Busting Brackets
Fansided

NCAA Basketball: 68 defining moments of the 2019-20 season

By Lukas Harkins

DAYTON, OH - MARCH 07: Rodney Chatman #0, Obi Toppin #1 and Jalen Crutcher #10 of the Dayton Flyers celebrate during a game against the George Washington Colonials at UD Arena on March 7, 2020 in Dayton, Ohio. (Photo by Joe Robbins/Getty Images)
DAYTON, OH - MARCH 07: Rodney Chatman #0, Obi Toppin #1 and Jalen Crutcher #10 of the Dayton Flyers celebrate during a game against the George Washington Colonials at UD Arena on March 7, 2020 in Dayton, Ohio. (Photo by Joe Robbins/Getty Images) /
facebooktwitterreddit
Prev
12 of 35
Next
PHILADELPHIA, PA – DECEMBER 21: Villanova Wildcats react. (Photo by Mitchell Leff/Getty Images)
PHILADELPHIA, PA – DECEMBER 21: Villanova Wildcats react. (Photo by Mitchell Leff/Getty Images) /

21. Samuels buries Kansas from deep. (Dec. 21st)

Villanova lost Eric Paschall and Phil Booth from last season’s roster but brought in an absurd recruiting class and was expected to compete near the top of the Big East and the nation. With that said, though, one of their five-stars – Bryan Antoine – was never able to be healthy enough to contribute through the first month (or the entire season).

Nonetheless, Villanova was still 8-2 with its only losses coming to Top 10 teams in Ohio State and Baylor when Kansas came to visit in mid-December. The Jayhawks were the No. 1 team in the country at the time with the Wildcats looking to knock them off their pedestal.

This turned out to be a hard-fought, defensive-minded game in which neither team shot the ball well from distance. This is especially true with regard to the perimeter-centric Wildcats, who shot just 9-for-40 from three through the first 39.5 minutes.

When it came to the final minute, though, Jermaine Samuels was ready to bury the top-ranked Jayhawks from distance and he did just that:

https://twitter.com/marchmadness/status/1208464985019551745

22. Joe goes unconscious at Assembly Hall. (Dec. 29th)

Arkansas and Indiana both started this season by facing relatively easy schedules. The Razorbacks played just two road games and those both went to overtime – a win over GT and a loss to WKU. The Hoosiers, on the other hand, had only left their home state twice and one was mandatory for conference play (loss at Wisconsin). Due to their overall lack of top-tier tests, many experts were wary to believe that either was a Top 25 team heading into their matchup against each other.

Through the first portion of the game, Indiana was holding serve on its home court. Then…Arkansas’ Isaiah Joe got the “He’s heating up…” treatment from NBA Jam. The Razorbacks’ star shooter buried four trifectas in the first seven minutes of the second half to push his team within two. He finished the game with 24 points on six 3-pointers and was making shots seemingly all over the court. In. The. Gym. Range.

Looking back on the season, Arkansas had a shot to reach the NCAA Tournament if it made a nice run in the SEC Tournament. Joe’s stretch in the early second half in Assembly Hall to help will the Razorbacks to a huge road win was pivotal then and it could’ve been on Selection Sunday as well.

Home/NCAA Basketball News