When Cincinnati's Kevin Johnson drained a tie-breaking 3-pointer with less than a second remaining in triple overtime on Friday, UConn's Jalen Adams momentarily hung his head in dismay.

Not even the future Huskies hero had any idea what he was about to do next.

Adams collected himself, caught the ensuing inbound pass with eight tenths of a second left and banked in a game-tying three-quarters-court shot to the disbelief of everyone on the floor. The freshman guard leaped in the air pumping his fist as the UConn bench flooded onto the court to celebrate with him.

The incredible shot would have been bittersweet for UConn had it come in a loss, but the Huskies managed to complete the fairytale story. They took the lead for good on a pair of Sterling Gibbs free throws with three minutes left in the fourth overtime en route to a memorable 104-97 victory in the second of four American Athletic Conference quarterfinals.

What made Adams' shot all the more remarkable was the circumstances under which he hit it. It was a true season saver for a UConn team that likely would have been NIT-bound had it lost to Cincinnati on Friday.

At 22-10 overall and 11-7 in league play, UConn still projects right around the NCAA tournament cut line. Quality wins against Texas and SMU help the Huskies' cause, as does a top-30 KenPom ranking, a lack of losses against sub-100 foes and a victory over fellow bubble team Michigan. Nonetheless, UConn is just 55th in the RPI because of its 9-10 record against teams in the top 150.

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Jeff Eisenberg is the editor of The Dagger on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at daggerblog@yahoo.com or follow him on Twitter!

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