Could freshman class at Kentucky return Wildcats to No. 1?
The Bluegrass State could be on its way to becoming the basketball version of Alabama.
The football championship hasn’t left the state of Alabama four years, with the Crimson Tide winning the BCS in 2009, 2011 and 2012 and Auburn winning in 2010.
As the college basketball regular season draws to a close, Athlon Sports looks back at a wild year in buzzer-beating game-winning shots or game-tying shots to force overtime. From Butler's game-winner over Indiana in December to a dramatic second Saturday in March, these shots made us jump from our seats.
Butler walk-on sophomore Alex Barlow dribbled through the lane before he took a 6-foot jumper that danced on the rim before giving Butler an 88-86 win over Indiana in overtime.
Jan. 15: Ole Miss forces OT against Vandy
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At the start of the Marshall Henderson craze, the Ole Miss guard hit a desperation three-pointer to force overtime on the road. The three-pointer led to an 89-79 Rebels win in overtime.
Jan. 16: Saint Mary’s over BYU
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Saint Mary’s guard Matthew Dellavedova hit a 35-foot runner only 2.5 seconds after BYU took a two-point lead on a Tyler Haws basket.
Jan. 19: Butler over Gonzaga
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Roosevelt Jones stole an inbounds with 3.5 seconds left and hit a game-winning floater to hand Gonzaga its second of two losses this season in Butler’s 64-63 win.
Jan. 23: Drexel over Hofstra
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Tied at 52, Drexel’s Frantz Massenat hit a buzzer-beating three-pointer from just beyond midcourt to give the Dragons a win over Hofstra.
Jan. 24: Florida State over Clemson
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Neither team will play in the NCAA Tournament, but Michael Snaer gave Florida State a reason to cheer with a game-winning three-pointer for a buzzer-beating 60-57 Clemson.
Feb. 4: San Diego over Loyola Marymount
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Chris Anderson -- “the little fella,” as he’s called here -- hit a layup with 0.2 seconds left in overtime to give San Diego at 69-68 win at Loyola Marymount.
Feb. 7: Marist forces overtime against Iona
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Marist’s Chavaughn Lewis heaved a 65-foot shot as time expired to send the Red Foxes game with Iona to overtime. Marist needed two extra frames to seal the 105-104 win.
Feb. 9: Brust's midcourt trey
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Wisconsin guard Ben Brust sent the game to overtime with this shot from inside midcourt against Michigan. The Badgers won 65-62 in OT.
Feb. 27: Kabongo forces OT against OU
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In an otherwise forgettable season for Texas and Myck Kabongo, the point guard hit a desperation jumper falling backward as time expired to force overtime against Oklahoma. Texas won 92-86.
March 2: Vanderbilt over Georgia
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Kevin Bright’s pull-up jumper with less than second left sealed a 17-point Vanderbilt comeback for a 63-62 win over Georgia.
March 7: Another Snaer game winner
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Florida State’s Michael Snaer hit his fourth game-winning shot in ACC play this season with a runner through the lane with four seconds left to give the Seminoles a 53-51 win over Virginia.
March 9: Releford’s desperation heave
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First, Alabama denied Georgia a chance for its own game-winner with a steal in the final seconds. Then, Alabama denied Georgia a chance to play in overtime when Trevor Releford heaved a desperation shot from beyond midcourt to give the Crimson Tide a 61-58 win.
March 9: Wright State angles for win
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Detroit did all it could to defend Miles Dixon on Wright State’s final possession in the Horizon League semifinal. Detroit cut off a passing lane and defended the baseline drive. What the Titans didn’t account for was Dixon making this game-winner at wild angle in the 56-54 win in the Horizon League semifinals.
March 9: More Horizon dramatics
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Valparaiso is no stranger to the wild buzzer-beating shot. Just ask Coach Bryce Drew. That continued when Ryan Broekhoff hit a three-pointer with a hand in his face to defeat Green Bay 70-69 in the Horizon League semifinals. The fallaway three kept the regular season Horizon champs in the NCAA Tournament picture.
March 9: Belmont takes advantage
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In one of the most exciting games of the conference tournaments so far, Belmont took advantage of a rare Isaiah Canaan miscue to beat Murray State 70-68 in overtime. Canaan missed a pass and turned the ball over in the backcourt to set up this game-winner by Kerron Johnson.
Louisville's Gorgui Dieng represents Senegal on our International Dream Team
Stars like Syracuse’s Fab Melo (Brazil), St. Bonaventure’s Andrew Nicholson (Canada) and Vanderbilt’s Jeffrey Taylor (Sweden) and Festus Ezeli (Nigeria) may have left the college ranks for the NBA in June, but that doesn’t mean the college game isn’t still flush with international talent.
Our top storylines for Arizona's Sean Miller and others
With Midnight Madness less than two months away, our look at some of the biggest questions in college basketball for 2012-13 continues into its second week.
Tom Izzo headlines our list of 30 coaches for 2012-13
Through the last two weeks, Athlon Sports ranked each coach in the ACC, Atlantic 10, Big 12, Big East, Big Ten, Pac-12 and SEC along with the top 20 coaches from outside those seven conferences.
After ranking seven conferences, we rate the best of the other leagues
In the last two weeks, Athlon Sports has ranked every coach in the seven powerful basketball conferences -- the ACC, Atlantic 10, Big 12, Big East, Big Ten, Pac-12 and SEC.
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The Bluegrass State could be on its way to becoming the basketball version of Alabama.
