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In the game of basketball you are often judged on your hight. In today’s collage basketball, If your under 6’1 your considered a small guard who is going to have to fight for every minute and every shot. Well, in 2017 a man named Darnell Rogers joined Florida Gulf Coast University for the 2017-2018 season. Darnell Rogers came in as a major underdog, he stood at 5’2 140 pounds. As you might expect, he saw very little playing time throughout his freshman year at FGC. So he hit the portal and went up to Maryland to UMBC. He would stay at UMBC for his remaining three years in college. He would continue to prove everyone wrong averaging up to 14 points, 3.4 rebounds, 4.3 assists, 0.7 steals, and 0.0 blocks in 2019-2020 season. At the end of his career he averaged 8.6 points, 2.4 assists and 1.5 rebounds. Roger’s faced a greater challenge from the start, a challenge many face but little persevere. He faced and beat the battle of hight in Division One basketball. It goes to show that no matter how big and strong you are as long as you work hard and stay consistent you can get your flowers.
One of my all-time favorite Final Fours. You had undefeated Kentucky, who was one of the greatest teams to not win a championship. You had Duke, another blue-blood who was stacked with talent. You had Wisconsin, who was making their second straight final four and were the third 1-seed led by Frank Kaminsky and Sam Dekker. Then finally, you had 7-seeded Michigan State who was led by Denzel Valentine (yes, the guy who airballed) and Travis Trice. The first game was Michigan State vs. Duke. Michigan State got off to a fast start but couldn’t maintain it as Duke dominated the rest of the game and cruised to a 81-61 victory to make it to their first final four since 2010. Next, you had the rematch. Wisconsin vs. Kentucky. Both of these teams played each in the final four the year prior and Kentucky won off of Aaron Harrison’s buzzer beater as an 8-seed. Wisconsin was a 2-seed. Now, both of these teams would play as a 1-seed. This was a familiar place for Kentucky as this was their 4th final four appearance in 5 years. This was Wisconsin’s 4th final four appearance ever. It would be a competitive game for most of it but Wisconsin would pull away in the end after a clutch performance from Sam Dekker and Frank Kaminsky and get their revenge. The National Championship was set. Duke vs. Wisconsin, two teams that played each other earlier in the season in a ACC/Big 10 challenge that saw Duke win. This was just Wisconsin’s 2nd ever national championship appearance, last coming in 1941. Duke had 4 championships since 1991 and were looking to add another to solidly themselves as one of the top college basketball programs and blue bloods. It started out as another pretty competitive game but Wisconsin was slowly running away with it. It looked like my Badgers were actually going to pull it off and win the national championship until Grayson Allen and Tyus Jones happened. Both these guys just went absolutely crazy and led Duke to another national championship, winning 68-63. Some of the calls may have been questionable but Tyus Jones was so clutch at the end of the game. The Badgers couldn’t stop the high ball screens that they were setting him at the top of the key and Tyus couldn’t miss in the last 5 minutes of the game. Probably one of the most devastating moments as a Wisconsin sports fan because after beating Kentucky, I thought we were gonna do it and win our first national championship in recent memory. Everybody knew that Frank Kaminsky and Sam Dekker were going to declare for the NBA Draft after this game so it was now or never and they couldn’t get the job done 😔. This is still one of my all-time favorite final fours growing up because you had 3 premier blue bloods in Duke, Kentucky, and Michigan State as well as my favorite team. Also, 4 hall of fame caliber coaches in Calipari, Izzo, Coach K, and Bo Ryan.
With the tournament here, let’s think back to last year’s hero on the team that was crowned champion: Walter Clayton Jr. Walter Clayton Jr. had been a 2-sport star at his Florida high school. He was actually a better football recruit than he was a basketball recruit. Despite being a 4-star in football, he stuck to basketball despite being unranked. It was feared Clayton’s lack of size would hinder him in D1 college hoops so no big school gave him an offer. Schools like Florida were much more interested in his Gridiron skills. Still, Clayton stuck to his guns and committed to Rick Pitino’s Iona. Clayton wouldn’t become a starter until his sophomore year and he immediately flourished in a bigger role. Alongside current Piston Daniss Jenkins, Clayton helped Iona win the MAAC tournament and get back to the NCAA tournament. Unfortunately, they’d get annihilated by a UConn side that won it all. For his efforts, he earned MAAC player of the year. After that season, Clayton finally drew the attention of the big schools that were previously only interested in his football ability. Even though Pitino tried to bring Clayton to Saint John’s, there was 1 obvious choice in the transfer portal. Along with a more prestigious program, Clayton also wanted to be closer to home, which made Florida the obvious choice. He would become a Florida Gator. When Clayton arrived, the Gators had only 1 season with more than 25 wins since Billy Donavon jumped to the NBA in 2015. They hadn’t won more than 20 games in the past 5 seasons, Clayton was brought in to change that. Clayton’s junior season went great. He led the way for Florida, upping his scoring average just a bit while adjusting to tougher competition. Alongside seniors Zion Pullin and Tyrese Samuel, Florida was one of the best offenses in the country and reached the final of the SEC tournament, only to lose to Auburn. Then Florida lost a heartbreaker against Colorado in the NCAA tournament despite Clayton’s wonderful 33-point night. Even with those seniors leaving, next year would be historic for the Gators. Clayton led the way once again and helped the team jump from 24-12 to 36-4, Florida got revenge and won the SEC tournament with ease, clinching the one-seed. Even with all the improvements he made in his game and all the success his team had up to that point, he was still projected as mid-2nd round pick at best. There was still doubt surrounding his name. He’d just have to prove everyone wrong one final time. Heading into the tournament, Florida was the favourite #1 seed to go down 1st. Round of 64 was light work. Clayton for his part put up 23 points. In the Round of 32 against UConn, the spectre he faced with Iona, the Huskies kept it close until Clayton sealed it with clutch 3s another 23-points game. Next was the Sweet 16 against Maryland who had just won an all-time classic against Colorado State. Clayton and Florida had no interest in fairytale endings and they ended the Terps with a 16-point victory. Clayton had a modest game as fellow senior Will Richard and new transfer Alijah Martin outscored him. The Elite 8 is where Clayton’s legend became crystallized. Despite facing a double digit deficit with 5:30 to go in the game, Clayton took over. He scored his final 12 points and helped Florida make it to the Final 4 with a 30-point game. This wasn’t even his best game, that would come in the next one. Against Auburn, the same team that beat Florida in the SEC championship in Clayton’s junior year, Clayton and the Gators got their revenge. Clayton’s 34 in the Final 4 is the 4th most in any Final 4 or National Championship game in the shot clock era. Clayton also became the first player to put up back-to-back 30-point games between the Elite 8 and Final 4 since Larry Bird all the way back in 1979. Clayton was the talk of the basketball world, especially since tournament favourites Duke had lost in their Final 4 matchup to Houston, a team known for their stifling defense. They would be Clayton’s final challenge. Clayton would defer a lot more in this game, getting his tournament-high in assists. Don’t worry, he still managed to hit one more clutch 3, to tie the game, with 3 minutes to go. After a few scrappy defensive possessions, it was over. Walter Clayton Jr. had led Florida to a National Championship with one of the greatest tournament performances of all time. Of course, he was named the tournament’s most outstanding player. He became the first SEC player ever to finish a season with 700+ points while winning the Championship. After being a guy who schools wanted for his football talents instead of his basketball ability, he was at the top of the mountain. His old coach Pitino compared him to Jalen Brunson heading into the draft. Walter Clayton Jr., projected to be a late 2nd round pick heading into the tournament, was picked 18th overall by the Wizards. He looks like a decent NBA player so far, but he’ll always have that National Championship.
North Carolina's loss after leading by 19 points to VCU is the largest comback to ever happen in the Round of 64 of March Madness
2013-2014 Wichita State: Coming off a final four appearance as a 9 seed, Wichita State started their 2014 campaign 34-0 before losing their first and last game of the season in the second round of the NCAA Tournament against an under seeded Kentucky team. They were led by sophomore and future NBA all-star Fred Van Fleet, Cleanthony Early, and Ron Baker. 2014-2015 Kentucky: Just a year after Wichita State started 34-0, Kentucky started 38-0 before losing to Wisconsin in the Final Four. This team was absolutely loaded, being led by future NBA superstar Karl-Anthony Towns. They also had the Harrison twins, Willie Cauley-Stein, Tyler Ulis, Trey Lyles, AND future NBA superstar Devin Booker (who came off the bench). This is often considered the greatest CBB team ever assembled. They were just 2 games away from 40-0 and had the best start out of any of these teams on this list. Their entire roster was full of NBA talent. A quote to describe how good this was is when Kentucky destroyed Kansas in the Champions Classic and John Calipari said: “We don’t have subs, we have reinforcements”. 2020-21 Gonzaga During the COVID season, Gonzaga made it known that they were the most dominant team in college basketball. They breezed through the WCC and all the way to the national championship before losing to a very good Baylor team who simply just played better competition all throughout the season and were more prepared for the moment. They were led by Jalen Suggs, Drew Timme, and Corey Kispert. They also had guys like Joel Ayayi and Andrew Nembhard. In the final four against UCLA, Jalen Suggs hit one of the greatest buzzer beaters in tournament history from half court to win the game in overtime and to send the Zags to the natty. If there was a real crowd in that game, it would probably be considered THE greatest buzzer beater in tournament history other than the Kris Jenkins shot in the national championship in 2016. The crowd would’ve gone absolutely NUTS. Easily one of the greatest final four games ever played. 2025-26 Miami OH Miami of Ohio has been of the most unique teams we have seen in CBB history. They are off to a 30-0 start and are just 1 game away from having a perfect regular season. The problem is their SOS. They have one of the worst non-con SOS’s in the country and haven’t played a single quad 1 opponent and have only played one quad 2 opponent (Akron). Akron is their only top 100 win and many people believe they have to win their conference tournament to get into the tournament. So, because of this, every single game for them is pretty much an elimination game. It’s very impressive to see how long they have gone without losing considering all of the close games they have played. I think because of that and the fact they are the only undefeated team in the country, they should easily be in. If they win their last game against Ohio they are in no matter what happens in the MAC tournament. No 1-loss team should miss the tournament even if they play a shitty schedule. There is a reason why this has never happened. Going 30-0 in NCAA D1 basketball is very hard no matter who you play. Now if they lose to Ohio and lose early in the MAC tournament, then maybe they should be left out. But after all of this, I don’t think that will happen. It will be exciting to see Miami in the tournament even if they don’t win a game. I think all college basketball fans should appreciate this as something like this will probably never happen again.
On March 16, 2018, number 1 seeded Virginia played their first NCAA Tournament game against number 16 UMBC. This game was supposed to be an absolute blood bath. All time games between 1 and 16 seeds were 135-0 in favor of the one seed. The Cavaliers were 20.5 point favorites and nobody ever thought this small school from Baltimore would stand even the smallest chance. But somehow UMBC was tied at halftime and put the nation on an upset alert. It was 21-21 at the half and 99% of America still believed that Virginia would run away in the second half. remember, 16 seeds were 0-135 in these games, and Virginia is the favorite to win the entire Tournament. They still had no chance. UMBC threw those numbers and odds away and proceeded to put up 53 points in the second half and absolutely dominated the Cavaliers only allowing 33 points and winning the game 74-54. UMBC almost scored all of Virginias points in one half. Jairus Lyles put up 28 points and 23 coming in the second half. I have no clue what was said to UMBC, but it worked and they broke everyone's, and I mean everyone's bracket.
Possibly the greatest CBB regular season game ever played. Since Kansas is playing tonight @ Allen Fieldhouse, here's a throwback of a triple overtime thriller between the two best teams in the country at the time and a long lasting rivalry. It felt like this game was never going to come to an end (went until after midnight) and that both teams deserved to win. In the AP Poll, Kansas was #1 and Oklahoma was #2 but in the coaches poll it was flipped. Oklahoma was #1 and Kansas was #2. Both teams were stacked with Oklahoma having future NBA player in Buddy Hield who dropped 46 points this game and Kansas having guys like Perry Ellis, Frank Mason, and Devonte Graham. There was so many lead changes I don't think we will ever see another game like this one. It's not only rare to see a triple overtime game, but against the #1 and #2 ranked teams in the AP poll is absolutely bonkers. Now imagine if this game was on a neutral court. It's crazy to think that neither of these even made the national championship game. Both teams lost to Villanova. Kansas lost to them in the Elite Eight and Oklahoma lost to them in the Final Four in one of the biggest blowouts in Final Four history.
Kentucky would go on to make the national championship that year. Many people were upset at the selection committee for giving Wichita State a tough SEC opponent in the second round who probably should’ve been higher than an 8 seed. If they would’ve gotten any other draw, who knows how far this team could’ve gone. From 3/21/13 to 3/21/14, Wichita State would won 37/38 games they played. In 2015 they would get a 7 seed and upset Kansas in the second round before losing to a tough Notre Dame team led by Pat Connaughton in the sweet 16. In 2016 they would be an 11 seed and make it to the Round of 32. In 2017 they would be a 10 seed and pull another upset before losing to Kentucky once again in another heartbreaker. In 2018, they would have their best seed line since they were a 1 seed, but got upset by Marshall in the first round. After this, Wichita State basketball would never be the same and Gregg Marshall would eventually be let go due to allegations of verbal and physical abuse. They have only made it to one tournament since 2018, which was the year after the Covid year (2021). Wichita State was one of the winningest programs in CBB between 2013-2018, going 177-37.
Leading up to Wichita State’s historic seasons in 2013 and 2014, they won the NIT Championship in 2011, beating Alabama, but lost in the first round of the NCAA Tournament in a 5v12 upset to VCU. Heading into the 2013 NCAA Tournament, they were a 9 seed having just lost to Creighton in the MVC conference tournament. Nobody really had much expectations for this team, led by Carl Hall, Cleanthony Early, Ron Baker, and a young Fred VanVleet, many people thought this team would at most only win a game then lose to the #1 seed Gonzaga Bulldogs, who only lost twice all season and went undefeated in the WCC. They were also led by future NBA player Kelly Olynyk. Wichita State would beat Pittsburgh, who was a solid 8 seed, then upset Gonzaga. 9 seeds beating 1 seeds is very rare, as only 8 have been able to do it (2 of them beat 16 seeds). They would get lucky and play LaSalle in the sweet 16, who went on a Cinderella run as a 13 seed. Then they would shock the world and knock off 2 seeded Ohio State to make it to their first Final Four since 1965 and their second ever. Although they did lose to Louisville in a heartbreaker (who later got their championship vacated by the ncaa), the future looked bright for this team as they returned most of their impactful players, only losing Carl Hall. Fred VanVleet also developed into a leading role on the team. Many people expected this team to do well in 2014, but not as well as they did. They would finish the season perfect, going 33-0 and winning their conference tournament. Many people were skeptical about how far this team could make it in the tournament however because of their strength of schedule. Playing in the MVC, you aren’t going to be playing the greatest opponents. Their best win was Tennessee, who was an 11 seed that made the sweet 16 that year. They still got the 1 seed though. I think them making the final four the year before definitely helped. They would destroy the 16 seed Cal Poly and then lose to Kentucky.
On February 2nd 2019, #23 NC State hosted #12 Virginia Tech in a hyped ACC ranked game. NC State was coming off a 1 point overtime loss to #3 Virginia, so hopes were high in Raleigh. NC State played at a fast pace during this particular season so it was expected to be a fun one. However, shots just kept missing and missing, leading to a low-scoring 20-14 lead for Virginia Tech at half. It gets even worse. NC State scored a total of 5 points in the last 18 minutes of game time. Virginia Tech was able to finish with a very ugly 47-24 victory on the road. When the other team shoots 36% and you lose by 23, you know it’s a problem. NC State shot an ABYSMAL 17% field goal percentage, going 9-54.
On the late evening of March 16, 2018, one of the most shocking and unexpected upsets occurred in college basketball. Many people thought that a 16 seed beating a 1 seed was unachievable for obvious reasons. There was no chance a team that played in a small conference and a high school gym for their home games could compete against a powerhouse in arguably the best conference in cbb during this time period. But, it happened. And not in a way that people thought it was going to happen. Many people thought if a 16 seed were to beat a 1 seed, it would be by a crazy buzzer beater. But the complete opposite happened. UMBC flat out destroyed Virginia. From the first possession you could tell Virginia looked flat. They were without their valuable 6 man DeAndre Hunter, who was out for the rest of the season. Them not having him in the rotation really threw off their game. After the first half, the score was 21-21 and you could tell something was off. Virginia’s offense was nonexistent and hadn’t looked the same it had been all season long. Many people thought that they would come out in the second half and finally get their shit together, but that did not happen. What ended up happening was one of the most shocking second half performances that anybody who pays attention to cbb will never forget. UMBC not only beat the best in the country, they flat out destroyed them in them in the second half. The same team that lost to Albany by 44 points just 2 months prior beat the ACC champions and a team who only lost two games by a combined 8 points all season. In my opinion, this is easily the greatest upset in cbb history (even over the fdu Purdue game). Absolutely no one saw this coming. Virginia would go on to win the national championship the very next year in one of the greatest comeback stories ever. I think the reason why Virginia struggled so much in the tournament was because of their offensive pace/tempo. They were known for slowing the game down which is y they struggled
If you go to Raleigh, North Carolina and go to the Lenovo center you will see a banner hanging from the ceiling. That banner would tell a story of a magical run in the 1982-1983 collage basketball season. The NC State Wolfpack faced a tuff a road ahead after having a decent season they would have to face an incredibly difficult ACC tournament schedule. The pack was 26-10 an 8-6 in ACC play which put them 4th in the league. First they had to play a very good wake forest team and barely pulled it out with a final score of 70-71. Shortly after they played the number five ranked team in the country the university of North Carolina with the greatest basketball player ever Michael Jordan. But the Pack somehow used their magic and pulled out a 91-81 win in overtime. UNC had beat them twice that year and were huge favorites. In the ACC championship game they had to play Virginia. Virginia was ranked second in the nation and was absolutely dominating the competition. But something was different in the air and against all odds State won the game 81-78 and punched their ticket to the NCAA Tournament. In the tournament they would not slow down making an unbelievable run to the final four. In the final four they would comfortably beat Georgia 67-60 and advance to the championship. Once there, they found themselves tied with number one ranked Houston with only 20 seconds to go. After passing the ball around and almost getting it stolen, a 30 footer is chucked up. It flows through the air like a kite and is a horrible airball. But the rebound would be call caught, and dunked for a last second buzzer beater to win the 1983 national championship and submit the “ cinderella story “ forever. That banner represents the story of the 83 team and how you should believe in your team no matter what. “Don’t give up, don’t ever give up.” Jimmy Valvano
