What are the Best March Madness Buzzer-Beaters in NCAA Tournament History?

There have been 131 buzzer-beaters in NCAA Tournament history, spanning from Herb Wilkinson's in 1944 to KJ Simpson's in 2024. Five of those shots directly decided national championships, whereas eight sent their teams into the national title game.

Our best March Madness buzzer-beaters rank the five most iconic and memorable late winners in NCAA Tournament history. We've also made note of honorable mentions as more than a handful across an 80-year period deserve special recognition.

🚨 Best March Madness buzzer-beaters

A buzzer-beater is defined as a shot that goes in as the clock expires. There have been a myriad of late baskets to win, but only the buzzer-beaters will be mentioned on this list. Furthermore, this list only includes NCAA Tournament games, so legendary shots like Kemba Walker's iconic last-second winner over Pittsburgh in the Big East tournament will not be included.

🏅 Honorable mentions

• Bryce Drew: There have been plenty of 13 vs. 4 upsets in NCAA Tournament history, but Drew's winner for Valparaiso against Ole Miss in 1998 is perhaps the most iconic. Everything about this shot - from the full-court pass to the desperation 3-pointer - make this the perfect way to kick off a list of the most iconic shots.
• Tate George: Connecticut has been on the receiving end of plenty of buzzer-beaters, but Tate's winner in the 1990 Sweet 16 is a moment for the Huskies to celebrate. George received a full-court inbound pass with one second remaining and quickly hit a turnaround jumper to sink Clemson and send UConn to the Elite Eight.
• Richard Hamilton: Hamilton's fadeaway following a quintessential tip-drill lifted Connecticut past Washington in the 1998 regional semifinal. The chaotic nature of the final seconds makes this one of the most memorable shots on this list.
• Donte Ingram: Ingram's 3-pointer to stun Miami at the horn kickstarted a dream tournament for Loyola-Chicago in 2018. The 11th-seeded Ramblers made a Cinderella run to the Final Four, which wouldn't have been possible without Ingram's first-round winner.
• Mike Miller: Miller's buzzer-beating field goal in the 2000 Round of 64 helped lift Florida over Butler. It spawned one of the most iconic March Madness calls ever - "will Cinderella arrive?" - and kept the Gators alive for a deep tournament run.

5️⃣ UCLA's Tyus Edney vs. Missouri (1995)

The No. 1 team in the country, UCLA, was on the brink of a second-round elimination in 1995. Missouri held onto the ball in the waning seconds before junior Julian Winfield put the Tigers up with a two-point basket. The Bruins were given just 4.8 seconds to come up with an answer.

Tyus Edney received the ball following a timeout and proceeded to go coast-to-coast in less than five seconds, winning the game for UCLA on a finger roll from inside the paint. His shot sunk a heartbroken Missouri and kept the Bruins alive in the NCAA Tournament. 

UCLA would go on to beat Mississippi State, Connecticut, Oklahoma State, and Arkansas en route to their NCAA-leading - and most recent - 11th national championship. None of it would've been possible without Edney's shifty moves to drive the length of the court and get up a clean shot as time expired.

4️⃣ Gonzaga's Jalen Suggs vs. UCLA (2021)

The bank is always open for Jalen Suggs.

After UCLA's Johnny Juzang rebounded his own miss and laid it up for the tie, Gonzaga's unbeaten season was in jeopardy in the 2021 Final Four. With three seconds on the clock, enter Suggs. The Bulldogs' star took matters into his own hands - sprinting down the court and throwing up a last-second half-court shot to avoid overtime.

Suggs banked his 3-point heave in from half-court, sending Gonzaga to the national championship and keeping its perfect season alive. He sprinted for a nearby scorer's table, leaping up and celebrating the victory in front of a largely virtual crowd during COVID-19.

The shot and subsequent celebration are legendary, even though the Bulldogs would go on to lose in the national title. It's the most recent entry into this list, but it's certainly a deserving one.

🥉 NC State's Lorenzo Charles vs. Houston (1983)

Survive and advance. It's a term that's familiar in the everyday sports fan's vernacular, but without Lorenzo Charles' shot in 1983, the phrase wouldn't feature a storybook ending.

Dereck Whittenburg knew NC State needed a shot to fall in the final seconds against Houston to win the national championship. However, his near-half-court heave fell short. That was until Charles leaped up over Hakeem Olajuwon and dunked the missed shot to give the Wolfpack a 54-52 win over the legendary "Phi Slamma Jama."

I would set the scene, but the images of Jim Valvano scurrying across the court in celebration are ingrained in our memories forever. He couldn't believe it, and neither can we more than four decades later. Charles' last-second slam capped off a fairy-tale run for NC State that included nine consecutive do-or-die victories en route to the title.

🥈 Villanova's Kris Jenkins vs. North Carolina (2016)

After Marcus Paige hit an unlikely contorting 3-pointer to tie the game with less than 10 seconds remaining, the 2016 national championship seemed destined for overtime. However, Villanova had other plans.

Ryan Arcidiacono brought the ball up the court, drawing a double team from the Tar Heels. He stopped at the top of the arc and tossed it into the arms of a waiting Kris Jenkins. The junior pulled up for an uncontested 3-pointer and, with the horn sounding, delivered the Wildcats their second national championship in program history.

While not even a decade old, it goes without saying Jenkins' game-winner will live forever as one of the best shots in college basketball history.

🥇 Duke's Christian Laettner vs. Kentucky (1992)

There's only one buzzer-beater commonly known as "the shot," so how could it not be No. 1?

Christian Laettner's second buzzer-beater in his NCAA Tournament career is one of the most clutch moments the sport has ever seen. The villainous figure reached up to snatch the full-court heave from Grant Hill out of the air before a few pump fakes and a turnaround jumper broke Kentucky hearts - followed by his iconic post-shot celebration.

While Laettner's shot didn't directly win the national title for the Blue Devils, as others on this list did, it kept Duke alive in the tournament. Coach K's men would go on to beat Indiana and Michigan en route to a second consecutive national championship. And it wouldn't have been possible without the best buzzer-beater in March Madness history.

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