March Madness: 25 greatest buzzer-beaters in NCAA Tournament history
By Nick Villano
Ranking the greatest March Madness buzzer-beaters in the history of the NCAA Tournament that put these shot-makers in college basketball immortality.
From Selection Sunday to conference tournaments and the major upsets we see on those first two days of the NCAA Tournament, March Madness is the absolute best.
A big part of what makes March Madness and the NCAA Tournament such a captivating watch for die-hard fans as well as casual fans is you never know when you’ll see a dramatic buzzer-beater finish.
We’ve had buzzer beaters secure some of the biggest upsets in March Madness history, and on multiple occasions, a buzzer-beater decided who’s the NCAA Champion.
So after watching all the greatest buzzer-beaters in NCAA Tournament history, only 25 were picked to represent the best buzzer-beaters in March Madness history, including a pair from Duke legend Christian Laettner. But we begin with a selection from the Women’s Tournament where Arike Ogunbowale had a shot for the ages.
Honorable Mention: 2018 Arike Ogunbowale – No. 1 Notre Dame vs. No. 1 Miss State – NCAA Championship Game
Notre Dame had a double-digit deficit in the Final Four and the NCAA Championship Game. Then, Mississippi State watched as a 15-point lead disintegrated when the Fighting Irish went on a 16-1 run to end the third quarter. With the game tied going into the final frame, we were ready for an amazing end to the 2018 season.
No one had any idea of how great this ending would be.
Through the first two minutes of the fourth quarter, neither team missed a shot (outside of fouls). Fast forward to 40 seconds left in the game. Notre Dame just tied it, giving the Bulldogs the chance to take the lead with very little time on the clock. They had said chance when Teaira McCowan had a wide-open chance under the basket. She missed it with less than 30 seconds left. Then, an insane sequence to end the game.
Rebound. Turnover. Steal. Turnover. Steal. Foul. That left three seconds left with the game tied and Notre Dame with the ball. There, Ogunbowale took the inbounds pass, tried to dribble past a defender, then threw up a prayer.
That prayer was answered when it went in the basket at the exact time the red light went on to signal the clock hit zero. Notre Dame, NCAA Champions. It was one of the best of all time.