March Madness: Ranking the college basketball national championship games across all three divisions

Apr 3, 2017; Phoenix, AZ, USA; North Carolina Tar Heels team holds up the trophy after the win over the Gonzaga Bulldogs in the championship game of the 2017 NCAA Men's Final Four at University of Phoenix Stadium. North Carolina defeated Gonzaga 71-65. Mandatory Credit: Joe Camporeale-USA TODAY Sports /

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Mar 24, 2017; New York, NY, USA; A view of the March Madness logo on a basketball drives to the basket between the Florida Gators and the Wisconsin Badgers in the semifinals of the East Regional of the 2017 NCAA Tournament at Madison Square Garden. Mandatory Credit: Brad Penner-USA TODAY Sports /

6. D-III Women’s Championship

Amherst (Mass.) won its second-ever women’s NCAA D-III basketball championship title with a 52-29 victory over Tufts (Mass.). The 81 combined points is the fewest points scored in a D-III women’s basketball championship game.

The game was not a thing of beauty. The teams totaled more fouls (33) and turnovers (32) than made field goals (26).

There were some good things in the game, though, mainly the Purple & White’s defense and senior Ali Doswell. Amherst’s defense pitched a shutout until Erica DeCandido converted a layup with 2:21 left in the opening quarter. The Purple & White limited the Jumbos (30-3) to just two points, on 1-of-10 shooting (10%), through the first 10 minutes as they held a 7-2 lead.

Amherst (33-0) kept up its defensive intensity in the second quarter and took a 20-6 lead into halftime. Doswell tallied 11 of her game-high 21 points in the first half.

Tufts finally got a little bit going offensively in the third quarter. The Jumbos started the third quarter on a 9-2 run to cut get within 22-15 on Monica North’s jumper at the 6:41 mark. But Emma McCarthy scored five of the game’s next nine points to push the Purple & White’s lead back to double figures (29-17). Amhest led 32-21 at the end of 30 minutes.

Amherst opened the fourth quarter on an 8-2 run and coasted the rest of the way. The Purple & White shot 40.2 percent (15-of-37) from the field and held Jumbos to 24.5% shooting from the field. Amherst had a huge edge in free throws, making 19-of-24 attempts (79.2%), compared to Tufts, which made 6 of their 8 attempts (75.0%).

Amherst captured its first national championship in 2011 with a victory over Washington (Mo.).

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