Chase Fieler’s soaring alley-oop slam highlights Florida Gulf Coast’s stunning upset
In addition to pulling the NCAA tournament's biggest upset Friday night, Florida Gulf Coast also delivered its most jaw-dropping dunk.
With second-seeded Georgetown having trimmed a 19-point deficit to seven and still two minutes remaining, Florida Gulf Coast beat the Hoyas' full-court press and threw the ball ahead to Brett Comer in the frontcourt. Comer could have played it safe and milked the clock when two defenders converged on him, but instead he threw a lob that appeared destined to be a turnover until teammate Chase Fieler grabbed it out of the air with one hand and threw down an incredible alley-oop slam.
Florida Gulf Coast's 78-68 upset was the story of the night of course, but the dunk was certainly a worthy sidebar. In many ways, Comer's decision to go for the alley-oop was reminiscent of the Ali Farokhmanesh 3-pointer that helped Northern Iowa topple top-seeded Kansas three years ago because it inspired the same "No, no, no ... yes!" response from viewers watching it.
You won't hear Florida Gulf Coast coach Andy Enfield scold Comer for trying the lob pass, and not just because it worked in the Eagles' favor either.
Enfield demands his team plays fast-paced, high-scoring, aggressive basketball no matter if it's a January game in the Atlantic Sun or an NCAA tournament showdown with Georgetown. The Eagles stayed true to Enfield's approach throughout Friday's victory, and it worked in their favor.
