NCAA Basketball: Ranking all 67 NCAA Tournament games for 2020-21 season

17. #10 Rutgers 60, #7 Clemson 56 (Round of 64)

In a list of feelgood 2020-21 sports stories, the Rutgers Scarlet Knights – and this game – would be among the top.  After being robbed of a tournament appearance last year due to the pandemic, Rutgers – despite struggling mightily in the final two months – finally broke a 30-year March Madness drought, earning their first NCAA Tournament bid since 1991 – and, to add onto that, won their first tournament game since 1983.

This game had all the theatrics for a storyline like that, as well – at halftime, the Scarlet Knights trailed a Clemson team that had endured similar struggles after being dominant in the early portions of the year.

Within seven minutes of the second half, Rutgers had claimed a lead that would grow to double-digits – and then eventually be reduced to a 55-55 deadlock with four minutes to play.  But back-to-back buckets by Geo Baker – including a layup with 10 seconds left – were enough to send the Scarlet Knights to their first NCAA Tournament victory in nearly 40 years.

16. #13 North Texas 78, #4 Purdue 69 OT (Round of 64)

One of the most shocking results of the first round, it was not just the final that made North Texas’ win impressive, but the manner in which the Mean Green accomplished it and how they ended it.  After Jaden Ivey struck blood first in the opening seconds for Purdue, this turned into North Texas’ game to lose, with the Mean Green building an 11-point lead late in the first half and clinging onto that advantage in the second after numerous Boilermaker runs.

With their season on the brink, the Boilermakers’ Trevion Williams took over at the end of regulation, scoring back-to-back buckets to knot the game and send it to overtime.  Despite having the momentum, however, Purdue could not muster any offense at the start of overtime, as the Mean Green coasted to an 11-point lead while holding the Boilermakers scoreless for the first four minutes and 33 seconds of the extra period.

Despite stellar showings from both Ivey and Williams, it was North Texas’ Javion Hamlet who had the last laugh, posting a double-double of 24 points and 12 rebounds – including the final six points of overtime to send the Mean Green to their first NCAA Tournament victory in program history.

15. #3 Kansas 93, #14 Eastern Washington 84 (Round of 64)

Few games were as shocking and fun to watch as this unexpected battle, which thrust Tanner and Jacob Groves into the national spotlight.  A quick 9-0 spurt for the Eagles to begin the game – all made possible by the Groves brothers – put the college basketball world on notice.

With David McCormack back in tow after a positive COVID-19 sidelined him, the Jayhawks made run after run – including one that put them ahead by seven halfway through the stanza – but little fazed Eastern Washington, who would head into halftime with an eight-point advantage and would race out to a pair of double-digit leads at the start of the second half.

But the heroics of the Groves brothers could only last so long, as Kansas – spearheaded by 20 second-half points from McCormack – broke a 66-66 deadlock with nine minutes remaining, quickly capturing a 12-point lead and keeping the Eagles at bay, behind 55 second-half points, a 7-13 second-half mark from long-range and an 8-0 lead in points off turnovers.  Despite the Jayhawks maintaining four double-digit scorers, it was the Groves who stole the show, with Jacob scoring 23 points and Tanner pouring in a game-high 35 on 11-18 shooting.

14. #2 Houston 67, #12 Oregon State 61 (Elite Eight)

In an Elite Eight with two games that erred on the side of being blowouts, it appeared as if this one would meet the same fate.  A Marcus Sasser bomb within the opening minute would give the Cougars a lead they would never relinquish, and one that the Beavers, seemingly, could not crack into, posting just 17 minutes in the opening 20 minutes all the while falling behind by that same amount.

Oregon State’s offense gradually came alive in the second half, but the Beavers’ defense was unable to get a stop – until Houston’s offense claimed a 14-point lead and then went stagnant, allowing Oregon State to mount a 17-3 run to knot the game up at 55-all.

Buckets from Houston and Oregon State kept the game close, but clutch free-throws down the stretch – paired with the Beavers’ inability to take advantage on the offensive end and keep the Cougars off the board – allowed Houston to eke out the win, largely thanks to 19 offensive rebounds, 16 made freebies, and a game-high 20 points from Sasser, ending Oregon State’s Cinderella run after a stunning and thrilling comeback.

13. #15 Oral Roberts 81, #7 Florida 78 (Round of 32)

One of the many thrilling finishes in the 2021 NCAA Tournament, and one that paved the way for history.  The Golden Eagles – just the ninth 15-seed to ever reach the Round of 32 after defeating Ohio State – were pit against a Florida team that had endured a similar, thrilling first-round matchup against Virginia Tech – and, unsurprisingly, this one produced the exact same excitement.

Neither team held an advantage greater than six points in the opening half, although the Gators maintained the lead for an overwhelming majority of the time, heading into the intermission with a five-point edge – one that would grow to 11 on several occasions in the second half.  But the tag-team of Kevin Obanor and Max Abmas, both of whom combined for 54 of the Golden Eagles’ 81 points, refused to play dead, ripping off a 21-9 run to claw back into the game and claim the lead with three minutes remaining.

With both teams seemingly at a standstill for the final two minutes, with Oral Roberts clinging onto a two-point lead, Obanor went 1-2 from the charity stripe in the waning seconds, allowing Florida an opportunity to tie the game and force another overtime for both squads – but it was not to be.

12. #3 Arkansas 68, #6 Texas Tech 66 (Round of 32)

Unbeknownst to the college basketball world that this would be the end of the Chris Beard era, Texas Tech and Arkansas was the perfect matchup of one of the best defensive teams and one of the best offensive teams in the nation – and it lived up to expectations.  In a game where both teams held double-digit leads and would swap advantages four times, it also delivered one of the most nail-biting finishes of the tournament.

A two-point game at halftime – in favor of Arkansas – after Texas Tech had built up a 10-point lead earlier in the half, the Razorbacks were able to keep the Red Raiders at arm’s length throughout the second stanza, taking a 13-point lead with nine minutes to play before being forced to weather a furious 14-2 run that trimmed the lead to one.

Clutch shooting from Moses Moody and key free-throws from Jalen Tate kept Arkansas in front, but a missed freebie on the back-end of a one-and-one allowed the Red Raiders one more opportunity to either win or send the game to overtime – but a Kevin McCullar drive through the lane produced the wrong result.  While both teams struggled shooting the ball, seven different players logged double-digits – with both Arkansas’ Justin Smith and Texas Tech’s Terrence Shannon, Jr pouring in 20 apiece.

11. #11 UCLA 86, #11 Michigan State 80 OT (First Four)

The beginning of the improbable run, the Bruins appeared as if they would be run out of the gym after a small 19-17 deficit turned into a 21-9 run for the Spartans, who would claim a 14-point lead with two and a half minutes remaining in the first half.

A quick, buzzer-beating jumper by Jaime Jaquez Jr. to cut the lead to 11 would give UCLA all the momentum needed to make a second-half run – and that is exactly what would happen, as the Bruins came soaring out of the gates behind a 12-4 run to trim Michigan State’s lead to three.

Overcoming the Spartans‘ lead would prove nearly impossible, however – with the exception of a one-point lead that lasted for 34 seconds late, the Bruins would not lead at all in the second stanza.  But even further heroics by Johnny Juzang and Jaquez Jr. – both of whom would finish with 23 and 27 points, respectively – would allow UCLA to tie the game just before the second-half buzzer.

Despite a triad of double-digit scorers, a better shooting percentage, and a nearly perfect 16-18 clip from the line, the Spartans could not muster much offense in overtime, falling victim to a UCLA defense that allowed just three points in the extra period, as well as two quick buckets from Juzang – initiating the Bruins’ Cinderella story.