New York Yankees
Counting Down March Madness’s Most Insane Moments
March: A Time for College Hoops and Madness!
Historic Moments
I love March. Between the beginning of spring and St. Patrick’s Day, what’s there not to love? But, getting real for a second, the main reason March ranks right up there in my list of favorite months of the year (yes, I have a list, doesn’t everybody?) is because of one thing: madness.
Not just any madness though, college basketball madness. Yes, say it with me: March Madness!
As we continue on our road to this season’s men’s college basketball national title tournament and to give you a little inspiration while starting to work out your March Madness odds strategy, how about we count down the most insane moments in the tournament’s history?
Jenkins Calls Game and Title for Villanova
Kicking off the list, what for me might be one of the coldest shots in recent March Madness history, Kris Jenkins’s title-winning buzzer-beater for the Villanova Wildcats in the 2016 National Title game against the North Carolina Tarheels.
With 4.7 seconds left on the clock and trailing by three, UNC’s guard, Marcus Paige, came through with a dagger of a three-pointer to tie the game and leave fans thinking overtime was coming.
Little did they know Jenkins had one more shot left in his game.
Instant classic.
Five years ago today, Kris Jenkins sunk an epic championship-winning buzzer beater. Ice in his veins ❄️
(via @marchmadness)pic.twitter.com/cTw5yFEugn
— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) April 4, 2021
As the clock expired, Jenkins shot his shot, made the three, called the game, called the title for Nova, and the rest is history.
Curry Shows He’s H-I-M Against Wisconsin
If I had a dollar every time I heard someone say Steph Curry is the greatest shooter in NBA history, I’d have a lot of singles.
But Curry’s magic didn’t pop up once he got to the pros. No no. Steph’s been cooking ever since his college days with the Davidson Wildcats, and he made sure everybody learned his name on March 28, 2008, in his school’s Sweet Sixteen massive upset win against the #3 ranked Wisconsin Badgers.
March 28, 2008: Stephen Curry scores 33 points to lead Davidson over Wisconsin 73-56 in the Sweet 16.
pic.twitter.com/NL589Fup9L— This Day In Sports Clips (@TDISportsClips) March 29, 2024
Considered Curry’s coming-out party to ball fans, putting up 33 points en route to a Wildcats 73-56 win over the Badgers.
Safe to say Dell Curry’s kid (not you Seth, sorry) has done pretty well for himself in the pros ever since.
Virginia’s 2019 Redemption Tour
Few teams can bounce back from suffering one of the biggest upsets in NCAA basketball history one season to winning the March Madness championship the following season.
And then there’s the 2019 Virginia Cavaliers team.
After entering the 2018 tournament as the #1 seed, only to fall flat in their first game against the #16 UMBC Retrievers, marking the first time a number one seed lost against a sixteen seed, the Cavaliers took to 2019 as their ultimate redemption season.
History has been made.#UMBC defeats #Virginia 74-54, as the No. 16 seed knocks off a No. 1 seed for the first time in the history of #MarchMadness pic.twitter.com/GDIzXBA6nP
— TSN (@TSN_Sports) March 17, 2018
Between the team’s almost-impossible comeback against Purdue in the regional final to their 63-62 win over Auburn in the Final Four, the Cavaliers made believers out of everyone, capping off their redemption tour with an 85-77 victory over Texas Tech to win the National Title and finally leave their 2018 tragedy behind.
“Virginia with the all-time turnaround title!”#TBT to @UVAMensHoops‘ storybook run to the #NationalChampionship! pic.twitter.com/rBdLvbSeY6
— NCAA March Madness (@MarchMadnessMBB) July 25, 2019
If comebacks are your thing, 2019 Virginia is your team.
Cardiac Pack Dunks for the Title
This one’s for all you old-school college hoopsheads out there. What comes to mind when you hear the nicknames “Cardiac Pack” and “Phi Slama Jama”?
If you thought of the 1983 NCAA Tournament Final between the North Carolina State Wolfpack (CP) and the Houston Cougars (PSJ), let me be the first to say you know college basketball history like a pro.
In a tournament final that pitted Houston, the March Madness betting odds favorites, against North Carolina State, it was the Wolf-Pack who, with an airball miss leading to a dunk, would go on to give fans what can easily be taken as the most incredible title finish in tournament history.
Jimmy V ❤️#OTD in 1983, @PackMensBball won the #NationalChampionship on Lorenzo Charles’ game-winning dunk! #MarchMadness pic.twitter.com/9kJCTGCEo4
— NCAA March Madness (@MarchMadnessMBB) April 4, 2021
Even before social media and highlight reels existed, the NC State “Cardiac Pack” team gave fans something to go crazy for in March.
‘The Shot’
The year was 1992. In the NBA, the Dream Team was being assembled, while in the NCAA, who would go on to become the only college athlete to join that historic US Olympics basketball team would cement his name into the history books.
Yes, I’m talking about Christian Laettner, a bona fide star of the Duke Blue Devils, and his most famous play, “The Shot,” which is easily among the top three plays in all March Madness highlights videos.
#OTD, Christian Laettner hit The Shot for @DukeMBB 👏
A moment no one will forget in #MarchMadness history pic.twitter.com/K0gsamiOrV
— NCAA March Madness (@MarchMadnessMBB) March 28, 2024
Following a last-second inbound pass from fellow Duke legend Grant Hill, which covered three-quarters of the court, Laettner would hit a turn-around jumper off the Kentucky WildCats’ free-throw line and give the Blue Devils the win to move on to that year’s Final Four.
After taking down Kentucky with “The Shot,” Duke would beat the Indiana Hoosiers in the Final Four en route to a second consecutive National Title win against the Michigan Wolverines after defeating the Kansas Jayhawks for the championship the year before.
