INDIANAPOLIS — It ended the way it had to end. It ended with the ball in the hands of Oral Roberts’ diminutive wisp of a bucket machine, Max Abmas, sprinting the ball upcourt in three urgent dribbles. The most dramatic moment of this tumultuous tournament was at hand, and the last play unfolded like a dream.
Arkansas was caught in Abmas’s slip stream, chasing, having failed to deny the nation’s leading scorer possession. Up two, the Razorbacks didn’t cover the inbounds pass, hearkening back to a fateful decision by Rick Pitino in Philadelphia 29 years ago.