Four Years Later, Relive Virginia's Epic Elite Eight Victory Over Purdue

Four years ago today, UVA defeated Purdue in the Elite Eight in one of the greatest NCAA Tournament games of all time

Four years ago today, Virginia and Purdue played one of the greatest games in the history of the NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament. From the opening tip-off to the final buzzer at the end of overtime, this game had everything. 

Purdue's Carsen Edwards delivered one of the most legendary individual NCAA Tournament performances ever, knocking down ten three-pointers, many from well beyond the arc, and scoring 42 points. That unstoppable showing from Edwards appeared to be enough to send the Boilermakers to their first Final Four since 1980 in the waning moments. Instead, Edwards' extraordinary outing was overshadowed by an unforgettable final sequence, with Ty Jerome unintentionally short-arming his free throw for the perfect miss, Mamadi Diakite getting his arm in the mix for the clutch tap-back, Kihei Clark turning on the jets to chase down the ball in the back court before rejecting the appeals for the ball from Jerome and Kyle Guy and instead launching a perfectly-placed one-handed pass down the floor to Diakite, who smoothly made the shot just before the buzzer, saving the game and the season for the Cavaliers. The final 5.9 seconds of regulation can only be described as the single-greatest play in the history of the Virginia men's basketball program. 

A clutch driving layup from De'Andre Hunter in the final minute of overtime helped Virginia pull out the 80-75 victory, sending the Cavaliers to their first Final Four since 1984 and eventually, their first-ever national championship. 

Last year, I wrote a piece celebrating the three-year anniversary of the game with a more in-depth retelling of the story. To avoid repeating myself, you can read that story here: On This Date: Virginia Beats Purdue in Elite Eight Thriller to Advance to the Final Four

To any UVA fans who feel inclined to relive that moment, that game, and that day, we've got you covered. Here are some of the best videos and pictures capturing Virginia's incredible victory over Purdue from exactly four years ago, beginning with this short documentary-style video from NCAA March Madness telling the story of the Kihei Clark-Mamadi Diakite play with soundbites from Tony Bennett and many of the UVA players:

Here's a condensed 13-minute highlight video from the game:

And if that's not enough, you can watch the Elite Eight game between Virginia and Purdue in its entirety here:

Hear what Tony Bennett had to say in the postgame press conference:

And finally, here are some of the best photos from the final sequence and postgame celebration:

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