March Madness: Greatest March Madness Moments Ever

The NCAA Division I Men's Basketball Tournament, more popularly known as March Madness, is the biggest event on the college basketball calendar, and thanks to the participation of Zion Williamson, this year's tournament is set to be one of the most exciting in recent history.

March Madness dates back to 1939 when the first tournament took place with just 8 teams. Evidently, March Madness has grown substantially in the following decades, and this year's tournament will feature no fewer than 68 teams fighting it out for college glory.

Due to the high stakes of the tournament, March Madness has a long history of producing great moments, so as we await this year's tournament, here are our picks for the five greatest moments in the tournament's history.

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#5 Kris Jenkins' buzzer beater - 2016

The ending to the game is widely regarded as the best of the last decade (Picture Credit - NPR)

The 2016 Championship Game was an eagerly anticipated matchup between the country's best two teams. The Villanova Wildcats entered the game as the South Region champions, wheres the North Carolina Tar Heels had dominated the East and were seeded at No. 1. The game was close throughout, however, the final five seconds provided not one, but two incredible moments.

With just 4.7 seconds left, North Carolina's Marcus Paige hit an incredible acrobatic 3-pointer that leveled the game 74-74. The difficulty of the shot caused the Villanova players to shake their heads in disbelief, however, from the following inbound, Ryan Arcidiacono found the open Kris Jenkins, who unleashed his own dagger, which landed as time expired. Jenkins was inevitably mobbed by his teammates after hitting the winning shot, and Paige could only look on and wonder how he ended up on the losing team.

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#4 George Mason reaches the final four - 2006

George Mason defied the odds to reach the Final Four (Picture Credit - CBSSports)

While March Madness often springs up a number of surprises, it is exceedingly rare that a team seeded outside the top 10 makes it into the Final Four. Nevertheless, George Mason achieved this feat back in 2006, becoming the first team to do so since 1986.

Entering the tournament seeded 11th, George Mason had never previously recorded a March Madness win, however, the team defied all expectations as they marched to the Final Four. The Cinderella run included wins over Michigan State, defending champions North Carolina, and most impressively, an Elite Eight 86–84 overtime win over the Connecticut Huskies, who had entered the tournament as favorites to win.

George Mason's dream run finally ended at the Final Four stage, as the Florida Gators came away as 73–58 winners. Nevertheless, the GM's run to the latter stages of the tournament was quickly heralded as one of the best stories in March Madness history.

#3 Bill Walton's Championship Game - 1973

Bill Walton was almost perfect during the 1973 Championship Game

The 1973 Championship Game was a one-sided affair as UCLA secured the national title with an 87–66 win over Memphis State. Nevertheless, the game will forever be remembered for one of the best individual performances in the history of college basketball.

Bill Walton scored 44 points on 21-of-22 shooting during the Championship Game, and the UCLA center was also able to add 13 rebounds. Walton's incredible statistics also came in a game where he missed the final four minutes through an ankle injury, and many experts believe that the center could have reached 50 if he had closed out the game.

Nevertheless, Walton's performance was more than enough to secure a seventh consecutive national championship for UCLA. 12 months later, Walton was drafted to the NBA as the No. 1 pick, and the future Hall of Famer went on to become a two-time NBA Champion.

#2 Magic Johnson duels Larry Bird - 1979

Magic Johnson and Larry Bird faced off during the 1979 Championship Game (Picture Credit - Sports Illustrated)

Back in 1979, two future Hall of Famers met in a Championship Game which still holds the record of being the highest-rated televised college basketball game of all-time. The game also handed basketball fans a glimpse into the future, as both Magic Johnson and Larry Bird demonstrated exactly why they would go on to become two of the best players to ever play the game.

The game itself was slightly one-sided as Bird's Michigan State came away with a comfortable 75-64 victory over Johnson's Indiana State, although the individual performances kept things interesting.

Johnson led the game with 24 points on 8-of-15 shooting whereas Bird recorded 19 points and 13 rebounds. In the summer following the tournament, both players turned professional, and the duo soon developed a legendary rivalry in the NBA.

#1 The Shot - 1992

Christian Laettner's 'The Shot' is one of the most famous field goals in basketball history (Picture Credit - Sporting News)

Back in 1992, Duke and Kentucky met in Philadelphia for an eagerly anticipated Elite Eight matchup. Both teams were among the favorites to win the entire tournament, and due to being an incredibly exciting back and forth affair, the game itself is widely regarded as one of the best in college basketball history.

Nevertheless, the game is most famous for Christian Laettner's incredible buzzer-beating shot that handed the Duke Blue Devils a 104–103 overtime win.

Moments before Laettner's game-winning shot, Sean Woods had handed Kentucky a 103–102 lead with just 2.1 seconds remaining. The game looked over, however, unguarded on the inbound play, Grant Hill tossed a hopeful 80 feet pass to Laettner, who faked right, quickly dribbled, turned, and then hit the winning jumper as time expired.

In the ensuing 25 years, Laettner's buzzer beater has garnered enough of a legacy that it is now universally known as 'The Shot'.

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