It’s March, it stays light out later, spring break, the weather starts to warm, and best of all, March Madness. Since the first one in 1939, with Oregon taking the crown, every year there have been iconic moments. From #16 UMBC defeating #1 Virginia to MJ’s iconic buzzer beater, and every Cinderella story. Let’s take a look back at the greatest moments and the best performances in March Madness.
One of the greatest things in sports is the buzzer-beater. One of the more recent iconic ones is Gonzaga’s Jalen Suggs in the Final Four. With 3.3 seconds left, UCLA had a layup to tie the game at 90. Gonzaga inbounded the ball to Suggs, who dribbled past half court, heaving it and banked it in for the win. But perhaps the best part was that he sprinted to the media table, got on top, and started celebrating and yelling into the stands to the few people who were in the crowd, due to COVID. During the postgame, Suggs said, “Stuff like this is something you dream about as a kid and that you practice on your mini-hoop.” Although Gonzaga came up short in the championship, losing to Baylor 70-86, it was still an important moment. Another Iconic buzzer beater is Duke’s Christian Laettner vs. Kentucky in the Elite Eight. With 2 seconds left and Kentucky was up one, Coach K called a timeout and drew up a play where Grant Hill threw the ball 80 feet to Laettner, catching it at the free throw line, faking right, and hitting a turnaround jumper to win the game and eventually win the National Championship.
Now let’s look at some of the greatest performances in March Madness. The first one is the late Bill Walton, dropping 44 points, shooting 21-22 from the field, and grabbing 13 rebounds for UCLA, defeating Memphis State 87-66. Another iconic performance is the “First Cinderella Team” in 1988, the #6 Kansas Jayhawks, in the championship game with Danny Manning dropping 31 points, 18 rebounds, and 5 blocks. Earning himself the tournament’s Most Outstanding Player, Kansas defeated the Oklahoma Sooners 83-79.
One of the more recent all time performances was by Jack Gohlke of Oakland. In the 1st round, the No. 14 seed Golden Grizzlies faced the No. 3 Kentucky Wildcats. 97% of Gohlke’s shots in the season were 3s. In the game, he shot 10 of 20 with all attempts from the three point line. He tied the NCAA Tournament record for 3s in a game. Sadly, the Golden Grizzlies wound up short in the second round vs NC State, losing by 6 in OT, where Gohlke hit 6 3s.
Everyone loves an upset, a 16 seed beating a 1, and of course, Cinderella teams. Let’s start with my favorite, the Saint Peter Peacocks, who had an athletic department staff of only 11. The Peacocks were the first and only 15 seed to make the Elite Eight. In the first round, Saint Peters defeated #2 Kentucky 85-79 in OT. Round of 32, they defeated #7 Murray State 70-60, then defeating #3 Purdue 67-64 in the Sweet Sixteen. Then, in the Elite Eight, the Cinderella story ended with a 20 point loss to the University of North Carolina.
You can’t talk about Cinderella stories without mentioning the 2024 NC State
Wolfpack. The Wolfpack was the second team to win 5 games in 5 days, win the conference tournament, and reach the Final Four. NC State defeated #6 Texas Tech 80-67, then defeating #14 Oakland 79-73. Advancing to the Sweet Sixteen, where they defeated #2 Marquette 67-58. Then, in the Elite Eight defeating #4 Duke 76-64. Sadly, the run came to an end in the Final Four with a 50-63 loss to #1 Purdue.
So who will hit the clutch shot, what teams will make a run, and what teams will defeat the big dog this year?
