Only 17 seconds separated Syracuse from its biggest win of the season.
The Orange held a five-point lead, on the verge of upsetting No. 7 Villanova in the Wells Fargo Center. Syracuse had withstood a second half onslaught by the Wildcats, foul trouble and 18 turnovers as a team.
But it was the 19th turnover -- a botched inbounds play -- that turned the game out of Syracuse's control. The Wildcats took control of the loose ball and JayVaughn Pinkston scored the game-tying field goal with four seconds left, just moments after Josh Hart sunk a three.
The Wildcats (11-0) took advantage of Syracuse's miscues and depth issues in overtime for an 82-77 win that for most of the game seemed unlikely. Villanova capitalized in the final few minutes with Rakeem Christmas and Chris McCullough off the floor, who both fouled out. The Wildcats scored 13 points in the five-minute overtime session and benefited from a 25-16 advantage in team fouls that forced Jim Boeheim to shuffle his lineup late in the game.
In one overtime possession, the Wildcats collected a pair of offensive rebounds. While they weren't able to score immediately, it led to Christmas' fifth foul late in the series with 2:12 remaining in the overtime session. That forced Syracuse to bring Chinonso Obokoh and B.J. Johnson off the bench, after going with a six-man rotation throughout the game.
The combination of Pinkston at forward and 6-foot-6 guard Darrun Hilliard was just too much for the Orange to handle in the paint. Pinkston led all scorers with 25 points, while Hilliard added 23.
But it turned out to be Pinston's defensive play that finally sealed Syracuse's fate. He swatted away a floater from Kaleb Joseph in the final minute.
And the Orange, who led by 12 at halftime, found itself on the losing end of a back-and-forth game once again.