The Top 5 Best Shots in the History of the NCAA Tournament

In 1982, it was a skinny 19-year-old freshman who knocked down a game-winning shot in the NCAA championship game. That shot would secure a national championship for legendary head coach Dean Smith and North Carolina. It would also put a talented young player named Michael Jordan on the map.

In this year’s Big Dance, we all witnessed another of the great moments in NCAA tournament history. UConn, a six-time national champion, trailed Duke by as many as 19 points in last weekend’s East Regional final. 

The Huskies battled back to cut the lead to 72-70 with just 10 seconds to play. UConn pressured Duke as they tried to bring the ball up the court. Blue Devils freshman Cayden Boozer had his pass attempt deflected and the ball fell into the hands of UConn freshman Braylon Mullins. Mullins passed the ball to Alex Karaban who gave it back to Mullins to set up one of the best shots in NCAA tournament history.

Mullins drained a 35-foot jump shot that gave UConn an unbelievable 73-72 victory over Duke. More importantly, the shot put the Huskies into this year’s Final Four. Minus the two shots just mentioned, here is a look at the top-5 best shots in NCAA tournament history.

5. Mario Chalmers (Kansas) 2008 National Championship Game

Kansas trailed Memphis by three points after a made free throw by Tigers star Derrick Rose. Just over 10 seconds remained in the game. The Jayhawks inbounded the ball to point guard Sherron Collins who dribbled into the frontcourt and nearly lost the ball. 

Collins was able to get the ball to Chalmers who hit a three from just outside the arc at the top of the lane. Chalmers’ shot tied the game and sent it to overtime where the Jayhawks prevailed 75-68. 

4. Jalen Suggs (Gonzaga) 2021 Final Four 

The national semifinal between Gonzaga and No. 11 seed UCLA was a barnburner. The game went to overtime where the Bruins’ Johnny Juzang drove into the lane with about seven seconds remaining. He missed a floater but grabbed his own rebound and was successful on the put-back layup.

With just 3.3 seconds showing on the clock, Gonzaga, out of timeouts, inbounded the ball to freshman guard Jalen Suggs. Suggs took three dribbles to get within 45 feet from the basket and launched a prayer. Apparently, he must have called “bank” as his shot went in and sent the Bulldogs to the national final. (Gonzaga lost to Baylor 86-70 in the championship game)

3. Christian Laettner (Duke) 1992 East Regional Final

The 1992 East Regional final between Duke and Kentucky is one of the all-time great games in college basketball history. There were numerous stars – Grant Hill, Bobby Hurley, Jamal Mashburn – on the floor, including the one guy who would make what is simply now known as “The Shot.”

Christian Laettner was the senior leader of the Blue Devils, who had won the previous year’s national title. In this game, they were in a battle with another blueblood college basketball program, Kentucky, led by Mashburn.

The game went to overtime and went back and forth with Kentucky taking a 103-102 lead with 2.1 seconds remaining. Sean Woods hit a runner in the lane to give the Wildcats the lead and an apparent trip to the Final Four.

Legendary Duke head coach Mike Krzyzewski had other plans. After a timeout, Hill would inbound the ball. He threw an 80-foot pass to Laettner, who caught the ball at the top of the key, took one dribble and hit a turn-around 15-footer for the win. 

Lost in “The Shot” is Laettner’s performance that day. He was a perfect 10-for-10 from the field and also 10-for-10 from the free throw line. He finished with 31 points and would go on to lead Duke to a second consecutive national championship.

2. Kris Jenkins (Villanova) 2016 National Championship Game

In the 2016 national final, Villanova and North Carolina 74-74 with 4.7 seconds showing on the game clock. The Wildcats called a timeout and head coach Jay Wright drew up the game-winning play.

It was something called “Nova” and it involved point guard Ryan Arcidiacono dribbling off a screen set by Daniel Ochefu. Arcidiacono used the screen at midcourt to get away from North Carolina’s Joel Berry. 

Jenkins, who inbounded the ball, trailed the play and took a pass from Arcidiacono with just over a second left in the game. Jenkins drilled a 27-foot three-pointer as time expired to give Villanova the national championship.

1. Lorenzo Charles (NC State) 1983 National Championship Game

If you are old enough to remember Phi Slama Jama, you’ll remember there was simply no way that NC State was going to hang with the likes of Hakeem Olujawon, Clyde Drexler, Larry Micheaux, and Michael Young. 

The Cougars were 31-2 and had made the Final Four for the second consecutive season. This was going to be their year, but the Wolfpack had other ideas. Led by guards Sidney Lowe and Dereck Whittenburg, NC State had to win the ACC tournament just to get into the Big Dance. 

The Wolfpack would beat Pepperdine, UNLV, Utah, and No. 1 seed Virginia to win the West Region and advance to the Final Four. Head coach Jim Valvano and NC State tightened up the defense and slowed the game down to stay within striking distance of the much more talented Cougars.

Remember, this game was played in the era prior to the shot clock. NC State inbounded the ball with nearly 45 seconds left in the game. The score was tied at 52-all. The Wolfpack were content to pass the ball around the perimeter, working to get one final shot.

Houston got aggressive on defense and with about four seconds to play, Drexler just missed a steal, but Whittenburg would gather the ball and launch a 40-foot prayer. It was off. Way off, but sophomore Lorenzo Charles was there to gather the air ball and his two-handed dunk just before the buzzer stunned everyone. NC State capped one of the most unbelievable runs in college basketball history with the sport’s great NCAA tournament shot.