Great Moments From March Madness

The 2022 NCAA tournament is over, and March Madness is complete for another year. This got us thinking about the history of the competition and some of its greatest moments.

The 2022 tournament ended with Kansas managing to overcome a huge half-time deficit and beat North Carolina to take the championship. There have been some incredible stories in this year’s tournament.

Perhaps one of the moments and achievements that people will remember from this year was the incredible run of the 15th-seed Saint Peter’s team, who made it through to the Elite Eight.

If you’re a gambler from New York or another location where you’re allowed to bet on sportsbook markets, you may have spent some time wondering how to find and use NY sports betting promotions and enjoy the best chances of a successful bet, but you probably would not have called the incredible run of the Saint Peter’s team.

Both the thrilling final and that underdog story will be remembered long into the future, and may be the greatest moments from March Madness 2022, but what are some of the stories and events that have stuck with us through the years?

 

George Mason’s underdog story

A bit like Saint Peter’s, it was incredible to see this team get to the latter stages of the tournament in 2006. George Mason were the first team ever from the Colonial Athletic Association to get to the Final Four.

They also became the first mid-major team to achieve this in 27 years. On the journey to the tournament’s top four, they beat the likes of North Carolina and Connecticut, and looked particularly classy against Michigan State and in an unforgettable matchup with the Huskies.

Many people can remember this splendid run and how much coverage it got at the time.

 

Keith Smart wins the game

Sometimes, individual moments ensure that somebody’s name gets etched into your memory. Keith Smart created one of those moments when he made the winning shot in the championship game back in 1987. With just 10 seconds left on the clock, his team, the Indiana Hoosiers, were trailing by one point.

Then Smart launched his shot. His magical, inspired attempt secured the title for his Indiana team, and even though the young player wouldn’t go on to become a top NBA superstar, his name is still remembered, largely because of the fact that he created one of the unforgettable moments that March Madness has given us.

 

Michael Jordan’s jump shot

You don’t need us to tell you who Michael Jordan is and what he achieved. His career in the NBA was truly unbelievable and he is also known for creating one of the most famous shots ever in college basketball. His jump shot has been watched millions of times, and was another particularly dramatic late moment.

North Carolina was his team when he played in the national championship way back in 1982. The scene was set once again, as they were trailing by one against Georgetown inside the last 20 seconds. Then came the incredible, inspired jump shot from a man who would go on to be a legendary figure.

The story was big news, but nobody could have known then exactly what would happen in this man’s career.

 

Tyus Edney at the buzzer

More late drama, this time from Tyus Edney, who managed to save his team from defeat and recover the whole season for UCLA. In 1994-95, they were winning virtually every game and were the top seed in the West – and deservedly so.

When the Bruins came up against Missouri, they actually came close to losing in the second round. They were trailing by one, with less than five seconds left, and Edney ran the length of the court, sinking his shot on the buzzer and saving the entire season. This dazzling shot paved the way for UCLA to claim the title.

 

Conclusion

If you’ve just watched the drama unfold in the 2022 championship, there is every chance that you will want to go back through history and check out some of the fantastic moments that have happened over the decades.

Some of the players who were responsible for these dramatic wins and late moments went on to have NBA careers that nobody can forget, while others didn’t quite reach the same heights, but nobody will forget what happened in those March Madness months from years gone by, and the dramatic buzzer moments that stick in your memory.