March Madness: Top 25 Iconic Moments Of The Last 25 Years

05. Gordon Hayward misses half-court prayer (2010)

A very sound and mature Duke Blue Devils squad (led by Jon Scheyer and Kyle Singler) captured the 2010 NCAA Championship, but Gordon’s Hayward’s half-court prayer will always be the lasting memory from that game. From numerous angles in the arena and on television the shot looked good, but it was just off. As Duke celebrated their title, Hayward would look off into the distance, realizing he was about three inches from glory.

04. Villanova beats UNC in thrilling NCAA Championship game (2016)

Don’t let that the fact that this game was less than a year ago skew your opinion. The 2016 NCAA Championship game was an all-time classic. Villanova and UNC battled back and forth all night, leaving Villanova with one final chance at victory. Junior Forward Kris Jenkins nailed a trailing three as time expired, giving Villanova their first title in school history.

03. Mario Chalmers hits dagger against Memphis (2008)

Going into the 2008 NCAA Championship game much of the hype was around Memphis guard Derrick Rose. But it would be Kansas guard Mario Chalmers that would write the headline for this game. With his team down 3 and just seconds left in the game, Chalmers was able to turn a disjointed play into a game-tying 3 that sent the game into overtime where the Jayhawks would secure a 75-68 victory.

02. Chris Weber calls Timeout (1993)

The 1993 NCAA Championship game was all about redemption for the Fab Five and the Michigan Wolverines (the team lost in the 1992 title game to Duke). Down late in the game to UNC, Michigan had an opportunity to take the lead late but Chris Weber called a timeout that the team didn’t have resulting in a technical foul that sealed the victory for Carolina. The controversial timeout put an end to the tremendous run that the Fab Five had at Michigan.

01. Christian Laettner hits “The Shot” (1992)

Was there ever any doubt about what would be number one? There is no moment more synonymous with March Madness than Laettner’s shot over Kentucky in the quarterfinals of the 1992 NCAA Tournament. His brashness along with this shot helped spawn an entire generation of people who hate Christian Laettner.