Jalen Suggs will likely end up as a one-and-done star who leaves college basketball behind after just a season with Gonzaga. But the freshman phenom etched his name in the sport’s lore on Saturday night with his buzzer-beating heave to beat UCLA in the Final Four.
There is no doubt that Suggs’ shot was the most-iconic play of an action-packed 2021 NCAA Tournament. But where does it stack up among the other historic NCAA Tournament buzzer-beaters? Just five years ago, Villanova won the national title on a buzzer beater, and that one may be hard to top.
One thing that sets Suggs’ shot apart, though, was the degree of difficulty. He had to stop on a dime and shoot from well beyond normal 3-point range with a defender at least nominally contesting the shot. Regardless of where it ranks among the all-time great buzzer beaters, it was an incredible moment for college basketball.
Here is a spin through memory lane and a look back at some of the other all-time great last-second shots in the tournament’s rich history.
1. Kris Jenkins | Villanova | 2016 National championship game
Jenkins lifted Villanova to the 2016 national title when he drilled a 3-pointer from the right wing to beat North Carolina 77-74. Ryan Arcidiacono assisted on the basket and ran some interference on UNC’s attempts to contest the shot. The national title was Villanova’s first since 1985.
2. Christian Laettner | Duke | 1992 Elite Eight
Duke eventually won the 1992 national championship, but it would not have reached the Final Four without Laettner’s iconic turnaround shot to beat Kentucky in the Elite Eight. The shot capped a 104-103 overtime victory in one of college basketball’s most iconic games of all time.
3. Lorenzo Charles | NC State | 1983 National championship game
This one is known to many now as the play that preempted NC State coach Jim Valvano’s frantic sprint onto the court in search of someone to hug. But Charles made the putback dunk that gave Valvano something to celebrate, as the memorable play lifted the Wolfpack to a national title victory over Houston.
4. Jalen Suggs | Gonzaga | 2021 Final Four
This may the shot with the highest degree of difficulty on the list. Suggs pulled up from just inside the half-court line and banked in a desperation 3-pointer to lift Gonzaga to an overtime victory over UCLA. The victory sent the Zags to the national title game and made Suggs an even bigger freshman phenom.
5. Mario Chalmers | Kansas | 2008 National championship game
There were still 2.1 seconds left on the clock when Chalmers’ 3-pointer fell, but it makes the list anyway because of how it rescued Kansas in a moment of desperation. His make sent the game to overtime, and from there the Jayhawks captured their first and only national title to date under Bill Self.
6. Paul Jesperson | Northern Iowa | First round
After Texas tied the game at 72 with 2.7 seconds left, Northern Iowa could have used its last timeout to try and get organized. Instead it inbounded to Jesperson, who dribbled once and then heaved up a desperation shot from half court. This memorable shot is just one chapter in Texas’ recent history of NCAA Tournament pain.
7. Bryce Drew | Valparaiso | 1998 First round
Drew lifted Valparaiso to its first-ever NCAA Tournament victory when he beat the buzzer from the right wing after Ole Miss missed a pair of free throws to leave the door ajar. In addition to Drew’s shot, the play featured two perfectly executed passes as Valparaiso went the length of the floor in just 2.5 seconds.
8. Chris Chiozza | Florida | 2017 Sweet 16
Chiozza had to go the length of the floor in just four seconds, and after getting held up briefly by a pair of Wisconsin defenders, he abandoned the idea of getting all the way to the basket. With the Gators trailing by two, he hoisted a floater from just beyond the 3-point line that fell as the buzzer sounded. It gave Florida an 84-83 win over Wisconsin and sent the Gators on to the Elite Eight.
9. Jordan Poole | Michigan | 2018 Second round
Michigan’s run to the national championship game would’ve never happened in 2018 without Poole’s miraculous 3-point heave from the right wing to beat Houston in the second round. The Wolverines trailed by two and had to go the length of the court in 3.6 seconds. The shot wasn’t even a good look, but Poole somehow got it to go.
10. Danny Ainge | BYU | 1981 Sweet Sixteen
Ainge’s finger roll in the final seconds lifted BYU to a dramatic win over Notre Dame in the Sweet 16. The Cougars haven’t been back to the Elite Eight since and wouldn’t have gone back then without Ainge’s heroic play. Now the general manager of the Celtics, Ainge averaged 24.4 points per game for BYU as senior that season.