Auburn student sinks full-court putt, wins new car during Auburn-Alabama game
The loudest moment inside Neville Arena on Saturday afternoon came during a stoppage in play.
During the second half of Auburn’s 77-69 loss to third-ranked Alabama, an Auburn student named Craig sunk a full-court putt through a hole in a cutout on the opposite baseline to win a new Toyota. Craig’s successful putt sent an already-raucous Neville Arena crowd into a frenzy, as he became the first student to make the 94-foot putt for a car since the 2013-14 season.
Read more from Saturday’s game: Craig wins a car, Alabama drops a crane on Auburn
Auburn fades down the stretch again in loss to Alabama
The last time a student successfully connected on the longshot challenge was nearly nine years ago to the day. On Feb. 15, 2014, a student won a Toyota Scion after sinking the putt during Auburn’s game against Mississippi State at what was then Auburn Arena. The Tigers went on to win that game, 92-82.
Saturday’s occurrence wasn’t as fruitful for Auburn as it was for Craig. The Tigers led the third-ranked Tide, 53-52, at the under-12 timeout when Craig made the court-length putt and won the car. Auburn scored the next four points out of the timeout, pushing its lead to five, but Alabama responded and tied the game at 59-59 with less than eight minutes to play.
The Tide seized control over the game’s final six minutes, as the Tigers faded down the stretch. Auburn made just three of its final 13 shots on the afternoon and missed nine of its final 10 attempts from the field, the lone make coming on an uncontested layup in the closing seconds. While Auburn led by as many as eight in the first half, Bruce Pearl’s team couldn’t overcome a deadly efficient performance by Alabama on two-point attempts. The Tide shot 23-of-28 (82.1 percent) from inside the 3-point arc, going 12-of-16 on layups and 8-of-8 on dunks while taking advantage of a Tigers gameplan to run them off the 3-point line.
As for Craig, he was at a loss for words after sinking the improbable putt. It felt “fantastic,” he said into the microphone in the moments after making making the putt, adding that he did not already have a car of his own.
Watch the Auburn student’s incredible putt in the video below:
Tom Green is an Auburn beat reporter for Alabama Media Group. Follow him on Twitter @Tomas_Verde.