Most Iconic D1 Basketball Tournament Buzzer Beaters Of All-Time
Most Iconic D1 basketball tournament Buzzer Beaters of All-Time Asher Hyre Updated: Mar 30 2026 15:23 The D1 Men's College Basketball Tournament is rightfully nicknamed "March Madness" due to all the upsets, heartbreak, and trouble that takes place in every tournament. Each year offers at least a couple memorable moments, whether it's a return in the last minutes, or a game winner in the national champion game.
This year, Duke, Arizona, Florida, and Michigan are the No. 1 seeds. Florida will want to go back-to-back after Walter Clayton Jr. and co beat Houston in the national champion last year.
Before the tourney starts, let's review the most iconic buzzer-beating shots in current tournament history. While there have been a lot of game-winners that have left tenths of a second on the clock, these will be shots where the clock struck double-zeroes throughout the shot effort.
9. Derik Queen sends Maryland to the Round of 16 (2025) # 12 seed Colorado State, led by first-round draft pick Nique Clifford, beat No. 5 Memphis in the Round of 64 to advance to their very first Round of 32 since 2013.
It was looking like they were on their way to making the Round of 16 when Jalen Lake nailed a go-ahead three with six seconds left.
However, after a timeout was called by Maryland, a play was drawn up for eventual lottery selection Derik Queen to go to work. He caught the inbounds pass at the top of the secret, made a quick spin move, drove left, and tossed up a running fadeaway floater with his right hand that banked in at the buzzer for a Terps success.
Maryland made the round of 16 for the very first time because 2016 with Melo Trimble, Diamond Stone, and others. Like the 2016 group, the Terrapins would go on to lose to the No. 1 seed.
8. Chris Chiozza's floating three (2017) In a back-and-forth round of 16 game between Wisconsin and Florida, KeVaughn Allen was a one-man trashing team, installing 35 points for the Gators while no one else reached double-figures.
However, it wasn't Allen that was hailed as the hero of the night for the Gators. It was point player Chris Chiozza, who made one 3 in the entire game.
That singular three nevertheless, wound up being among the most iconic shots in college basketball history.
Down two with four seconds left and inbounding from the other side of the court, Chiozza got the pass and sprinted up the court before stopping at the top of the key and letting loose a 21-foot floater that dropped in at the buzzer for 3.
Chiozza, who only shot 31.3% from 3 that year, sent the Gators to the quarterfinal where they go on to lose to South Carolina.
7. Jordan Poole sends Houston home (2018) Before Jordan Poole became known as the Golden State Warriors' stimulate plug sixth man, he was making absurd shots at Michigan.
His most popular shot took place in the Round of 32 in 2018 when No. 3 Michigan faced No. 6 Houston.
Down 2 with 3.6 seconds left, Isaiah Livers discovered Muhammad Abdur-Rahkman who advanced it to Poole who was standing 28 feet away from the basket on the best side of the court.
Poole captured it and instantly fired up a wild-looking 3 in which his legs practically did the divides in mid-air. As the ball was sky high in the air, Poole fell to the ground, and the buzzer went off ideal before the ball fell in and won it for the Wolverines.
The event added even more drama to the shot as he sprinted around the court, tag with his colleagues who were all set to overdo top of him.
6. Bryce Drew upsets No. 4 Ole Miss (1998) In possibly the greatest upset of the list, current GCU head coach Bryce Drew sent No. 4 Ole Miss loading with one of the most memorable shots of all-time.
No. 13 Valparaiso was led by the senior guard who balanced nearly 20 points per game and shot 43.3% from 3 on 7 efforts - an ideal type of player to bust brackets.
Drew and huge guy Zoran Viskovic kept the Beacons in the game through the last buzzer. After Drew missed a three while down two points with five seconds to go, it was appearing like it was over for a possible upset.
However, Ansu Sesay of Ole Miss missed out on both of his totally free throws and the live ball was batted out of bounds with 2.5 seconds left. It was ruled Valparaiso ball, but they were still 94 feet far from the basket they were focusing on.
It was a completely prepared play call as the Beacons introduced a full-court enter the hands of Bill Jenkins who then discovered Drew streaking open on the ideal side of the court. Drew captured the ball, set his feet, and nailed a miracle three at the buzzer.
In their third-ever tournament appearance, Valparaiso would win their next game and make the round of 16 before losing to another Cinderella type of group - No. 8 Rhode Island.
5. Paul Jesperson's half-court heave (2016) Northern Iowa was among the most amazing groups in 2016. They almost managed an amazing comeback vs. No. 3 Texas A&M in the Round of 32, however as remarkable as that game was, their victory in the Round of 64 consists of one of the most impressive shots, courtesy of Paul Jesperson.
Compared against No. 6 Texas, the Panthers had a two-point lead as the clocked ticked under 10 seconds remaining until Texas guard Isaiah Taylor made a floater in the lane to tie it at 72.
With 2.7 seconds left on the clock, it appeared like the video game was undoubtedly headed to overtime. Jesperson, a profession 6.2 point typical scorer, caught the ball near half-court, made a single crossover to free himself from two defenders, then introduced a shot right at mid-court that banked in at the buzzer.
The shot was tossed up a mile high in the air, and it seemed like it took forever till the ball ultimately struck the backboard. It bounced completely and fell in to send out a dagger through the becomes aware of all Texas fans in a stunner.
4. Lamont Butler sends SDSU to the champion (2023) In an impressive semifinal in which No. 4 UConn was the highest seeded team, No. 5 San Diego State vs. No. 9 FAU delivered among the best semifinals in D1 college basketball competition history.
FAU held a 54-42 lead with 13 minutes staying before the Aztecs made a storming return to eventually get themselves into a 71-70 deficit with 17.5 seconds staying.
FAU, holding the ball and the lead, had actually 11 seconds left on their shot clock before star Johnell Davis missed out on a layup with 9 seconds left. Nathan Mensah of SDSU grabbed the rebound and quickly passed it to Lamont Butler who had the ball for the rest of the video game.
Butler dribbled all the way to the FAU standard on the best side, hesitated, quickly dribbled left, then pulled-up for a mid range container at the buzzer to send out the Aztecs to their very first ever championship game video game.
However, UConn would get the much better of San Diego State in the champion video game, winning it 76-59.
3. Jalen Suggs hits a miraculous shot with practically no one in the crowd (2021) This shot would've been much more electric if it wasn't played throughout the middle of COVID.
UCLA, a No. 11 seed, danced their way all the way to the semifinal where they satisfied up with No. 1 Gonzaga. Johnny Juzang and Jaime Jaquez Jr. led the Bruins to an unlikely semifinal appearance before they faced Drew Timme, Corey Kispert, Andrew Nembhard, and Jalen Suggs.
Jaquez Jr. made a couple of clutch complimentary throws to send out the game into overtime, and Juzang knocked down a game-tying putback layup with 3.3 seconds remaining in overtime, and UCLA had the hopes of being the most affordable seed to ever reach the championship game game. But then, the Suggs shot happened.
Kispert quickly inbounded the ball to Suggs with UCLA's defense on its heels and sprinting back to their end. With 1.2 seconds left, Suggs stopped and pulled-up from 37-feet, banking the 3 in at the buzzer.
Like many other groups on this list, the Zags went on to lose in the nationwide championship video game, this time to Baylor.
2. Christian Laettner's reverse shot (1992) Two blue bloods matched up in this year's Elite Eight - Duke and Kentucky. It was anticipated for this game to be a memorable one, and Laettner made certain to do simply that.
Among the biggest college basketball "bad guys" strike a buzzer-beating shot versus UConn in the 1990 competition, but that wasn't his most famous shot.
This one in 1992 has decreased as one of the most famous shots ever. Down one with 2.1 seconds in overtime, Duke required to throw a heave from the standard to get an excellent look off in time.
It was Grant Hill that was tasked with the pass, and he a tossed an appeal of a pass to Laettner at the other complimentary throw line where he was posting up his protector.
Laettner caught the ball, took one dribble, then reversed to his best side, shooting a fadeaway mid range shot that swished in at the horn.
This was possibly the most notable shot in tournament history till # 1 on this list happened.
1. Kris Jenkins wins it all for Villanova at the buzzer (2016) In a fantastic matchup between the No. 1 seed North Carolina Tar Heels and No. 2 Villanova, the latter of which included NBA stars Jalen Brunson, Mikal Bridges, Josh Hart, and Donte Divincenzo, it was Kris Jenkins who was the hero of the night.
Jenkins, a stretch-four, had his dream take a look at completion of a championship game game, and he took advantage.
Before his shot however, Marcus Paige led a last minute resurgence when he scored the last eight points for the Heels, consisting of an incredible double-pump 3 to connect it at 74 with 4.7 seconds left.
Villanova took a timeout and had Jenkins inbound the ball from the baseline. He passed it to Ryan Arcidiacono who dribbled it nearly to UNC's 3 point line where 2 defenders picked him up.
Jenkins, trailing behind the play, received the handoff from Arcidiacono and brought up for three in front of the outstretched arms of UNC's Isaiah Hicks and drilled a legendary championship-winning shot that exhibits the insanity of the competition as a whole.
While Carolina would feel the heartbreak in 2016, the team would recover in a substantial method in 2017 when they made the national champion yet again, this time winning it versus Gonzaga.
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