Derik Queen is a king of March as the Maryland Terrapins are moving on to the Sweet 16 because of his buzzer beater against Colorado State on Sunday night.
Down 71-70, Maryland had one final possession with just under four seconds to play when Queen took the inbound pass and immediately turned to his right to start making his way toward the net.
Colorado State had great defense on him the whole way as he drove to his left. And Queen was forced to take an off-balance shot that required a perfect touch off the glass to redirect into the hoop.
Maryland Terrapins center Derik Queen drives to the basket against Colorado State Rams forward Jaylen Crocker-Johnson in the first half. (Steven Bisig-Imagn Images)
The touch was perfection, and the ball went through the twine just as the buzzer sounded, giving us our first buzzer-beater in March Madness this year.
Maryland stormed the court as the crowd went into a frenzy, with Queen at the center of it all in pure elation.
Queen finished the second-round game with 17 points, six rebounds and one assist, but everyone will remember the one shot that sent them to the Sweet 16.
Colorado State, a team that has battled back so many times during this season, had a solid seven-point lead at halftime. And considering they had to come back against Memphis in the second half in their first-round matchup, they knew how Maryland was going to come out of the locker room with their hair on fire, knowing their season was on the line.
But the Rams couldn’t stop the Terps from getting back into the game, though they came through in the clutch when they needed it most as Jalen Lake buried a three-pointer with six seconds left on the clock to take the one-point lead.
Maryland Terrapins center Derik Queen celebrates with teammates after scoring the game-winning shot against the Colorado State Rams. (Stephen Brashear-Imagn Images)
Lake had 13 points, going 5-for-10 and 3-for-6 from three-point territory on the day.
However, the Terps drew up the perfect play, and Queen had ice in his veins when it was time to take the shot to determine his team’s season.
Maryland moves on to face the No. 1-seeded Florida Gators, who defeated the back-to-back national champion UConn Huskies in a thriller earlier on Sunday.
Looking more at the box score, Queen was the team’s leading scorer, though every member of the starting five finished with double-digit points, including Rodney Rice with 16 and Julian Reese, the brother of WNBA star Angel Reese, with 15.
Maryland Terrapins center Derik Queen celebrates with teammates after scoring the game-winning shot against the Colorado State Rams. (Stephen Brashear-Imagn Images)
For Colorado State, Nique Clifford had 21 points, though he was only 7-of-17 from the field.
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