I have been intrigued by this year’s NCAA Tournament and there is a part of me that is excited about the Final Four. I love underdogs and the final weekend of games involves three teams that definitely fit the underdog class.

I haven’t heard anyone say, but I doubt seriously that there are many of those who filled out brackets this year that have done well. There may be some who have picked Connecticut to go all the way, but I doubt if very many chose San Diego State, Miami and especially Florida Atlantic to win the big dance.

I normally root for Big 12 schools and did this year, but the two teams from the conference who made it to the Elite Eight -Texas and Kansas State lost over the weekend. I was sure that someone from the Big 12 would win it all to make it three national championships in a row for the conference.

Serious money is betting that UConn will be the winner, so since I root for underdogs, you know which team I won’t cheer for. Haven’t made up my mind about which of the other three I’ll pick.

While watching the tournament from the beginning this year, I was impressed how many games came down to one last shot. Some teams won with a buzzer beater. Some teams won because the other team’s buzzer beater attempt went awry. This musing got me to thinking back to NCAA buzzer beaters of the past.

One of the most recent big buzzer-beaters came in 2021 when Gonzaga’s Jalen Suggs made an unbelievable shot at the buzzer to give his team a victory over UCLA avoiding a second overtime period. The win propelled Gonzaga into the championship game against Baylor, which the Bears (from the Big 12) game.

won. Gonzaga and UCLA were paired up again this year, with Gonzaga again winning and advancing to the Elite Eight.

But as dramatic as Suggs’ basket was, when I think of NCAA buzzer beaters, my mind goes back to 2008 in the national championship game between Kansas and Memphis. Both teams had been highly ranked all season long and Memphis came to the tournament with a 33-1 record. It was a rare tournament where all four No. 1 seeds made the Final Four. Kansas was No. 1 in the Midwest, Memphis was No. 1 in the South, UCLA was No. 1 in the West and North Carolina was the No. 1 seed in the East. (This year was an oddity in reverse order no Number1 seed made it to the Elite Eight, let alone the Final Four).

North Carolina defeated Mount St. Marys, Arkansas, Washington State and Louisville to advance to the Final Four. UCLA had beaten Mississippi Valley State, Texas A&M, Western Kentucky and Xavier, Memphis’s wins came over Texas-Arlington, Mississippi State, Michigan State and Texas, while Kansas earned a spot in the Final Four by defeating Portland State, UNLV, Villanova and Davidson. The win over Davidson which had a sophomore Steph Curry in its lineup, was by two points, a scary game for Jayhawk fans.

In the opening round of the Final Four, Memphis defeated UCLA and Kansas beat North Carolina and former KU coach Roy Williams.

I always root for Big 12 teams and Kansas was my team of choice then (having been a student in Lawrence for a year I have an especially soft spot in my heart for the Jayhawks) and I was in full rooting mode in the championship game. I was convinced Memphis was going to win, and when it led by three with less than five seconds to go, I was resigned to be disappointed. But saving me from despair was Jayhawk Mario Chalmers who shot and made a long three-pointer with 2.1 seconds remaining in the game to tie it all up. Memphis wasn’t able to score in the time remaining and that game was sent to overtime. KU dominated the extra period and gave Bill Self his first NCAA title. KU won, but without Chalmers’ shot, Memphis would have been celebrating.

It seems like there have been other wonderful buzzer beaters, but I couldn’t recall specific examples without some assistance.

David Cobb of CBS Sports has offered his opinion of the Top 10 Buzzer Beaters in NCAA history. I was delighted to see that his list included both Suggs’ shot this year and the one Chalmers made in 2008.

One that didn’t come to mind immediately, but when I saw Cobb’s list I let out a big “Oh, Yeah”, was the shot that Duke’s Christian Laettner made against Kentucky to give his team a 104103 win over Kentucky. This one wasn’t in the Final Four-instead in the Elite Eight. However, the Blue Devils went on to beat Indiana and Michigan in the Final Four to win the national title.

Another one that I agreed with was the dunk by Lorenzo Charles to give North Carolina State a national championship over highly favored Houston in the 1983 title game. Who can forget the late coach Jim Valvano sprinting onto the court celebrating his team’s unexpected win. That moment has become even more iconic with the untimely death of Valvano a number of years later.

Cobb rates the basket made by Villanova’s Kris Jenkins to beat North Carolina in the 2016 Championship game as the best buzzer beater of all time. The score was tied at 74-74 with time running out and Jenkins drilled a threepointer from the corner to give Villanova a 77-74 win. I remember rooting for North Carolina at the time, so it was a minor disappointment for me.

Laettner’s basket was ranked by Cobb No. 2 and Charles’ basket for NC State was NO. 3. Suggs’ basket for Gonzaga was No. 4, and Chalmers’ dramatic threepointer is No. 5.

After those, include No. 6a half-court shot by Northern Iowa’s Paul Jesperson to beat Texas in the 2016 Tournament-- No. 7, Bryce Drew of Valparaiso hitting a three from the corner against Mississippi in 1998--No. 8, Chris Ciozza of Florida hitting a trey at the buzzer to beat Wisconsin in 2017--No. 9, Jordan Poole of Michigan hitting an off-balance long shot to beat Houston in the 2018 second round; and No. 10, Danny Ainge hitting a finger-roll to give Brigham Young a win over Notre Dame in the Sweet 16.

There have been many, many dramatic moments in NCAA Tournament history. But I will have to admit (along with Chalmers’ great shot in 2008) Suggs’ basket for Gonzaga in 2021 was one of my favorite moments . I have lots of games of which I cherish some memories, but they pale in comparison to the drama produced by a buzzer-beating game-winning basket.