Top 25 March Madness heroes of all-time

There was a point in time when Northern Iowa was considered one of the most dangerous mid-major programs in college basketball. While the Panthers are still a force to be reckoned with in the Missouri Valley Conference under Ben Jacobson, his best season had to have been 2009-10 when they made it all the way to the Sweet 16.

That wouldn’t have been possible without the help of JUCO transfer Ali Farokhmanesh who hit the biggest shot of his career against No. 1 seed Kansas in the round of 32.

For those who don’t remember the shot, it was one of the gutsiest in NCAA Tournament history as he essentially made every Northern Iowa fan in the building go from “oh no” to “oh yes” in a matter of seconds.

Just watch.

With 42.8 seconds left on the clock and Northern Iowa up one on Kansas, Farokhmanesh received a pass down the court and didn’t expect to be wide open. Instead of wasting time or forcing the Jayhawks to foul, he decided to take matters into his own hands and shoot the ball. He drained the shot which essentially put the game away and led the Panthers to an incredible upset.

Every Kansas fan can tell you where they were when Ali hit the three.