10 greatest March Madness buzzer beaters of the 21st century

It's officially March Madness season. The brackets are out, and people are racing to figure out who's the next Cinderella team to bust this tournament wide open. It's one of the best times of the year, and the games haven't even started yet.

And that's why this time is so great. The sheer size of the tournament (68 teams), it's one-and-done nature, and the fact that, in theory, anyone can win at any time makes this one of the great sporting events on the calendar. We love March. We all pretend to know who might win between St. John's and High Point, and we are incredibly confident that we chose the right 12 seed to beat a five seed (we'd recommend against High Point).

The reason these narratives take hold is because, more often than not, the games are incredible. We get to watch dozens of games in two days, and it's so incredible that doctors are getting an influx of vascectomy appointments so men can take the entire four-day weekend off from work.

Many of these games go down to the wire, and some even go down to the final moment. Buzzer beaters are the moments in the tournament that live on forever. We still see the shot by Christian Laettner that beat Kentucky. Lorenzo Charles slamming down a jam as time expired in the 1983 championship game led to Jim Valvano running around looking for someone to hug. There are plenty of great buzzer beaters in recent memory, but which are the best?

10. Korie Lucious
No. 4 Maryland vs. No. 5 Michigan State
2010 Round of 32

Maryland thought they had it. A clutch bucket. Six seconds left. A one-point lead in a classic 4-vs-5 second-round clash. This was the kind of March Madness moment that feels like it’s teetering on chaos. And then Michigan State had a choice to make that hundreds of teams before them faced: do you attack the rim through traffic for the “safer” two, or trust the chaos and let it fly from deep?

Michigan State didn’t hesitate. Korie Lucious got the ball, slid left to create just enough space, and with the clock running down quick, he rose up and buried it. Game over. Spartans survive. Terrapins do not.

It was the kind of shot that doesn’t just win a game, it rewrites a tournament path. Michigan State had already let a 16-point second-half lead slip through its fingers. Another possession, another bounce, and their season was done. And the stakes couldn’t have been higher. Earlier that day, 9-seed Northern Iowa shocked the entire bracket by taking down top overall seed Kansas. Suddenly, the door to the Elite Eight was wide open. Lucious didn’t just hit a buzzer-beater. He ignited a run.

Michigan State rode that wave all the way to the Final Four, proving once again that sometimes, one shot isn’t just a moment; it’s a turning point. 

9. Mamadi Diakite
No. 1 Virginia vs. No. 3 Purdue
2019 Elite Eight

Sometimes, pressure makes diamonds. Other times, it cracks foundations. Just one year earlier, Virginia had made history for all the wrong reasons, becoming the first No. 1 seed ever to fall in the opening round. That kind of scar doesn’t fade easily. But this time, the Cavaliers were on a mission to rewrite the story, pushing all the way to the Final Four and burying any whispers of another upset.

Standing in their path: No. 3 seed Purdue. And with just 5.9 seconds left, the Boilermakers held the lead. Then came the decision that always sparks debate. Purdue chose to foul, sending Virginia to the line down three with only two free throws coming.

Ty Jerome missed the second free throw, just as strategy dictates from the offensive team. Mamadi Diakite made sure to make Purdue regret that foul. He soared in, tipping the ball all the way past half court to keep Virginia alive. In one frantic motion, the Cavaliers launched a desperate, 30-foot, one-handed heave back toward the basket. With 0.9 seconds left, it found Diakite again. 

He caught it. Turned. Flicked it up. Tie game. From there, Virginia rode that surge of momentum and beat Purdue in overtime, slamming the door on another chapter of heartbreak. 

8. Derik Queen
No. 4 Maryland vs No. 12 Colorado State
2025 Round of 32

The best buzzer beaters come right after the other team hits a huge shot. That’s the case here with Colorado State and Maryland just last year. The Terrapins held a two-point lead with under 10 seconds left. That’s when Jalen Lake threw a shot over Derik Queen to give Colorado State a one-point lead. This was a senior who had given everything to CSU and thought he was producing their biggest upset.

Not so fast. Queen, who just saw the basketball go through the hoop as he was trying to make a block, needed to play hero. He wouldn’t be stopped. He took the ball near the top of the key, and he drove to the basket. As time was ticking down, he threw up a shot that hit off the backboard and in. Before the ball hit the hardwood, the backboard lit up red. The game was over.

This was much different than many of the buzzer beaters on this list. There was a floating ball with everyone holding their breath. It wasn’t a three-point shot to give his team the lead. Queen wanted a high-percentage shot, and he got one. The Terrapins got a lucky bounce off the backboard as Queen was contested, and for a moment, Colorado State couldn’t believe what just happened. Elation turned into pain with the roll of an orange sphere. Maryland moves on, and Cinderella was back to scrubbing floors.

7. Jordan Poole
No. 3 Michigan vs. No. 6 Houston
2018 Round of 32

Jordan Poole gave us one of the most unforgettable celebrations in recent tournament history. The moment the ball dropped, Poole sprinted the length of the court, outrunning his teammates and the chaos behind him. The Michigan Wolverines had been on the brink, trailing by two after Houston missed a pair of late free throws. Michigan used a timeout to set up one final chance with just three seconds left. 

A long inbound pass, a quick touch, and the ball found Poole. In one motion, he rose over a defender and let it fly. Poole was the unlikeliest of heroes. He played just 11 minutes that night and finished with five points. We don’t remember the bad fouls or mistakes he made in what would be a night he’d like to forget. We did forget everything he did before the shot/

This changed the trajectory of March Madness in 2018. It pushed Michigan into the Sweet 16 and helped spark a surge all the way to the National Championship Game. Along the way, the Wolverines navigated a bracket that opened up in surprising ways, facing lower-seeded opponents before ultimately falling to the Villanova Wildcats in the championship.

6. Mike Miller
No. 5 Florida vs. No. 12 Butler
2000 Round of 64

We’ve seen the five-seed lose too many times to call a 5-12 matchup an upset, but this one really felt like something worth celebrating for Butler. That is, until the Florida Gators and Mike Miller sent Cinderella home before midnight. The Bulldogs already brought this matchup into overtime, and they were hoping the waning seconds would provide satisfaction.

Instead, Mike Miller put up one of the ugliest shots you’ll see. He was parallel with the floor when the ball left his hand, and he fell face-first. He didn’t even see the ball go in! But he heard the roar of the crowd, and for the first buzzer beater of the new millennium, this was a hard one to top. He didn't need a pretty arc from three or a perfect run towards the net. Miller just needed to get the ball up and pray.

If Florida lost that game, it’s a moment that kind of falls by the wayside. Sure, it’s nice for Butler, but they’ve had bigger moments recently than a simple first-round upset. For Florida, this sent them on an improbable run all the way to the National Championship Game. Miller has spoken about this shot with pride, and it’s something older Gators fans and attendees still talk about to this day. 

5. Drew Nicholas
No. 6 Maryland vs. No. 11 UNC Wilmington
2003 Round of 64

One team is trying to defend its title after a somewhat disappointing season and a six-seed finish. The other is trying to gain respect in a state that lives and breathes college basketball. David vs. Goliath, but the underdog’s slingshot is actually a sharp-shooting right hand. Well, maybe not “sharp,” but the shot as time expired by UNC Wilmington’s Drew Nicholas definitely left a mark. 

A last-second heave from Nicholas that barely qualifies as a “shot” in the traditional sense wasn’t a prayer so much as a hope and a prayer. It was one final, low-percentage attempt from an area of the floor teams are taught to avoid. Maybe that’s why it worked so well. 

The improbability of the moment is what elevates it. Statistically, it’s one of the least efficient shots in basketball. Contextually, it was survival, momentum, and belief wrapped into a single release. Maryland rode that surge all the way to the Sweet Sixteen, knocking off Xavier in the next round before falling to Michigan State. But even as that run faded, the shot endured. We still think about Nicholas running from one side of the court to the other, facing two defenders in the corner of the arc, and throwing up a three-pointer with a hand directly in his face. The sound of the swish was a little louder than usual, and the roof blew off the arena that day.

4. Paul Jesperson
No. 6 Texas vs. No. 11 Northern Iowa
2016 Round of 64

So many of the names on this list are synonymous with their shot. Buzzer beaters in the NCAA Tournament are rarely done by the stars. Oftentimes, it’s the relative unknowns who come out of nowhere and put their names on the map and force us all to say, “Remember Paul Jesperson?”

With seconds remaining, Texas guard Isaiah Taylor had just tied the game at 72. There was no time to overthink it. Northern Iowa’s Jesperson caught the inbounds pass, took a couple of dribbles, and launched a desperation heave from beyond half-court. The ball kissed the glass and dropped cleanly through the net, sealing a stunning victory for the Panthers. It was one of the few buzzer beaters in NCAA Tournament history that felt like a true desperation shot from halfcourt, like the ones we used to practice as kids. 

Northern Iowa’s historic collapse in the following round adds a complicated footnote to this shot, but it doesn’t diminish the brilliance of the shot itself. Some moments are simply too extraordinary to be overshadowed. A mid-major program faced one of the most well-funded universities in the country, played them shot-for-shot, took the Longhorns’ best effort and still came out on top. This was March.

3. Jalen Suggs
No. 1 Gonzaga vs No. 11 UCLA
2021 Final Four

Sometimes, a great buzzer beater simply comes down to the shot. Other times, like the case with Jalen Suggs, we have to take everything that came before it into account. This was truly one of the greatest games in the history of the tournament. It was two well-known entities with very different pasts. This was a blue blood masquerading as an underdog, as No. 11 UCLA was in the Final Four. No. 1 Gonzaga was always a bridesmaid and never a bride when it came to the tournament. This year, Mark Few’s squad finally got a chance to play for a championship thanks to Suggs. 

Back-and-forth both teams went, eventually going to overtime after UCLA committed an offensive foul in the paint with less than one second left in regulation. If that call had gone the other way, we might not even be talking about this game. That’s March, a game of inches and calls. Into overtime we go, despite the truncated session, both teams had scored nine points with about three seconds to go. 

Suggs walked up the court, but it was clear he wasn’t going to be able to get to a good shooting position. He had to take what he could get. As he passed the half-court line, he had a little bit of room. It was time to take his shot. With all his might, Suggs threw the ball up with a history of heartbreak weight everything down. So many Gonzaga teams had lost to underdogs. They couldn’t let it happen again.

The ball hit the backboard and went in. The backboard lit up. Game over, and we have the Bulldogs going for a championship.

2. Lamont Butler
No. 5 San Diego State vs No. 9 Florida Atlantic
2023 Final Four

One might look at the seeds of this matchup and wonder why a first or second-round matchup is so high on the list. Well, this was actually one of the most insane brackets in the history of March Madness. Florida Gulf Coast University, one of the youngest universities in all of Division I college sports, made a run to the Final Four as a nine-seed. Meeting them there was fifth-seeded San Diego State, not necessarily a blue blood there. These two teams had a real shot to lose in the first round, but both made a run to the Final Four.

At least one Cinderella story was ending here. And here’s what’s most insane about this game. FGCU led the entire game. They gave up the first points and never saw themselves ahead. Until the one shot that mattered. The one that came off the fingertips of Lamont Butler.

Crazily enough, as Butler hit the mid-ranger jumper with the clock hitting zero, he was the calmest person in the room. That’s why he was the right man for the job. Fans at home were showing more emotion than Butler, who sent San Diego State to their first National Championship Game in program history. 

1. Kris Jenkins
No. 1 North Carolina vs. No. 2 Villanova
2016 National Championship Game

It’s literally a shot that wins a championship. A walkoff home run in the World Series. The 30-foot putt in The Master’s playoff. Hitting a penalty kick to win the World Cup. An overtime goal to win a gold medal in ice hockey at the Olympics. All of these moments are incredible and will live through the test of time, but there’s nothing like a buzzer beater to win a national championship for your school.

Kris Jenkins got an open look with just 1.7 seconds left on the clock. He was not close to the basket, and North Carolina just hit a three pointer to give them the lead. There was no other choice. Villanova needed this, and Jenkins was the guy to do it. He threw it up, and in the basket it went. 

In a moment, North Carolina saw their hopes destroyed and Philadelphia was partying in the streets. People cried. Everyone in navy blue was hugging. It was a moment that create immense sadness and incredible cheer all at once. That’s the magic of a buzzer beater. It changes everything in a moment. Prior to that, we feel like the Tar Heels had this one in the bag, but there was too much time left. The Wildcats won the national championship all because Kris Jenkins hit a shot, and North Carolina had no recourse to respond.

The magic of March.

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