Most Iconic D1 Basketball Tournament Buzzer Beaters Of All-Time
Most Iconic D1 basketball competition Buzzer Beaters of All-Time Asher Hyre Updated: Mar 30 2026 15:23 The D1 Men's College Basketball Tournament is truly nicknamed "March Madness" due to all the upsets, heartbreak, and chaos that occurs in every competition. Each year supplies a minimum of a couple unforgettable moments, whether it's a comeback in the final minutes, or a video game winner in the national championship game.
This year, Duke, Arizona, Florida, and Michigan are the No. 1 seeds. Florida will seek to go back-to-back after Walter Clayton Jr. and co beat Houston in the national championship last year.
Before the tourney begins, let's revisit the most iconic buzzer-beating shots in recent competition history. While there have actually been plenty of game-winners that have left tenths of a 2nd on the clock, these will be shots where the clock struck double-zeroes throughout the shot attempt.
9. Derik Queen sends Maryland to the Round of 16 (2025) # 12 seed Colorado State, led by first-round draft choice Nique Clifford, beat No. 5 Memphis in the Round of 64 to advance to their preliminary of 32 considering that 2013.
It was looking like they were on their method to making the Round of 16 when Jalen Lake nailed a consent three with 6 seconds left.
However, after a timeout was called by Maryland, a play was drawn up for eventual lottery game selection Derik Queen to go to work. He caught the inbounds pass at the top of the secret, made a fast spin relocation, drove left, and gambled a running fadeaway floater with his best hand that banked in at the buzzer for a Terps victory.
Maryland made the round of 16 for the very first time since 2016 with Melo Trimble, Diamond Stone, and others. Like the 2016 team, the Terrapins would go on to lose to the No. 1 seed.
8. Chris Chiozza's drifting 3 (2017) In a back-and-forth round of 16 game in between Wisconsin and Florida, KeVaughn Allen was a one-man trashing team, setting up 35 points for the Gators while nobody else reached double-figures.
However, it wasn't Allen that was hailed as the hero of the night for the Gators. It was point guard Chris Chiozza, who made one 3 in the whole game.
That singular 3 however, ended up being one of the most renowned shots in college basketball history.
Down two with 4 seconds left and inbounding from the opposite of the court, Chiozza got the pass and sprinted up the court before stopping at the top of the secret and releasing a 21-foot floater that dropped in at the buzzer for 3.
Chiozza, who only shot 31.3% from three that year, sent out the Gators to the quarterfinal where they go on to lose to South Carolina.
7. Jordan Poole sends Houston home (2018) Before Jordan Poole ended up being known as the Golden State Warriors' stimulate plug sixth man, he was making absurd chance ats Michigan.
His most popular shot happened in the Round of 32 in 2018 when No. 3 Michigan faced No. 6 Houston.
Down two with 3.6 seconds left, Isaiah Livers found Muhammad Abdur-Rahkman who advanced it to Poole who was standing 28 feet far from the basket on the best side of the court.
Poole captured it and immediately 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 celebration added even more drama to the shot as he ran around the court, playing tag with his teammates who were ready to pile on top of him.
6. Bryce Drew upsets No. 4 Ole Miss (1998) In maybe the most significant upset of the list, head coach Bryce Drew sent No. 4 Ole Miss packing with among the most remarkable shots of all-time.
No. 13 Valparaiso was led by the senior guard who averaged almost 20 points per video game and shot 43.3% from 3 on seven efforts - an ideal type of player to bust brackets.
Drew and big guy Zoran Viskovic kept the Beacons in the game through the last buzzer. After Drew missed a three while down 2 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 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 targeting at.
It was a perfectly prepared play call as the Beacons introduced a full-court enter the hands of Bill Jenkins who then found Drew streaking open on the ideal side of the court. Drew caught the ball, set his feet, and nailed a miracle three at the buzzer.
In their third-ever competition look, Valparaiso would win their next video game and make the round of 16 before losing to another Cinderella kind of group - No. 8 Rhode Island.
5. Paul Jesperson's half-court heave (2016) Northern Iowa was among the most exciting teams in 2016. They nearly managed an amazing resurgence vs. No. 3 Texas A&M in the Round of 32, but as remarkable as that game was, their triumph in the Round of 64 consists of one of the most excellent shots, courtesy of Paul Jesperson.
Compared against No. 6 Texas, the Panthers had a two-point lead as the clocked ticked under 10 seconds staying up 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 game was certainly headed to overtime. Jesperson, a career 6.2 point average scorer, captured the ball near half-court, made a single crossover to free himself from 2 defenders, then released 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 up until the ball ultimately struck the backboard. It bounced perfectly and fell in to send a dagger through the hears of all Texas fans in a stunner.
4. Lamont Butler sends SDSU to the championship (2023) In an impressive semifinal in which No. 4 UConn was the greatest seeded team, No. 5 San Diego State vs. No. 9 FAU provided one of the very best semifinals in D1 college basketball tournament history.
FAU held a 54-42 lead with 13 minutes staying before the Aztecs made a storming resurgence to ultimately get themselves into a 71-70 deficit with 17.5 seconds remaining.
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 nine 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 method to the FAU baseline on the best side, thought twice, quickly dribbled left, then pulled-up for a mid range pail at the buzzer to send out the Aztecs to their very first ever national championship video game.
However, UConn would overcome San Diego State in the national championship, winning it 76-59.
3. Jalen Suggs hits an incredible shot with practically no one in the crowd (2021) This shot would've been even more electrical if it wasn't played during the middle of COVID.
UCLA, a No. 11 seed, danced their method all the way to the semifinal where they met No. 1 Gonzaga. Johnny Juzang and Jaime Jaquez Jr. led the Bruins to an unlikely semifinal look before they ran into Drew Timme, Corey Kispert, Andrew Nembhard, and Jalen Suggs.
Jaquez Jr. made a couple of clutch complimentary tosses 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 video game. But then, the Suggs shot happened.
Kispert rapidly inbounded the ball to Suggs with UCLA's defense on its heels and running back to their end. With 1.2 seconds left, Suggs stopped and pulled-up from 37-feet, banking the three in at the buzzer.
Like many other teams 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 expected for this game to be an unforgettable one, and Laettner made certain to do just that.
One of the greatest college basketball "villains" strike a buzzer-beating shot against UConn in the 1990 competition, however that wasn't his most famous shot.
This one in 1992 has actually decreased as one of the most well-known shots ever. Down one with 2.1 seconds in overtime, Duke needed to toss a heave from the standard to get a good look off in time.
It was Grant Hill that was tasked with the pass, and he a threw a charm 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 turned around to his best side, shooting a fadeaway mid variety shot that swished in at the horn.
This was perhaps the most noteworthy shot in tournament history up until # 1 on this list occurred.
1. Kris Jenkins wins everything for Villanova at the buzzer (2016) In a terrific match in between the No. 1 seed North Carolina Tar Heels and No. 2 Villanova, the latter of which consisted of 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 appearance at the end of a nationwide championship video game, and he took advantage.
Before his shot however, Marcus Paige led a last minute resurgence when he scored the final eight points for the Heels, consisting of an amazing double-pump three to connect it at 74 with 4.7 seconds left.
Villanova took a timeout and had Jenkins inbound the ball from the standard. He passed it to Ryan Arcidiacono who dribbled it almost to UNC's 3 point line where two defenders picked him up.
Jenkins, trailing behind the play, got the handoff from Arcidiacono and pulled up for 3 in front of the outstretched arms of UNC's Isaiah Hicks and drilled an impressive championship-winning shot that exhibits the madness of the tournament as a whole.
While Carolina would feel the heartbreak in 2016, the group would get better in a substantial method in 2017 when they made the championship game yet once again, this time winning it against Gonzaga.
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