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CHAPEL HILL, N.C. - Tyler Hansbrough's last-second 3-pointer hadn't even yet clanked off the rim, but the Terrapins could tell it wasn't going in - so much that Cliff Tucker even threw his arms in the air to celebrate an improbable win.
"It just didn't look strong enough," James Gist said. "I was just hoping and praying that it wasn't going to go in. Once I saw it fell short, it was just like, 'We did it.' The clock said zero, zero, zero - it's just a feeling I'm never going to forget."
After Hansbrough missed and the red backboard lights came on to signal 'Game Over,' Bambale Osby jubilantly collapsed to the floor "like a stick of butter in the microwave," he said.
Yes, this was an upset for the ages. In fact, the Terps' 82-80 win Saturday at Smith Center is arguably the biggest shocker of the 2007-08 college basketball season to date. Forget the Terps' home losses to Ohio and American for a second and take a moment to put this one into perspective.
The top-ranked and undefeated Tar Heels came into the game winners of 28 out of 29 home games against a young Terp team that appeared to be playing more for an NIT tournament berth than an NCAA tournament berth. North Carolina had more talent and more experience than the Terps, who were 19-point underdogs.
But none of that seemed to matter Saturday afternoon.
The Terps outplayed the Tar Heels for the first 25 minutes, then withstood a North Carolina run and went punch-for-punch with the country's No. 1 team during the final five minutes.
And with 21 seconds left, Osby delivered the knockout blow via a game-winning layup on the Terps' final possession. North Carolina (18-1, 3-1 ACC) had four shots to tie or win the game, but none of them went in.
It was the seventh time coach Gary Williams has knocked off a No. 1-ranked team, and the 10th time the Terps have done so.
"At this point in my career, I'm not looking for moral victories or anything," Williams said. "My job is to win as many games as I can this year, so I came in here thinking we can win this game. We had to do a lot of things right, but that's what I'm supposed to do - get the team ready to play.
"We lost some games early that really hurt us, and somewhere along the lines you gotta get some wins. Probably the best thing about this game will be hopefully that it can help us a little bit at the end of the year if we play well enough the last month and a half."
It's still a long shot to start penciling "Maryland" into the field of 65, but after a lackluster first two months, this win should bring back some hope and energy to College Park. The Terps (12-7, 2-2) are now right in the middle of the conference pack.
"We've gone through a lot this season," guard Greivis Vasquez said. "It's about time we just stepped up and be a man. And we did. We gotta do it every day. We're good right now. We can be great, but we gotta be more mature and play like we did today."
Gist led the Terps with one of the best games of his career. The senior forward set the tone in the first half with a near double-double and finished with a game-high 22 points and 13 rebounds.
But it was the Terps' great defensive gameplan that gave them the chance to sneak out of Chapel Hill with a victory.
Hansbrough, a first-team All-American, hardly had any room to work down low. Osby, Dave Neal and Shane Walker spent the entire game guarding Hansbrough as physically as possible. Whether it was fronting Hansbrough or double-teaming him, the Terps certainly threw him off his game. He was just 6-for-15 from the floor.
"When I was in there, I just tried to use my quickness to stay in front of him," said Neal, who called the game the most physical he'd ever played in. "As he would turn and face, I just stood up in his grill and hoped he wouldn't go around me. I knew we were doubling him the whole game, so I'd take away the base. I used my fundamentally sound game and what we did all week in practice to shut him down."
The Terps led 41-35 at halftime, and they built their lead to 11 before North Carolina quickly tied it at 59 with an 18-7 run. But in an exciting game that featured 11 ties and 12 lead changes, the Terps were the ones who stayed calm and composed down the stretch - even with a bunch of freshmen playing significant minutes.
"We knew they were gonna have some runs," Tucker said. "We were prepared for it. We just kept calm and played together as a team."
With every second-half possession, the Terps seemed as if they sensed the upset. The players on the bench would excitedly rise up after a made basket or a strong defensive stop.
And when Hansbrough's final shot harmlessly bounced to the floor to complete the upset, Williams showed the most emotion he has in a long time, much like his team did. Williams raised both arms into the air, turned around to the Terp fans and gave numerous fists pumps.
It was an upset for the ages.
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