Shan - Christian Laettner turnaround against Kentucky. That was my first true memory of the magic of a buzzer-beater.
RJ Choppy - 1993 Carolina winning the title. The Chris Weber timeout game. It was the first time my parents let me stay up to watch the final.
Troy Hughes - Just because I’m an Aggie ... Northern Iowa beats Texas in a half-court buzzer-beater in 2016. I was watching the game with some Texas buddies and it brought me great joy.
Bryan Broaddus - In 1986m LSU got to the Final Four right here in DFW, my hometown. They had lost to Kentucky three straight times and beat them in the Regional Final to advance.
Cory Mageors - UNT getting their first tourney win has supplanted my all-timer. I’ve never been so nervous and excited for a college team.
BUT!
1995 was the first time I had ever chosen a team to follow in the tournament I picked UCLA and I thought Tobey Bailey was gonna be a perennial All-Star in the NBA. The O’Bannon brothers, Cameron Dollar, and co all set the stage for Tyus Edney’s coast-to-coast runner over Derek Grimm. It was the first time I got that kind of experience and then got to watch it on SportsCenter all day the next day. I think this was the first time I realized that the rest of the country saw something I witnessed alone in the living room while I should have been asleep.
Kevin Hageland - 1992 East Regional Final with 2.1 seconds remaining. Grant Hill with the lengthy inbounds pass to Christian Laettner who turns and nails the game-winning basket to win in overtime and send Kentucky home. With that miraculous win, they kept the back-to-back National title dream alive.
Jeff Cavanaugh - Abilene Christian winning just recently. Yup, that’s my favorite ever.
Gavin Dawson - I’m with Hagey, the Laettner turnaround. My dad was a huge Duke fan and I didn’t realize how much until I saw his celebration.
Mike Fisher - For those of us who follow the NBA and not so much college hoops, the 1982 Freshman arrival of Michael Jordan in the NCAA finals. With that final shot…Remains a brilliant memory of what started it all.
Kevin Gray - My favorite NCAA Tournament moment had to be when Nova’s Kris Jenkins hit the buzzer-beater during the 2016 National Championship against North Carolina. To watch it happen in real-time was incredible and capped off an incredible title game.
Jared Sandler - In addition to every time Duke loses, my favorite NCAA tournament moments are “Mario and the Miracles” when Mario Chalmers aided Kansas’ comeback over Memphis. The other great memory was Steve Nash leading the way in Santa Clara’s stunner over Arizona when I was 3-years-old. This was my earliest college hoops memory.
Zach Roe (Z-Roe) - I was living in Utah during the Jimmer Fredette BYU days. While they didn’t go very far and they’re not my college team, I had a ton of fun watching Jimmer carry BYU to the Sweet 16 in 2011. Outside of the Jimmer hype, watching Kris Jenkins hit the game-winner over UNC in 2016 was pretty sweet.
Eric Chiofalo - 2008 National Championship, KU vs. Memphis. Mario Chalmers and Derrick Rose going back and forth all game. Chalmers sent the game into overtime with a 3 pointer and KU took the title in OT. I had family friends in town from Kansas. They were huge Jayhawks fans so it was fun to celebrate with them.
Zach Wolchuk - Being completely biased but it’s hard not to go with my alma mater UNT upsetting Purdue for their first-ever tourney win. When I graduated, they were one of the worst basketball programs in the country. Grant McCasland has turned the program around into a perennial Conference USA contender. Aside from the Mean Green, I would go with Kemba Walker leading UCONN to a crazy tourney run ending in an NCAA Championship. That was the only year I’ve actually made money on the tourney.
Chris Arnold - I've been fortunate enough to cover 15 NCAA Final Fours. My favorite might have been 1990 when UNLV blew out Duke 103-73. I've known Larry Johnson since he was at Skyline high school here in Dallas. That's what made it extra special. Many in Dallas "adopted" UNLV because of Larry. Duke featured Christian Laettner, Grant Hill, Bobby Hurley & Thomas Hill (who I also knew from Lancaster H.S.) It was a fun time in Denver. Ironically Duke eliminated UNLV in the semi-finals in a shocking upset that ended their unbeaten season. I was there in Indianapolis for that and it's still one of the most bizarre losses I've ever been around. Just shocking.
Will Chambers - Without question it’s hearing Jim Nantz say, “and the Kentucky coronation is complete” as they won the 2012 National Championship. People will always look at programs like UK and Duke as constant winners but when you’re a fan of those teams, you understand the reality of the lean years. When you get back to the pinnacle and hearing my friend and mentor author it on television is without question my favorite sports moment of all time.