a lot of credit.
"They're a really good team. We just had to get out of there with a win."
You can actually watch the entire game, or more realistically, the final 10 minutes and change below. It's an instant classic.