"Cheated the kid"... Mintz eliminated by tiebreaker in college 3-point contest

Kentucky’s Davion Mintz was the first participant introduced at Thursday night’s State Farm College 3-Point Championship down in New Orleans, the site of this weekend’s Final Four. One of eight shooters in the men’s field, Mintz introduced himself as a fan of Kobe sneakers and his dog, Ghost, before he and Iowa’s Jordan Bohannon took their first-round shots simultaneously on opposite ends of the Xavier University of Louisiana gym.

Mintz had a cold opening with two misses out of the gate as commentator Jay Bilas told viewers Mintz can solve a Rubik’s Cube in 39 seconds. Mintz made two of five, one being the money ball to get him to three points in total at the first of five stops around the perimeter.

At the second rack, Mintz hit three of five, but not the money ball, and responded with three straight makes at the top of the key, although, again missing a money ball.

Rounding the corner with nine points, the former Wildcat added four points on stop four, only to run out of time before finishing his final rack for a total score of 15.

“Cheated the kid”

Mintz and Bohannon took their respective seats with 15 points apiece and six shooters to go, the beginning of a controversial competition as they were joined by two more 15s on the scoreboard, behind a 19 and 17 in the first round. Rules state only four participants can advance to the second round, so the contest used each player’s highest rack to settle a tiebreaker between Mintz, Bohannan, and the two others 15s, Alfonso Plummer from Illinois and Wisconsin’s Brad Davidson.

FIRST SCORES

Carl Pierre, Rice: 19
Alex O’Connell, Creighton: 17
Jordan Bohannon, Iowa: 15
Davion Mintz, Kentucky: 15
Alfonso Plummer, Illinois: 15
Brad Davison, Wisconsin: 15
Sasha Stefonovic, Purdue: 10
Drake Jeffries, Wyoming: 4

Davidson and Bohanna advanced via the rulebook and Mintz was eliminated. Bohannon eventually beat out Davidson in the championship round, 18-17.

“Cheated the kid,” Mintz wrote on Twitter.

cheated the kid 🤦🏽‍♂️

— Davion Mintz (@deemintz1) April 1, 2022

Rhyne Howard eliminated in semifinal of Women’s 3-Point Contest

Mintz wasn’t the only former Wildcat shooting 3-pointers around a half-circle at Xavier University of Louisiana. Kentucky’s Rhyne Howard was among the eight participants in the Women’s State Farm 3-Point Championships where she made it one round further than Mintz.

Howard hit four money balls in Round 1, but only for a total score of 12 to earn her fourth on the scoreboard and a spot in the semifinals. In the semis, Howard totaled a respectable 17 points, but Virginia Tech’s Aisha Sheppard outshot her with 22 on the other side of the court to reach the final against Florida Gulf Coast’s Kendall Spray.

Spray tallied 23 points in the last round to win the women’s crown.