The NCAA tournament's Shiny Insta-Memories that you won't forget
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April 5, 2016, 12:23 AM ET
• 1 min read
— -- Who will be in the greatest video montage in sports? Well, here's our ever-expanding list of NCAA tournament shining moments that are likely to fill our season-ending musical montage.
National championship game
Jenkins' buzzer-beater gives title to Villanova : North Carolina had just erased a 10-point deficit and tied the game on Marcus Paige's 3-point circus shot, leaving the Wildcats just 4.7 seconds to attempt a game-winner. Ryan Arcidiacono hurried the ball up the court before dumping it off to forward Kris Jenkins, who stepped up and buried a deep 3-pointer, handing Villanova its second national championship.Final Four
North Carolina logs a hockey assist : North Carolina's Justin Jackson found himself trapped on the baseline by Syracuse's 2-3 zone during the second half of the Tar Heels' national semifinal win over Syracuse. Suddenly, Jackson found teammate Marcus Paige, who was cutting to the basket. But when Paige saw Orange guard Malachi Richardson at the rim, he flicked another pass -- not just any pass, a one-handed touch pass that he never fully possessed -- to an open Kennedy Meeks under the basket, who flushed a two-hand slam that helped the Heels' prevail. Bridges seals Villanova's title game berth : Holding what was already a 15-point lead after the second half's under-12-minute media timeout, Villanova coach Jay Wright drew up a play that would cement the Wildcats' spot in the national championship game. Oklahoma was applying full-court pressure in an attempt to get back in the game, but the Sooners forgot to account for Villanova freshman guard Mikal Bridges. Bridges slipped behind the defense, where Kris Jenkins hit him with a three-quarter-court baseball pass. Bridges threw down a vicious slam, and he was fouled by Sooners big man Jamuni McNeace. Bridges made the free throw to put the Wildcats up by 18, a lead that was never threatened.Elite Eight
Lydon's lost shoe preceeds Syracuse's comeback : One shoeless moment: In the first half against Virginia, Orange forward Tyler Lydon tripped and lost his left shoe. He kicked it a few feet away, and then teammate Michael Gbinije threw it out of bounds. So, of course, Lydon found himself in the middle of the play. He pump-faked and then drilled a 3-pointer from the wing with just a sock on one foot. Bridges invokes memory of 1985 Wildcats : Shades of 1985? Villanova's Mikal Bridges jumped on a loose ball during the second half against Kansas and just cradled it on the floor for several seconds. It evoked memories of Dwayne McClain securing a ball on the floor and celebrating in the waning seconds of the Wildcats' monumental upset of Georgetown in the 1985 national title game. Both moments happened in the same state, as Bridges helped Villanova upset Kansas on Saturday in Louisville, some 31 years after the program won its championship in Lexington. Hield's long-range barrage sends Sooners to Final Four : Fifty-six seconds into the West Regional final against Oregon, Oklahoma's Buddy Hield drilled a 3-pointer. He was just getting started. Hield made step-back 3s, NBA-range 3s and wide-open 3s in a masterstroke performance. Hield finished a ridiculous 8-for-13 from behind the arc on his way to 37 points, as the Sooners cruised to an 80-68 victory and a Final Four berth. Hield may have more heroics in store for Houston, but a montage of him scorching the nets against Oregon would play well during a portion of "One Shining Moment."Sweet 16
Lydon's block seals Syracuse's win over Gonzaga : As far as momentous Syracuse blocked shots in the NCAA tournament, this wasn't exactly Hakim Warrick vs. Kansas in the 2003 national title game. But Tyler Lydon's stuff of Gonzaga's Josh Perkins will still go down in Orange lore. After a phantom out-of-bounds call went against Syracuse's Trevor Cooney, Gonzaga got the ball with 12 seconds to go, trailing 61-60. Perkins tried for a go-ahead jump shot with 4 seconds left, but the freshman Lydon rose up for the game-saving rejection. It was Lydon's sixth block of the game, and it will go down as one of the biggest in Syracuse history. Four-minute flurry fuels Notre Dame's comeback win over Wisconsin : Notre Dame played so poorly for much of its Sweet 16 game against Wisconsin that it needed to steal a win. Demetrius Jackson took that quite literally. The Irish trailed 56-55 with 19 seconds left when Wisconsin in-bounded to Nigel Hayes. After getting briefly trapped in the corner, Hayes lost control of the ball. Jackson was in the right spot at the right time, and converted the turnover into a go-ahead layup. The Badgers still had a shot to tie in the final five seconds and looked to Bronson Koenig, who'd hit a buzzer-beater in the previous round. But before Koenig could advance past half court, Jackson cut off his path and swiped the ball -- and an Elite Eight berth -- away.Second round
The Aggies win in the wildest of wild games : Texas A&M delivered one of the greatest comebacks in NCAA Tournament history by outscoring Northern Iowa 14-2 in the final 33 seconds of regulation to send the game to overtime. In that span, the Aggies made six field goals -- the same number they'd converted in the entire first half -- and forced four turnovers with their full-court press. Texas A&M went on to complete the miracle and prevail 92-88 in the second OT. Wisconsin beats the buzzer : Wisconsin's Bronson Koenig hit a pair of 3-pointers in the final 14 seconds -- including the game winner at the buzzer -- to lift the Badgers past No. 2 seed Xavier 66-63. With two seconds left, Koenig caught an inbounds pass, took one dribble and launched from the corner with Xavier's Remy Abell hounding him. When the ball went through the net, Koenig was in the corner in front of his team's bench. Predictably, he was mobbed by a sea of red. Notre Dame tips in a prayer to move on : Demetrius Jackson's runner didn't fall, and neither did Zach Auguste's putback. But freshman Rex Pflueger came flying in to tip in Auguste's miss with 1.5 seconds left. That gave Notre Dame a one-point lead over Stephen F. Austin and a Sweet 16 berth. "After I made it, just running back -- I was kind of scared because [Auguste] was so happy, he wasn't focusing on the defensive play," Pflueger said. "I was like, 'Bro! There's 1.5 seconds. Get ready.'" It was Pflueger's first basket of the game. The Buddy Show plays on : Buddy Hield caught fire against VCU when Oklahoma needed him to. After breaking a press, the Sooners found Hield open on the wing, and he knocked down a 3-pointer to get the Oklahoma City crowd back in the game. Moments later, he got open again at the top of the key after a missed VCU steal attempt, and then he drained another 3 on his way to scoring 29 second-half points in Oklahoma's 85-81 win. Kansas flies into Sweet 16 : Wayne Selden Jr. put the finishing touch on Kansas' 73-61 victory with a monster grab-and-slam in transition with 1:38 to play. Devonte' Graham ignited the highlight with a toss to Selden, who grabbed the ball with his right hand while soaring above the rim and threw it down on UConn's Daniel Hamilton. Predictably, Selden's uncle, Anthony, wearing a giant clock while sitting behind the KU bench, came unglued. Indiana powers past Kentucky : In the biggest moment of the season, Indiana's freshmen outshined the more heralded Kentucky rookies. First, it was Thomas Bryant on a power move in the paint as part of a 3-point play to unlock a tie at 50 in the second half. On the next possession, OG Anunoby drilled a 3 early in the shot clock to extend an 8-0 run that proved instrumental in the Hoosiers' victory. Miami heaves Wichita State out of the tournament : In desperate need of a basket and a way to push the pendulum back in its favor, Miami found a resounding answer to Wichita State's furious rally from 21 points down. Twenty seconds after the Shockers came all the way back to retake the lead, Angel Rodriguez heaved a nearly length-of-the-court pass. Sheldon McClellan caught it in midair and threw down an authoritative statement of an alley-oop dunk with 9:29 left. The Hurricanes never trailed again.First round
Northern Iowa heaves from half court to win : Paul Jesperson banked in a shot from half court as time expired to give Northern Iowa a stunning 75-72 victory over Texas in the first round of the Oklahoma City Regional. The Longhorns' Isaiah Taylor had tied the game with a driving floater with 2.7 seconds remaining and presumably sent the thriller into overtime. Instead, Jesperson ended it with perhaps the biggest basket in Northern Iowa history. St. Joe's survives game-tying dunk that wasn't : DeAndre Bembry whipped the ball cross-court to Isaiah Miles, who had hit 2-of-4 3-pointers in a back-and-forth game against Cincinnati. With his team down two with nine seconds to play, Miles let it fly and put Saint Joseph's up one over Cincinnati. After referees decided a Cincinnati dunk was no good, Miles' shot proved to be the difference between advancing to the second round and overtime against a dangerous team. Notre Dame hunkers down when it needs to : It wasn't star point guard Demetrius Jackson. It wasn't veteran big man Zach Auguste or shooter Stevie Vasturia. When Notre Dame needed a bucket against Michigan, it was V.J. Beachem who provided the punch. He hit a 3-pointer with 3:43 left to put the Fighting Irish up by three, then hit a pull-up jumper on the next possession to push the lead to five. Notre Dame didn't relinquish the lead in advancing to the second round. Stephen F. Austin enjoys knocking out West Virginia : Thomas Walkup held the ball near the midcourt line with Stephen F. Austin leading West Virginia by 13 in the final two minutes. He turned, faced up against Devin Williams and crossed him over twice before burying a pull-up 3-pointer to ice the game for the Lumberjacks. For good measure, Walkup walked back downcourt with his tongue out -- putting an exclamation point on his 33-point effort. Middle Tennessee destroys many brackets : In the final minute of Middle Tennessee's shocking upset of Michigan State, Reggie Upshaw dunked and drew a foul to seal the outcome. Then he flexed his muscles to the crowd after his play gave the Blue Raiders a seven-point lead and assured a knockout of the No. 2 seed Spartans. It was a moment typical of the game, as Middle Tennessee continually went on the attack, made huge play after huge play and showed no fear, despite being a prohibitive underdog. Xavier shows its strength in beating Weber State : In the second half of a 71-53 win over Weber State, Xavier's Jalen Reynolds owned his defender ... and a Scottrade Center rim. Reynolds posted up, turned into the lane and threw down a one-handed jam so fierce that he fell upon its completion. The judges wouldn't award it many degree-of-difficulty points, but for pure power, it was hard to top. Iowa tips Temple in overtime : Iowa's stars -- Jarrod Uthoff and Peter Jok -- couldn't get open, so with the score 70-70 and the clock winding down, Mike Gesell put up a baseline fadeaway that fell into the arms of teammate Adam Woodbury. Woodbury calmly put the ball in as time expired, and that pushed Iowa into the second round and sent Temple home. Hawaii slams Cal in upset : Coming out of a media timeout with his team up by nine, Hawaii coach Eran Ganot decided to go the sneaky route. From the right side of the hoop, senior guard Roderick Bobbitt lobbed the ball toward the middle and into the hands of Aaron Valdes, who was in flight. The junior slammed it down, surrounded by a group of flat-footed Cal players, to extend Hawaii's second-half lead to 11. Yale upsets Baylor: Grabbing an inbounds pass on the baseline, senior Justin Sears took two steps before skying for a rim-rattling jam at the 15:38 mark of the second half. The basket was an emphatic statement about Yale's NCAA tournament intentions: The Bulldogs were not happy just to be there. Sears' dunk over a seemingly more athletic Baylor team showcased the poise, skill and toughness Yale used to score the upset. Kansas rolls past Austin Peay : Leading by 10 midway through the first half, Kansas got loose on the break against overmatched Austin Peay. The Governors could have had 10 defenders on the court, and it wouldn't have mattered, as Devonte' Graham found Wayne Selden Jr. floating near the baseline. Selden took Graham's pass and slammed it in one fluid motion. Arkansas-Little Rock stuns Purdue in 2OT : With nearly 5:01 to play in regulation in Little Rock's 85-83 double-overtime win over Purdue, the Boilermakers held a 63-49 lead over the Trojans. But Josh Hagins, a Little Rock senior, helped his team launch a 21-7 run. He scored 11 of his 31 points in the final 4:02 of regulation, a stretch that ended with his deep, game-tying 3-pointer with four seconds on the game clock. That shot sent the game into overtime. Indiana hammers Chattanooga : Indiana turned the tables on the pressure defense of Chattanooga in the opening minutes, as freshman OG Anunoby found himself clear of half court with no defender in close pursuit. What did Anunoby opt to do in his first NCAA tournament game? He went with the 360-degree spin and throw-down dunk, which prompted an immediate timeout from coach Matt McCall on the Mocs' bench. Providence sneaks past USC at the buzzer : Providence forward Rodney Bullock lifted the Friars into the second round with a game-winning layup against USC. Bullock scored on an out-of-bounds pass, despite the Friars' not having any timeouts to set up a play, with 1.5 seconds left.