There are few things as exciting in sports as an NCAA tournament game that comes down to the wire, so XN Sports has compiled a list of the top buzzer-beaters in March Madness tournament history.
Table of Contents
- The countdown…
- 10. Arkansas’ U.S. Reed (1981)
- 9. Valparaiso’s Bryce Drew (1998)
- 8. Connecticut’s Tate George (1990)
- 7. Duke’s Christian Laettner (1990)
- 6. Florida’s Mike Miller (2000)
- 5. UCLA’s Tyus Edney (1995)
- 4. Kansas’ Mario Chalmers (2008)
- 3. Duke’s Christian Laettner (1992)
- 2. Indiana’s Keith Smart (1987)
- 1. Lorenzo Charles, N.C. State
Close but not Top-10: 2003: Maryland’s Drew Nicholas vs. UNC-Wilmington (2003), Michigan State’s Korie Lucious vs. Maryland (2010), Connecticut’s Richard Hamilton vs. Washington (1998) and Georgia Tech’s James Forrest vs. USC (1992).
The countdown…
10. Arkansas’ U.S. Reed (1981)
The fifth-seeded Razorbacks trailed No. 4 and defending National Champion Louisville, 73-72, with five seconds left in a second-round matchup.
Reed takes an inbounds pass near the baseline and starts to work the ball up the right side. He gets doubled near half court and with time just about out he pulls up and launches a prayer that is answered to give Arkansas a 74-73 victory. The Razorbacks were unable to capitalize on the momentum of Reed’s spectacular shot and lost their next game to LSU.
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9. Valparaiso’s Bryce Drew (1998)
Down by two against Ole’ Miss with 2.5 seconds to go, 13th-seeded Valparaiso was in a tough spot but had there ball and was prepared for the situation. The Crusaders practiced a play called “Pacer” every day and were able to execute it in a big spot to knock out the fourth-seeded Rebels.
Jamie Sykes inbounded the ball to Bill Jenkins, who caught the ball halfway between the arc and half court. Jenkins turned in the air and passed the ball ahead to Drew, who drained an open 3-pointer at the horn to give Valpo the 70-69 upset. The Crusaders advanced to the Sweet 16 before falling to Rhode Island.
8. Connecticut’s Tate George (1990)
The Huskies led their regional semifinal against Clemson by as many as 19 but were down one with under two seconds to play after a 3-pointer by David Young.
UConn’s Scott Burrell launched a full-court pass to George, who hit a turnaround jumper from about 15-feet at the buzzer for a 71-70 victory. The euphoria of George’s last-second heroics was short-lived however as UConn was knocked out of the tournament by Duke in the regional final on a buzzer-beater by Christian Laettner.
7. Duke’s Christian Laettner (1990)
A game after UConn got it’s last second miracle from George, the Huskies were dealt a crushing defeat by Laettner at the horn of the East Regional Final.
Inbounding from the side near the Duke bench, Laettner was not guarded and got the ball inbounds with 2.6 seconds to go and then immediately receive a return pass. Laettner took one dribble and hit a double-clutch jumper from just outside the left elbow to give the Blue Devils a 79-78 victory and a berth in the Final Four. Duke lost to UNLV in the National Title game that season before Laettner closed out his college career with back-to-back titles.
6. Florida’s Mike Miller (2000)
Locked in a dogfight with 12th-seeded Butler, No. 5 Florida looked like it was going to be sent packing before Miller stepped in.
Miller took a pass on the left wing with 2.4 seconds left. He drove to his right and got into the lane, launching a leaner at the horn that caught the front of the rim and rolled in, igniting Florida’s run to the Final Four. The Gators made it all the way to the National Title game that season before falling to Michigan State.
5. UCLA’s Tyus Edney (1995)
UCLA was ranked No. 1 in the nation and was the top seed in the West but found itself trailing Missouri, 74-73, with 4.8 seconds left in a second round contest.
Eden took the inbounds pass near the foul line and raced the length of the court. He got into the lane and flipped up a shot at the buzzer that went in and gave the Bruins a 75-74 win. UCLA went on to win its next four and claim its first National title since the John Wooden era.
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4. Kansas’ Mario Chalmers (2008)
After Memphis guard Derrick Rose split a pair of free throws with 10.8 seconds to play in the 2008 National Title game, Kansas had a chance to tie with a 3-pointer and Chalmers came through.
Chalmers took a pass on the right wing, took one dribble and launched a three from the top of the key that went in to tie the game with 2.1 seconds to go. A last second heave by Memphis caromed off the backboard and Kansas went on to win the title in Overtime.
3. Duke’s Christian Laettner (1992)
One of the most memorable NCAA tournament moments ever, Laettner kept Duke’s hopes of a repeat alive with a last-second shot to win the East Regional Final over Kentucky.
The back-and-forth battle between the Blue Devils and Wildcats went into overtime and Kentucky clung to a 103-102 lead with 2.1 seconds to play. Duke had to inbound the ball and go the length of the court but was able to as Grant Hill was unguarded and threw a three-quarter court inbounds pass to Laettner that he caught just above the foul line.
Calmly, Laettner took dribble and dipped left before turning back to his right and firing up a fade-away jumper that splashed through the net at the horn to give Duke a 104-103 victory in what many consider the greatest NCAA tournament game ever played. Laettner finished the Kentucky game without missing a shot and Duke went on to repeat as national champions.
2. Indiana’s Keith Smart (1987)
After being benched earlier in the 1987 National Title game against Syracuse, Smart responded with 17 of his 21 points in the second half, none bigger than his final jumper.
Down 73-72, Indiana has the ball after Syracuse’s Derrick Coleman misses a free thrown. The Hoosiers work the ball and ultimately Smart gets a return pass from Daryl Thomas and hits a jumper from the baseline with four seconds to go to give Indiana a one-point lead. Stunned, Syracuse doesn’t stop the clock until one second remains and Smart intercepts the long inbounds pass to seal the title win for the Hoosiers.
1. Lorenzo Charles, N.C. State
Charles capped one of the most improbable Cinderella runs in tournament history and sent Jim Valvano scurrying in search of someone to hug with his putback jam to give the Wolfpack a 54-52 victory over Houston in the 1983 National Title Game.
The Cougars were known as Phi Slama Jama but it was the Wolfpack that won with the dunk heard round the world as Charles caught a desperation shot from guard Derrick Wittenberg and dunked it home at the buzzer to win the title for Valvano and N.C. State.
All videos courtesy NCCA On Demand.
