NCAA Tournament: 50 biggest individual game performances from 2010-19
By Logan Butts
2016 – Josh Hagins, 12 Little Rock vs 5 Purdue, 1st Round
Finishing off a trio of personal mid-major favorites is this bonkers 13-point Arkansas-Little Rock comeback that Josh Hagins spearheaded in the game’s final 3:33. Purdue had no answer for Hagins, who finished with 31 points, seven rebounds, six assists, and five steals.
2016 – Makai Mason, 12 Yale vs 5 Baylor, 1st Round
The 12-seeds won in style in 2016. Makai Mason 31 points, six rebounds, and four assists, hit all 11 of his free throws, and gave Yale their first and only NCAA Tournament win to date. Two years later, Mason was a Baylor Bear.
2016 – Buddy Hield, 2 Oklahoma vs 1 Oregon, Elite Eight
The star of the 2016 tournament. Buddy Hield put on a show all season long, but he saved some of his best performances for last. Following a 36-point outburst in the second round vs VCU, Hield poured in 37 versus Oregon to clinch a Final Four spot. He shot 13-20 from the field and bombed away 8-13 from three.
2017 – Sindarius Thornwell, 7 South Carolina vs 2 Duke, 2nd Round
Thornwell’s 2017 NCAA Tournament performance was Draymond-like in SC’s unexpected run to the Final Four. The numbers were a little bit better in the first round vs Marquette (29-11-2-3-2), but the way he controlled all aspects of the game against Duke (24-6-5-1 and some free-wheeling defense) was more impressive.
2017 – Trevon Blueitt, 11 Xavier vs 3 Florida State, 2nd Round
Xavier always has an NCAA Tournament star-in-waiting up their sleeve. In 2017, it was Blueitt who went for 29 points on 8-14 shooting with six rebounds and three assists in round two of an Elite Eight run.