7 buzzer beaters that brought madness to the NCAA Tournament
Nothing brings the madness to March quite like a buzzer beater.
On college basketball’s biggest stage, several players and their iconic shots have delivered chills, tears, and excitement to the NCAA tournament. Relive the craziness all over again with these infamous seven buzzer beaters:
1981 Sweet Sixteen: (6) Brigham Young def. (2) Notre Dame, 51-50
Danny Ainge goes coast to coast. Enough said.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oWdQ6IClxTc
1983 NCAA championship: (6) NC State def. (1) Houston, 54-52
In what might be the most unexpected finish in history, Lorenzo Charles turned Dereck Whittenburg’s desperation three-pointer from an air ball to an iconic dunk, and the Wolfpack broke the 52-52 tie for their second-ever national championship.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ICZ8HO8c9bw
1992 Elite Eight: (1) Duke def. (2) Kentucky, 104-103
With only 2.1 seconds left on the clock and Duke down by one in overtime, Grant Hill launched a nearly full-court pass to Christian Laettner, who hit a turnaround jump shot to send the eventual NCAA champion Blue Devils to the Final Four.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J3_IT622Sbc
1995 Round of 32: (6) Georgetown def. (14) Weber State, 53-51
The Hoyas ended Weber State’s Cinderella story, as Allen Iverson and Don Reid connected for an unconventional (and unintentional) alley-oop bucket.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M7IgRdAfGKA
1998 Sweet Sixteen: (2) Connecticut def. (11) Washington, 75-74
Trailing by one and scrambling to make a basket, UConn couldn’t seem to get anything to fall until Richard Hamilton hit a fadeaway as time expired.
2016 NCAA championship: (2) Villanova def. (1) University of North Carolina, 77-74
Kris Jenkins sunk a three-point shot as time ran out to lift the Wildcats over the Tar Heels for the team’s second-ever national championship, ending a thirty-year drought.
2017 Sweet Sixteen: (3) Florida def. (8) Wisconsin, 84-83
At the end of regulation, Wisconsin’s Zak Showalter hit a three-point runner to send the game to overtime, but Florida’s Chris Chiozza hit an identical shot at the buzzer in OT to punch the Gators’ ticket to the Elite Eight.
Bonus: That time Brad Stevens and Gordon Hayward were inches away from history.
2010 NCAA championship: (1) Duke def. (5) Butler, 61-59
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ADPT7h661wo
