LOUISVILLE, Ky. _ Within seconds of the conclusion of top-seeded Virginia's 80-75 overtime win Saturday night against No. 3 seed Purdue, Cavaliers forward Mamadi Diakite stood in front of the scorer's table and bellowed at the top of his lungs: "Let's goooooo!"
U.Va. is indeed going to where it's waited to return 35 years _ back to the Final Four _ and it wouldn't be headed there without Diakite's heroics.
His short jumper off a long pass from Kihei Clark as time expired in regulation sent the game into overtime tied at 70, saving U.Va. (33-3) on a night that otherwise belonged to Purdue's Carsen Edwards. His 42 points, powered by a 10-of-19 shooting effort from 3-point range, represented one of the best performances in recent NCAA Tournament memory. Kyle Guy, who snapped out of a tournament-long 3-point shooting slump in the second half by making all five of his 3s in the final 20 minutes, led U.Va. with 25 points and 10 rebounds. He had 21 points in the second half.
De'Andre Hunter's layup with 28 seconds left in overtime put U.Va. ahead 76-75. After a timeout by U.Va. with 26 seconds left, Edwards missed a 3 with five seconds remaining and Guy pulled down the rebound. Guy got fouled and connected on a pair of free throws with five seconds left. Trailing 78-75, Purdue (26-10) turned the ball over with 2.1 seconds left.
Clark knocked down a pair of free throws with less than two seconds left to seal the game.
Ty Jerome added 24 points for U.Va., while Diakite finished with 14 points.
