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Insane inbounds play, pass leads to Western Michigan buzzer beater vs Ball State

IMG_0985by:Griffin McVeigh•03/02/24•

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When the calendar turns to March, college basketball begins to get weird. Latest example came on Saturday afternoon in Muncie, where Ball State was playing host to Western Michigan. One of the strangest buzzer-beaters you have ever seen gave the Broncos a win on the road.

Tied at 76 with just 1.6 seconds remaining in overtime, a prayer would be needed to avoid going to 2OT. Western Michigan lined up for a football pass down the court, originally wanting to catch the ball around the top of the three-point line.

Somehow, the pass went over everyone’s head — except Anthony Crump who was on the opposite baseline. He found the ball right under the basket, put the ball up quickly, and got the layup to fall before the buzzer sounded.

A seemingly impossible way to win a game, Crump was soon surrounded by all of his teammates. You can check out the whole sequence from Western Michigan here.

Crump could not really believe his luck at the time. While the ball was in the air, he did not look too engaged in the play. Just down there while his teammates jumped and hoped for a miracle play. Turns out, Crump was the one who ended up making a play he will not forget for a long time.

Winning on the road has been tough for Western Michigan this season, with the Ball State victory being just the third of the year away from Kalamazoo.

It’s only March 2 and March Madness-type plays are already being made. And a whole bunch more are on the way. Buckle up, it’s going to be a fun month in college basketball.

Western Michigan win brings them back to .500 in MAC play

In reality, not too much was on the line between Ball State and Western Michigan. Both entered the day with a losing record in conference play and are unlikely NCAA Tournament teams. However, finding a way to play good basketball at the right time is certainly handy heading into the MAC Tournament.

Western Michigan will now have the feeling of elation with two regular season games remaining and bringing their record to 8-8 vs. MAC foes. Both remaining games will be at home and present a chance to produce more special moments in front of Bronco fans.

An NCAA Tournament bid has not come since 2014 for Western Michigan. Maybe Crump’s game-winner will provide the spark needed to make a run.