The D1 Men's College Basketball Tournament is rightfully nicknamed "March Madness" due to all the upsets, heartbreak, and mayhem that occurs in every tournament. Each year provides at least a couple memorable moments, whether it's a comeback in the final minutes, or a game winner in the national championship game.
This year, Duke, Arizona, Florida, and Michigan are the No. 1 seeds. Florida will look to go back-to-back after Walter Clayton Jr. and co beat Houston in the national championship last year.
Before the tourney starts, let's revisit the most iconic buzzer-beating shots in recent tournament history. While there have been plenty of game-winners that have left tenths of a second on the clock, these will be shots where the clock hit double-zeroes during the shot attempt.
9. Derik Queen sends Maryland to the Round of 16 (2025)
#12 seed Colorado State, led by first-round draft pick Nique Clifford, beat No. 5 Memphis in the Round of 64 to advance to their first Round of 32 since 2013.
It was looking like they were on their way to making the Round of 16 when Jalen Lake nailed a go-ahead three with six seconds left.
However, after a timeout was called by Maryland, a play was drawn up for eventual lottery selection Derik Queen to go to work. He caught the inbounds pass at the top of the key, made a quick spin move, drove left, and tossed up a running fadeaway floater with his right hand that banked in at the buzzer for a Terps victory.
Maryland made the round of 16 for the first time since 2016 with Melo Trimble, Diamond Stone, and others. Like the 2016 team, the Terrapins would go on to lose to the No. 1 seed.
8. Chris Chiozza's floating three (2017)
In a back-and-forth round of 16 game between Wisconsin and Florida, KeVaughn Allen was a one-man wrecking crew, putting up 35 points for the Gators while nobody else reached double-figures.
However, it wasn't Allen that was hailed as the hero of the night for the Gators. It was point guard Chris Chiozza, who made one three in the entire game.
That singular three however, ended up being one of the most iconic shots in college basketball history.
Down two with four seconds left and inbounding from the other side of the court, Chiozza got the pass and sprinted up the court before stopping at the top of the key and unleashing a 21-foot floater that dropped in at the buzzer for three.
Chiozza, who only shot 31.3% from three that year, sent the Gators to the quarterfinal where they go on to lose to South Carolina.
7. Jordan Poole sends Houston home (2018)
Before Jordan Poole became known as the Golden State Warriors' spark plug sixth man, he was making ridiculous shots at Michigan.
His most famous shot happened in the Round of 32 in 2018 when No. 3 Michigan faced No. 6 Houston.
Down two with 3.6 seconds left, Isaiah Livers found Muhammad Abdur-Rahkman who advanced it to Poole who was standing 28 feet away from the basket on the right side of the court.
Poole caught it and immediately fired up a wild-looking three in which his legs almost did the splits in mid-air. As the ball was sky high in the air, Poole fell to the ground, and the buzzer went off right before the ball fell in and won it for the Wolverines.
The celebration added even more drama to the shot as he sprinted around the court, playing tag with his teammates who were ready to pile on top of him.
6. Bryce Drew upsets No. 4 Ole Miss (1998)
In perhaps the biggest upset of the list, current GCU head coach Bryce Drew sent No. 4 Ole Miss packing with one of the most memorable shots of all-time.
No. 13 Valparaiso was led by the senior guard who averaged nearly 20 points per game and shot 43.3% from three on seven attempts - a perfect type of player to bust brackets.
Drew and big man Zoran Viskovic kept the Beacons in the game through the final buzzer. After Drew missed a three while down two points with five seconds to go, it was looking like it was over for a potential upset.
However, Ansu Sesay of Ole Miss missed both of his free throws and the live ball was batted out of bounds with 2.5 seconds left. It was ruled Valparaiso ball, but they were still 94 feet away from the basket they were aiming at.
It was a perfectly drawn up play call as the Beacons launched a full-court pass into the hands of Bill Jenkins who then found Drew streaking open on the right side of the court. Drew caught the ball, set his feet, and nailed a miracle three at the buzzer.
In their third-ever tournament appearance, Valparaiso would win their next game and make the round of 16 before losing to another Cinderella type of team - No. 8 Rhode Island.
5. Paul Jesperson's half-court heave (2016)
Northern Iowa were one of the most exciting teams in 2016. They nearly pulled off a miraculous comeback vs. No. 3 Texas A&M in the Round of 32, but as memorable as that game was, their victory in the Round of 64 includes one of the most impressive shots, courtesy of Paul Jesperson.
Matched up against No. 6 Texas, the Panthers had a two-point lead as the clocked ticked under 10 seconds remaining until Texas guard Isaiah Taylor made a floater in the lane to tie it at 72.
With 2.7 seconds left on the clock, it looked like the game was surely headed to overtime. Jesperson, a career 6.2 point average scorer, caught the ball near half-court, made a single crossover to free himself from two defenders, then launched a shot right at mid-court that banked in at the buzzer.
The shot was thrown up a mile high in the air, and it felt like it took forever until the ball eventually hit the backboard. It bounced perfectly and fell in to send a dagger through the hears of all Texas fans in a stunner.
4. Lamont Butler sends SDSU to the championship (2023)
In an epic semifinal in which No. 4 UConn was the highest seeded team, No. 5 San Diego State vs. No. 9 FAU delivered one of the best semifinals in D1 college basketball tournament history.
FAU held a 54-42 lead with 13 minutes remaining before the Aztecs made a storming comeback to eventually get themselves into a 71-70 deficit with 17.5 seconds remaining.
FAU, holding the ball and the lead, had 11 seconds left on their shot clock before star Johnell Davis missed a layup with nine seconds left. Nathan Mensah of SDSU grabbed the rebound and quickly passed it to Lamont Butler who possessed the ball for the rest of the game.
Butler dribbled all the way to the FAU baseline on the right side, hesitated, quickly dribbled left, then pulled-up for a mid range bucket at the buzzer to send the Aztecs to their first ever national championship game.
However, UConn would get the better of San Diego State in the championship game, winning it 76-59.
3. Jalen Suggs hits a miraculous shot with almost nobody in the crowd (2021)
This shot would've been even more electric if it wasn't played during the middle of COVID.
UCLA, a No. 11 seed, danced their way all the way to the semifinal where they met up with No. 1 Gonzaga. Johnny Juzang and Jaime Jaquez Jr. led the Bruins to an improbable semifinal appearance before they ran into Drew Timme, Corey Kispert, Andrew Nembhard, and Jalen Suggs.
Jaquez Jr. made a couple of clutch free throws to send the game into overtime, and Juzang knocked down a game-tying putback layup with 3.3 seconds remaining in overtime, and UCLA had the hopes of being the lowest seed to ever reach the national championship game. But then, the Suggs shot happened.
Kispert quickly inbounded the ball to Suggs with UCLA's defense on its heels and sprinting back to their end. With 1.2 seconds left, Suggs stopped and pulled-up from 37-feet, banking the three in at the buzzer.
Like many other teams on this list, the Zags went on to lose in the national championship game, this time to Baylor.
2. Christian Laettner's turn around shot (1992)
Two blue bloods matched up in this year's Elite Eight - Duke and Kentucky. It was expected for this game to be a memorable one, and Laettner made sure to do just that.
One of the biggest college basketball "villains" hit a buzzer-beating shot against UConn in the 1990 tournament, but that wasn't his most famous shot.
This one in 1992 has gone down as one of the most famous shots ever. Down one with 2.1 seconds in overtime, Duke needed to throw a heave from the baseline to get a good look off in time.
It was Grant Hill that was tasked with the pass, and he a threw a beauty of a pass to Laettner at the other free throw line where he was posting up his defender.
Laettner caught the ball, took one dribble, then turned around to his right side, firing a fadeaway mid range shot that swished in at the horn.
This was perhaps the most noteworthy shot in tournament history until #1 on this list happened.
1. Kris Jenkins wins it all for Villanova at the buzzer (2016)
In a terrific matchup between the No. 1 seed North Carolina Tar Heels and No. 2 Villanova, the latter of which included NBA stars Jalen Brunson, Mikal Bridges, Josh Hart, and Donte Divincenzo, it was Kris Jenkins who was the hero of the night.
Jenkins, a stretch-four, had his dream look at the end of a national championship game, and he took advantage.
Before his shot however, Marcus Paige led a last minute comeback when he scored the final eight points for the Heels, including an incredible double-pump three to tie it at 74 with 4.7 seconds left.
Villanova took a timeout and had Jenkins inbound the ball from the baseline. He passed it to Ryan Arcidiacono who dribbled it nearly to UNC's three point line where two defenders picked him up.
Jenkins, trailing behind the play, received the handoff from Arcidiacono and pulled up for three in front of the outstretched arms of UNC's Isaiah Hicks and drilled an epic championship-winning shot that exemplifies the madness of the tournament as a whole.
While Carolina would feel the heartbreak in 2016, the team would bounce back in a huge way in 2017 when they made the national championship yet again, this time winning it against Gonzaga.
Discover more from bet365
Will there be a buzzer beater in this year's Tournament?
