The 5 Most Iconic Moments in NCAA Basketball History

The NCAA March Madness tournament is well known for its exciting upsets that keep you on the edge of your seat as a viewer. We expect nothing different from this month’s NCAA tournament from 68 of the highest-quality basketball universities across America. Throughout the tournament’s history, we’ve witnessed the unthinkable, from low seeds to beating top seeds, underdogs winning it all, and other exhilarating and heartbreaking moments that define the sport.

In this article, we’ll outline five of the most iconic moments in NCAA basketball history, including some of the best upsets and most notable plays you can find.

#5 – Stephen Curry’s 40-Point Game (2008)

Watching a young legend in the making doesn’t get much better than this. Stephen Curry and the #10 Davidson Wildcats would play against #7 Gonzaga in 2008 where he’d put the pedal to the metal and net 40 points for his team, sealing the win at 82-76.

Not only would Curry shed light on the incredible talent coming through the collegiate level, but he’d almost single-handedly lead his team in points for the tournament, helping them overcome Gonzaga in the first round with 40 and #2 Georgetown in the second round 74-70 with 30 points! Even in his next game, against #3 Wisconsin, he’d put up 33 points before recording 25 against #1 Kansas in a 59-57 loss. Still, Curry would put on one of the greatest stretches of point scoring in college history during this period.

#4 – BYU Overcomes the Largest Deficit in NCAA History (2012)

This game occurred in the First Four, where BYU would seemingly start to crumble against their Iona opponents, trailing 49-24. Much to everyone’s surprise, the BYU Cougars, who were down 25+ points at the end of the first half, would come back to win the game 78-72.

This would make history as the largest deficit comeback win in NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament history, and it certainly made for great TV as well.

#3 – Jalen Suggs Downtown Buzzer Beater Game Winner (2021)

While the Gonzaga Bulldogs would fall off their spectacular run in the 2021 finals against Baylor, they would experience one of the grittiest wins in a Final Four playoff in the history of March Madness.

Tied at 81-81 at the end of the second half against UCLA, Gonzaga would immediately head to overtime in a feisty brawl. With the score at 88-90 in favor of the Bulldogs, UCLA would tie the game with less than 3 seconds remaining before Jalen Suggs would huck up a shot from way outside the arc and bank it off the backboard straight into the hoop for a 93-90 victory.

#2 – UMBC Defeats the University of Virginia in Round of 64 (2018)

One of the greatest shockers to happen in the March Madness tourney occurred when the unthinkable happened. For the first time, a #16 seed would defeat a #1 seed, as the #16 UMBC Retrievers took down the #1 Virginia Cavaliers in a 74-54 thumping. At the time, this was the only time a 16 seed toppled a 1st seed in the tournament altogether, but a similar occurrence would happen in the 2023 tournament, where Fairleigh Dickinson would knock out Purdue in the first round 63-58.

The thing that made UMBC’s win that much more special was that it was a 20-point victory over their highly favored Virginia opponents, setting a new standard that a 16 seed can beat a 1st seed.

#1 – Kris Jenkins Buzzer Beater Wins Championship for Villanova (2016)

One of the most exciting championship moments you can find in any sport was the incredible last-second buzzer beater made by Kris Jenkins to win the Naismith Trophy for Villanova in 2016. In this game, two of the top-quality teams, the Villanova Wildcats and the University of North Carolina Tar Heels, would face off in a close match for the 2016 championship.

Down 3, UNC’s Marcus Paige hit an insane three-point shot to tie the game at 74-74. However, Villanova would storm down the court with 4 seconds left in regulation, and Jenkins would receive a pass from his teammate several feet from the arc, where he’d sink a shot with under 1 second left on the clock to win the NCAA Championship 77-74. There are many instances of game-winners like this, but Villanova’s championship game-winner takes the cake for one of the most exciting moments to ever happen in the NCAA’s March Madness tournament.