Most Iconic D1 basketball tournament Buzzer Beaters of All-Time Asher Hyre Updated: Mar 30 2026 15:23 The D1 Men's College Basketball Tournament is truly nicknamed "March Madness" due to all the upsets, heartbreak, and trouble that happens in every tournament. Each year provides a minimum of a couple remarkable minutes, whether it's a return in the final minutes, or a game winner in the nationwide champion video 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 championship game in 2015.
Before the tourney starts, let's revisit the most renowned buzzer-beating shots in recent tournament history. While there have actually been a lot of game-winners that have actually left tenths of a 2nd on the clock, these will be shots where the clock hit double-zeroes during the shot attempt.
9. Derik Queen sends out 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 appearing like they were on their method to making the Round of 16 when Jalen Lake nailed a go-ahead 3 with 6 seconds left.
However, after a timeout was called by Maryland, a play was prepared for eventual lottery choice Derik Queen to go to work. He caught the inbounds pass at the top of the key, made a fast spin relocation, drove left, and gambled 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 very first time because 2016 with Melo Trimble, Diamond Stone, and others. Like the 2016 group, the Terrapins would go on to lose to the No. 1 seed.
8. Chris Chiozza's drifting 3 (2017) In a back-and-forth round of 16 video game between Wisconsin and Florida, KeVaughn Allen was a one-man trashing team, 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 player Chris Chiozza, who made one 3 in the whole video game.
That particular 3 nevertheless, ended up being among the most iconic shots in college basketball history.
Down two with four seconds left and inbounding from the opposite of the court, Chiozza got the pass and ran up the court before stopping at the top of the key and releasing a 21-foot floater that dropped in at the buzzer for 3.
Chiozza, who just shot 31.3% from 3 that year, sent out 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 referred to as the Golden State Warriors' stimulate plug 6th man, he was making outrageous chance ats Michigan.
His most famous shot happened in the Round of 32 in 2018 when No. 3 Michigan faced No. 6 Houston.
Down 2 with 3.6 seconds left, Isaiah Livers discovered Muhammad Abdur-Rahkman who advanced it to Poole who was standing 28 feet away from the basket on the best side of the court.
Poole captured it and right away fired up a wild-looking three in which his legs almost did the divides 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 event added much more drama to the shot as he ran around the court, playing tag with his teammates who were all set to pile on top of him.
6. Bryce Drew upsets No. 4 Ole Miss (1998) In perhaps the greatest upset of the list, existing GCU head coach Bryce Drew sent No. 4 Ole Miss packing with among the most memorable shots of all-time.
No. 13 Valparaiso was led by the senior guard who averaged almost 20 points per video game and shot 43.3% from 3 on seven a best type of player to bust brackets.
Drew and big guy 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 appearing like it was over for a potential upset.
However, Ansu Sesay of Ole Miss missed out on both of his totally 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 targeting at.
It was a perfectly drawn up play call as the Beacons released a full-court enter the hands of Bill Jenkins who then found Drew spotting open on the ideal side of the court. Drew captured the ball, set his feet, and nailed a wonder 3 at the buzzer.
In their third-ever competition look, Valparaiso would win their next game and make the round of 16 before losing to another Cinderella kind of team - No. 8 Rhode Island.
5. Paul Jesperson's half-court heave (2016) Northern Iowa was among the most amazing groups in 2016. They almost managed an incredible comeback vs. No. 3 Texas A&M in the Round of 32, however as memorable as that video game was, their victory in the Round of 64 consists of among the most excellent shots, thanks to Paul Jesperson.
Compared versus No. 6 Texas, the Panthers had a two-point lead as the clocked ticked under 10 seconds staying till Texas guard Isaiah Taylor made a floater in the lane to connect it at 72.
With 2.7 seconds left on the clock, it looked like the game was definitely headed to overtime. Jesperson, a career 6.2 point average scorer, caught the ball near half-court, made a single crossover to totally free himself from 2 protectors, then released a shot right at mid-court that banked in at the buzzer.
The shot was tossed up a mile high in the air, and it seemed like it took permanently until the ball eventually struck 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 impressive semifinal in which No. 4 UConn was the highest seeded group, No. 5 San Diego State vs. No. 9 FAU provided one of the very best semifinals in D1 college basketball competition history.
FAU held a 54-42 lead with 13 minutes staying before the Aztecs made a storming return to ultimately 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 9 seconds left. Nathan Mensah of SDSU got the rebound and quickly passed it to Lamont Butler who possessed the ball for the rest of the game.
Butler dribbled all the method to the FAU standard on the best side, thought twice, quickly dribbled left, then pulled-up for a mid variety pail at the buzzer to send the Aztecs to their very first championship game video game.
However, UConn would overcome San Diego State in the national championship, winning it 76-59.
3. Jalen Suggs hits an incredible shot with nearly no one in the crowd (2021) This shot would've been much more electrical if it wasn't played throughout the middle of COVID.
UCLA, a No. 11 seed, danced their method all the method to the semifinal where they met 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 complimentary throws to send out the game into overtime, and Juzang knocked down a game-tying putback layup with 3.3 seconds staying in overtime, and UCLA had the hopes of being the least expensive seed to ever reach the national championship video game. But then, the Suggs shot happened.
Kispert rapidly inbounded the ball to Suggs with UCLA's defense on its heels and running 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 lots of other teams on this list, the Zags went on to lose in the national champion game, this time to Baylor.
2. Christian Laettner's turn around shot (1992) Two blue bloods compared in this year's Elite Eight - Duke and Kentucky. It was anticipated for this game to be an unforgettable one, and Laettner made certain to do just that.
Among the greatest college basketball "bad guys" strike a buzzer-beating shot against UConn in the 1990 competition, but that wasn't his most popular shot.
This one in 1992 has gone down as one of the most well-known shots ever. Down one with 2.1 seconds in overtime, Duke needed to toss 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 tossed a beauty of a pass to Laettner at the other totally free throw line where he was publishing up his protector.
Laettner caught the ball, took one dribble, then reversed to his ideal side, shooting a fadeaway mid range shot that swished in at the horn.
This was maybe the most notable shot in competition history until # 1 on this list happened.
1. Kris Jenkins wins all of it for Villanova at the buzzer (2016) In an excellent matchup in between the No. 1 seed North Carolina Tar Heels and No. 2 Villanova, the latter of which consisted of 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 take a look at completion of a national championship game, and he capitalized.
Before his shot nevertheless, Marcus Paige led a last minute comeback when he scored the final 8 points for the Heels, consisting of an incredible double-pump 3 to tie it at 74 with 4.7 seconds left.
Villanova took a timeout and had Jenkins incoming the ball from the baseline. He passed it to Ryan Arcidiacono who dribbled it nearly to UNC's 3 point line where two protectors chose him up.
Jenkins, routing behind the play, got the handoff from Arcidiacono and brought up for 3 in front of the outstretched arms of UNC's Isaiah Hicks and drilled an epic championship-winning shot that exhibits the insanity of the competition as a whole.
While Carolina would feel the heartbreak in 2016, the team would recover in a huge way in 2017 when they made the national championship yet again, this time winning it against Gonzaga.
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Most Iconic D1 Basketball Tournament Buzzer Beaters Of All Time
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