NCAA Basketball Tournament Moments

1. We are going old-school for out top spot. In 1966, the most heavily under-dogged team in the nation, the Texas Western Miners, had the audacity to think they could win it all, and they did, toppling the number one team in the nation, the Kentucky Wildcats. The ground breaking moment occurred in the Championship game when Bobby Joe Hill picked the pocket of the Kentucky’s back-court twice in only 15 seconds, setting the stage for the Miners' win against the Wildcats.

2. Showing up at number two is the Duke Blue Devils and Christian Laettner’s miracle shot against the Kentucky Wildcats in an East Regional final in 1992. With just 2.1 second left on the clock, Laettner caught a full court pass and turned a shot right past Kentucky, beating them 104-103 in overtime. Laettner’s shot allowed Duke to continue in the tournament, and they eventually took home the top prize.

3. Hitting a Championship winning shot is unbelievable, and Keith Smart was able to do just that for his Indian Hoosiers. Hitting the shot with just one second remaining on the clock lifted the Hoosiers over the Orange Man of Syracuse. Syracuse may have a shot at getting a final shot, but everyone on the team failed to call a timeout when the shot was made. There were about three seconds left when the shot went through the hoop, but no one called a timeout for another two seconds.

4. Players can’t always get the credit, and we are choosing to show a little love to the coaches at the number four spot. Who could ever forget the victory for N.C. State in the 1983 Championship game? Jim Valvano running up and down the court in an ecstatic nature just looking for someone to hug and celebrate the teams’ championship. One of the most recognized scenes in basketball history that does not actually involve a play.

5. The number five slot is going to a first round upset, and the award goes to Princeton. When you think of the Princeton offense, the back-door pass springs into you head. And, the back-door pass is just how Princeton was able to upset the defending National Champions, the UCLA Bruins in 1996. The Tigers’ Gabe Lewullis slid on the baseline and received the beautiful back-door pass to seal the 43-41 first round victory over UCLA.

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