Top 5 Gutsiest Shots in March Madness History
By Jacob Rude
4. Ali Farokmanesh vs. Kansas
The man that inspired this list comes in at #4. When Northern Iowa matched up against a Kansas team that had Sherron Collins and Cole Adrich and newcomers Xavier Henry and Thomas Robinson, they were seen as another small step in route to Kansas’ trip to the Final Four.
However, Farokmanesh and the Panthers had other things in mind. They hung with the Jayhawks all game and, with 42 seconds left, they held a one-point lead and were inbounding the ball. After narrowly escaping the full-court pressure, Farokmanesh caught the ball in a 2-on-1 situation. The assumption was Farokmanesh would either attack the basket or hold the ball to kill more time.
What no one expected was Farokmanesh to pull-up for three. What fewer expected was him to bury the shot and burying Kansas title aspirations.