There won’t be any March Madness this year, but fans desperate for college hoops action can check out 15 of the greatest NCAA Tournament games of all time for free on YouTube to get their fix.
College basketball fans won’t have March Madness this year after the NCAA canceled the NCAA Tournament in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic.
There are no brackets to fill out this year, no buzzer-beaters and no massive upsets for fans to enjoy over the next three weeks. But we can always relive the feelings of the past by enjoying some of the classic March Madness games through YouTube.
Since you can’t devote the next three weeks to watching March Madness, devote some time to rewatching or watching for the first time, these 15 classic March Madness games.
15. Michigan State vs. Kentucky – 2005 Elite Eight
These two powerhouse programs met in Austin in 2005 with a trip to the Final Four on the line and this contest was straight-up bananas. The two teams ended up playing a double-overtime affair, with Michigan State emerging victorious by the score of 90-84.
This contest will be forever remembered for the bucket that sent it to overtime, with Kentucky’s Patrick Sparks having his last-second shot bounced on the rim four times before going in to tie the game. Future NBAer Shannon Brown led all scorers with 24 points as the Spartans won a thriller to return to the Final Four for the first time since 2001.
14. NC State vs. UCLA – 1974 Final Four
If you’re looking for historical significance, this game has it in spades. This contest between NC State and UCLA in the 1974 Final Four brought an end to the longest winning streak in men’s college basketball history.
Entering the Final Four, the UCLA Bruins had ripped off 39 straight wins in the NCAA Tournament dating all the way back to 1963. The seven-time reigning national champions were widely expected to beat NC State, who they had already topped by 18 points earlier in the season.
That was the only loss the Wolfpack had suffered entering the game and they still found themselves in a dogfight with the Bruins. The contest needed overtime, with UCLA building a seven-point lead early in the extra session.
That margin didn’t intimidate the Wolfpack, who rallied to win 80-77 to stun the Bruins and snap their run atop the college basketball world. NC State rode the momentum of that win to the championship, topping Marquette to cut down the nets in Greensboro.
UCLA legend Bill Walton called this game the most disappointing loss of his career and the Bruins responded by winning it all again the very next year. That run could have been nine straight, however, if not for the strong performance out of NC State in this one.
13. Kentucky vs. Wisconsin – 2014 Final Four
We have had some classics between Kentucky and Wisconsin in the NCAA Tournament over the past decade, but none may be more memorable than 2014. That game will be best known for Aaron Harrison’s game-winning three, off an assist from his brother Andrew, with 5.7 seconds to go to put the Wildcats up for good.
People tend to forget that this edition of Kentucky was an 8-seed in the NCAA Tournament that year, an insanely low number based on a suspect regular season for the Wildcats. Kentucky had to topple undefeated Wichita State in the second round as part of a brutal road to the Final Four.
The other side of this matchup featured Wisconsin, a loaded Big Ten squad featuring future NBA players like Frank Kaminsky and Sam Dekker. Unsurprisingly this was a back-and-forth affair with each team trading blows with a spot in the title game on the line.
The unquestioned hero here was Harrison, who had already developed a clutch reputation after nailing late baskets against Louisville and Michigan in the tournament. Harrison’s third straight go-ahead bucket put Kentucky up 74-73 and Wisconsin’s last-minute heave fell short.
Another great game to watch that did not make our list came between these two teams the following year when Wisconsin got revenge on Kentucky by spoiling their unbeaten season in the Final Four. On this day, the Wildcats ended up coming out on top.
12. UConn vs. George Mason – 2006 Elite Eight
It wouldn’t be a true March Madness re-watch party without an epic upset, so take a trip back to 2006 for one of the ultimate David-slays-Goliath moments. This is the game where little George Mason took down mighty UConn to complete a stunning run to the Final Four.
Everyone remembers the story of the Patriots shocking the world and reaching the Final Four, but few recall how close they came to missing the tournament altogether. The selection committee made a controversial call by giving George Mason an at-large bid over Hofstra, their fellow CAA rivals who had defeated them twice during the regular season.
The Patriots got to the Elite Eight by toppling Michigan State, North Carolina and Wichita State to earn a date with UConn. That edition of the Huskies was heavily favored to win the national championship with future NBA talent on the roster like Rudy Gay, Josh Boone and Hilton Armstrong.
The Huskies jumped all over George Mason early, building a nine-point lead at the half, but the Patriots weren’t intimidated. George Mason erased that deficit and had the lead in the final seconds of regulation before Denham Brown’s bucket sent the contest to overtime.
The extra session was also nerve-wracking for Patriots’ supporters after George Mason built a five-point lead only to see UConn’s Marcus Williams made a three with 11 seconds left to cut the lead to just two. Brown had a crack at a winning three, but it was offline to send the Patriots on to the Final Four for the first time in school history.
11. North Carolina vs. Georgetown – 1982 Championship Game
This is our first championship game on the list and it will be remembered for one indelible image. That honor belonged to a young freshman by the name of Michael Jordan, who offered a first glimpse at the legendary career he would have by nailing the game-winning jumper late in regulation.
The Hoyas had a future NBA Hall-of-Famer of their own in center Patrick Ewing and he would play a big role in Georgetown’s national title team in 1984. Ewing was also a freshman in this game and he stepped up in a big way, dropping 23 points and grabbing 11 rebounds in the matchup.
This contest was nip-and-tuck throughout, with North Carolina trailing by one at the half in this game. Jordan wasn’t even the star of his own team, with James Worthy leading the way for the Tar Heels with 28 in the title game.
The hero moment came for Jordan with 15 seconds left, when he hit a jumper to put North Carolina up one. The Tar Heels hung on to that one-point margin to help Dean Smith win his first national championship, cementing his legacy as a true legend.
Smith had come under some intense criticism for failing to win a national championship in his first three trips to the title game, so this victory took a huge monkey off his back. Georgetown would get their own title two years later, but this day belonged to the Tar Heels.
10. Duke vs. UNLV – 1991 Final Four
It’s hard to picture a time where Duke was an underdog, but that was the case here in the 1991 Final Four. That was certainly the case in this matchup, with the Blue Devils entering their matchup with UNLV as decisive underdogs.
The Runnin’ Rebels had easily won the 1990 national championship and looked even better in 1991, racing out to a 34-0 start entering the matchup with Duke. 32 of those wins were by double digits, so no one was even giving UNLV much of a challenge at that point.
Duke was also a talented team featuring Christian Laettner, Bobby Hurley and Grant Hill among others. These teams actually met in that 1990 title game, with UNLV obliterating Duke 103-73 in the process.
UNLV entered this game as 8-point favorites and the complete opposite of what Duke stood for, so the game was a true contrast in styles. Duke was able to control the tempo, however, maintaining their poise and discipline to score a 79-77 upset win on their way to the national title.
This game sent the two programs in completely different directions. Duke would claim the first of Mike Krzyzewski’s five national championships on their way to becoming a modern dynasty while UNLV sank under the weight of NCAA sanctions, making just one trip to the Sweet 16 since 1991.
9. Indiana vs. Syracuse – 1987 Final Four
Syracuse fans will absolutely shudder at this game’s presence on the list for one reason: Keith Smart. The junior guard delivered a dagger to the heart of the Orangemen (as they were called at the time), nailing the winning jumper to deny Jim Boeheim his first championship and give Bobby Knight his third.
Boeheim had already developed a reputation as a legendary coach, but he had yet to find a title winner to validate his resume. The 1987 edition of Syracuse was poised to do just that, with hot-shot freshman Derrick Coleman joining established stars like Sherman Douglas and Rony Seikaly to effortlessly lead the Orange through the tournament.
Indiana, on the other hand, was an established national powerhouse under Knight. It was not a vintage Hoosiers’ team and lacked a ton of future NBA talent, but Knight’s coaching magic turned this group into a massive threat out of the Big Ten.
Even though the Hoosiers entered the game as five-point favorites the contest was tight throughout. The Hoosiers led by one at the break and found themselves trailing in the final moments before Smart’s jumper gave them the win and broke hearts throughout upstate New York.
The win would prove to be Knight’s last title team with Indiana while Boeheim had to wait a while longer to get another shot at a title. That shot was epic and we will get to it on our countdown in due time.
8. Indiana State vs. Michigan State – 1979 Championship Game
This contest is still, to this day, the most-watched basketball game in television history. If that seems shocking, it shouldn’t be. This championship game was the first chapter in the epic rivalry between Magic Johnson and Larry Bird.
Johnson was the star point guard at Michigan State despite his 6-foot-9 height and head coach Jud Heathcoate built his team around Magic’s unique talents. The Spartans were awarded a two seed in the Mideast region and ended up cruising through their first three games to reach the Final Four.
Indiana State, on the other hand, entered the contest with a perfect 33-0 record. The unheralded school wasn’t even picked by its conference mates to win the Missouri Valley, but thanks to the superstar performance from Bird, also known as “the hick from French Lick”, the Sycamores dominated the season.
Bird and Johnson were without question the two best players in college basketball and their first-ever meeting was must-see TV. The moment wasn’t too big for either player, with Bird chipping in 19 points, but he did miss two-thirds of his shot attempts to get them.
Michigan State got 24 out of Johnson, who was 8-of-15 from the floor in the Spartans’ 75-64 win. The first round of the rivalry went to Magic, but it would set the stage for a breathtaking decade that helped save professional basketball as we know it.
7. Duke vs. Butler – 2010 Championship Game
Let’s flashback ten years for this contest, one of our more recent entries on the list. You will remember this game for Gordon Hayward’s half-court heave that nearly fell to give the Bulldogs the title, but the whole game was an absolute classic.
The story of Butler that year was simply magical, with the Bulldogs earning a five seed out of the Horizon League. Brad Stevens’ team went 28-4 during the regular season and got hot in the tournament, knocking out Syracuse and Kansas State in the regionals to earn a trip to the Final Four in Indianapolis, just a few miles down the road from their campus.
The Goliath here was Duke, which had cruised through the regular season and tournament to get to the title game. Led by Jon Scheyer, Kyle Singler and Lance Thomas, the Blue Devils were looking to claim their first title since 2001.
The Blue Devils were five-point favorites in the contest, but Butler gave them all they could handle from the jump. Duke eventually built a five-point lead with 1:50 to go but the Bulldogs scored the next four points to cut the deficit to one.
Brian Zoubek made only one of two free throws in the final seconds, giving Butler a chance to win it with a heave. Hayward got off a pretty good heave that clanged off the rim, narrowly giving the title back to Duke.
6. Syracuse vs. Kansas – 2003 Championship Game
This game will make Syracuse fans happier than their earlier appearance on the list. Orange fans fondly remember the 2003 title game for Hakim Warrick’s last-second block on Michael Lee’s tying jumper to preserve the championship.
While Syracuse had plenty of heartbreak in their tournament past, things were different for the Orange in 2003 due to one impact freshman. Carmelo Anthony became the unquestioned star of the Orange down the stretch, putting the team on his back to bring Syracuse back to the Final Four.
Kansas, on the other hand, had an excellent team to try and help Roy Williams claim his first national championship. Kirk Hinrich, Nick Collison and Wayne Simien brought plenty of firepower for a Jayhawks’ team that made quick work of most of its tournament opposition to reach the championship game.
Anthony and the Orange were hot early, building an 11-point lead at the half, but Kansas didn’t give up. The Jayhawks cut the deficit to two in the final minute and had a chance to tie the game after Warrick missed a pair of free throws.
Warrick redeemed himself in quick order, blocking Lee’s potential tying jumper with 0.7 seconds to go. Hinrich’s last-second three missed as well, giving Boeheim a championship as Anthony would parlay his March success into a strong NBA career.
5. NC State vs. Houston – 1983 Championship Game
There have been plenty of championship games in this countdown and for good reason. Title games are full of drama and produce memorable moments and there are times at the end when you just want to find someone to hug.
That was fitting for Jim Valvano in 1983 when the NC State Wolfpack completed one of the most epic upsets in NCAA Tournament history. The Wolfpack, who barely got in the field, entered the title game as 7.5 point underdogs to Houston.
That Cougars’ team, better known as Phi Slama Jama, dominated the sport behind its dynamic 1-2 punch of Hakeem Olajuwon and Clyde Drexler. The two future Hall-of-Famers led a high-flying circus attack on offense, but Valvano managed to outfox the Cougars in the championship game.
The contest was played at The Pit in New Mexico and the altitude proved to be an issue for Houston players, with Olajuwon, in particular, needing multiple breaks for oxygen. The Wolfpack kept things annoyingly close, leading to a tie game at 52 in the final seconds.
NC State had the final shot, with Dereck Whittenburg’s heave coming up just short, but Lorenzo Charles put it back with a dunk as time expired to claim the Wolfpack’s second national championship. The play was so stunning that poor Valvano was left running on the floor looking for someone to hug and NC State’s run inspired a 30 for 30 film simply titled Survive and Advance.
4. Villanova vs. Georgetown – 1985 Championship Game
One of the biggest upsets of all time is all you need to remember about this game. Georgetown, fresh off a national championship in 1984 and three years removed from another run to the title game, was looking for a second title.
The opposition was one of their Big East rivals in Villanova and the Wildcats weren’t exactly expected to do much in the tournament. A so-so performance in the regular season left Villanova as an 8-seed entering the tournament, where they won a string of close games before emphatically handling North Carolina to reach the Final Four.
Georgetown, on the other hand, absolutely cruised through the tournament, including an 18-point beat down of fellow Big East rival (and no. 1 seed) St. John’s in the Final Four. Most pundits expected the Hoyas to rout the Wildcats, with Georgetown entering the matchup as big favorites.
Knowing he couldn’t win a track meet with Georgetown, Villanova head coach Rollie Massimino had the Wildcats slow the tempo of the game. This strategy visibly frustrated the Hoyas, who would be left without the ball for long stretches when Villanova employed stall tactics like the four corners offense.
The result was a two-point win for Villanova, which secured arguably the biggest upset in the history of the national championship game. Georgetown has only been back to the Final Four once since this game while Villanova waited a while before winning two more titles.
3. Villanova vs. North Carolina – 2016 Championship Game
It doesn’t get much better than hitting a buzzer-beater to win the championship and that is exactly why this game is on the list. Villanova’s Kris Jenkins delivered one of the most iconic moments in tournament history with his three-pointer to win the title for the Wildcats.
This game was a culmination for Villanova and head coach Jay Wright, which had developed a reputation as a paper tiger in March. The Wildcats finally got to the final game in 2016 only to have to deal with a juggernaut North Carolina team.
This edition of the Tar Heels was one of Roy Williams’ finest squads. Led by Brice Johnson, Marcus Paige and Justin Jackson, North Carolina stampeded through the tournament to reach the final game.
The contest was a thriller throughout, with the final minutes containing absolutely breathtaking theater. Villanova had built a 10-point lead with 4:47 to go, but North Carolina charged all the way back, tying the game with 4.7 seconds to go on a double-clutch three from Paige.
That shot alone could have made this game legendary, but Ryan Arcidiacano took the inbound and ran upcourt before passing to Jenkins for the game-winner. The play, drawn up in a timeout by Wright and called “Nova”, will go down in history as one of the most clutch shots in the history of the tournament.
2. Kansas vs. Memphis – 2008 Championship Game
Our final title game to make the list has a few memorable moments, but the one that everyone remembers is Mario Chalmers’ clutch three at the gun to tie the game for Kansas. That shot was epic and it was the culmination of what had been a very chalky tournament.
The 2008 tournament marked the first and to date only, time that all four no. 1 seeds reached the Final Four. Memphis was clearly the class of college basketball that season, with future NBA MVP Derrick Rose leading a class of excellent young players.
Kansas was a more veteran unit with upperclassmen leadership from players like Chalmers, Sasha Kaun and Brandon Rush. This clash of styles set the stage for a thrilling championship game, which Memphis seemed to be in control of late.
The Tigers built a nine-point lead in the final two minutes, but Kansas kept making buckets while Memphis was done in by their Achilles’ heel: free-throw shooting. Missed free throws, including a big one by Rose with 10 seconds to go, left the door open for Kansas to tie the game.
Chalmers took care of that, nailing the game-tying triple to send the national title game to overtime. Kansas raced out to an early lead in the extra session that they would never relinquish, bringing the championship back to Lawrence for the first time since 1988.
1. Duke vs. Kentucky – 1992 Elite Eight
This game had to be on here for one reason and one reason only: Christian Laettner’s epic shot. Laettner’s turnaround jumper to knock out Kentucky at the buzzer is one of the greatest shots in tournament history and was the defining moment of Duke’s second consecutive championship run.
Before we dive into the specifics of Duke’s team that year, it is worth mentioning something about that Kentucky team. That edition of the Wildcats, coached by future Hall-of-Famer Rick Pitino, was the first to participate in the NCAA Tournament after a two-year postseason ban incurred by the actions of Pitino’s predecessor, Eddie Sutton.
That squad became known as “The Unforgettables”, with four beloved seniors and future NBA star Jamal Mashburn on the roster. Duke had most of its core back from 1991’s title team and was bidding to become the first repeat champion in college basketball since UCLA in 1973.
This game was extremely tight throughout, with neither team able to gain much separation from the other. Kentucky tied the game at 93 with 30 seconds to go and Bobby Hurley missed the potential game-winner at the end of regulation.
The hero of this game almost ended up being Sean Wood, who hit a running one-hander over Laettner with 2.1 seconds to go to give Kentucky a 102-102 lead. With only one inbound play left, the Wildcats made the mistake of leaving inbounder Grant Hill unguarded. Hill made a perfect 79-foot pass to Laettner, who was able to put the ball on the deck and turn around to hit the winning jumper in the most exciting game in the history of the NCAA Tournament.
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