NCAA Basketball: 25 greatest buzzer beaters of all time

19. Christian Laettner Part 1 (1990)

Everyone knows about Christian Laettner’s buzzer-beater against Kentucky, which we will talk about a little later, but a shot against Connecticut two years prior was almost as critical.

Laettner was known as a clutch player throughout his collegiate career and it all began against the Huskies back in 1990 with a trip to the Final Four on the line.

Down 78-77 with 2.6 seconds left, the Blue Devils had the ball on the sideline with Laettner as the inbound man. He tossed it in right beyond the 3-point line and then helped facilitate the perfect give-and-go, sneaking open just inside the arc, hitting a leaner as time expired.

Duke went on to make it to the national title game and it wouldn’t have been possible if not for that incredible shot, and perfectly executed play, by Laettner. The Blue Devils were blown out by UNLV in the title game, but that definitely wouldn’t be the last of Laettner in postseason play during his Duke career.

Hard to believe this shot was overshadowed as it got Duke to its third straight Final Four.