NCAA Basketball: 25 greatest buzzer beaters of all time

24 of 26

Jim Valvano, Vinny Del Negro North Carolina State Wolfpack. Mandatory Credit: Allsport /Allsport /

3. Jim Valvano’s Wolfpack top Houston for national title (1983)

Everyone loves them some Jim Valvano. America went crazy during the 1993 national title game, as his NC State Wolfpack were able to piece together one of the most epic Cinderella runs in college basketball history.

The Wolfpack entered the NCAA Tournament with a 20-10 record, earning the No. 6 seed in the West. No one expected them to make the Final Four, especially after close calls against Pepperdine and UNLV in the first two rounds, winning each game by a single point. The Wolfpack then smacked Utah around before sneaking by Virginia, 63-62.

They then beat Georgia, earning a spot in the national title game against overwhelming favorite Houston. The world was rooting for NC State, but Valvano’s team looked out-matched.

NC State fought to stay in it and had the ball in a tie game with seconds left. And then this happened.

Lorenzo Charles changed NC State history forever with one incredible put-back. It has to go down as one of the top-three buzzer-beaters of all time.

Home/NCAA Basketball News