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USA Today
28-03-2025
- Sport
- USA Today
NCAA Tournament overtime rules: Here's how OT works in March Madness
NCAA Tournament overtime rules: Here's how OT works in March Madness Show Caption Hide Caption 1 seeds Florida & Duke prep for Elite 8 against Texas Tech & Alabama Mackenzie Salmon breaks down Elite 8 matchups, as No. 1 Florida will take on No. 3 Texas Tech and No. 1 Duke will verse No. 2 Alabama. Sports Seriously Sometimes, particularly in the high-pressure crucible of the NCAA basketball tournament, 40 minutes isn't enough time to declare a winner. The madness of March is defined by closely contested games that come down to the final seconds, some of which have to stretch beyond regulation. Think of some of the most iconic moments in tournament history. Christian Laettner's famous buzzer-beater from the free throw line to defeat Kentucky in 1992? That came in overtime. So did Arike Ogunbowale's jumper to beat UConn in the Final Four of the 2018 women's tournament. Mario Chalmers' high-arcing 3-pointer to tie Memphis in the final seconds of the 2008 national championship game? It forced overtime. REQUIRED READING: March Madness games today: Analyzing Friday's Sweet 16 men's NCAA Tournament matchups For all the thrills it provides, overtime can require some explanation to fans, especially for the millions of viewers who tune into the sport for the first time all season in March. On Thursday night, the 2025 NCAA men's basketball tournament had its first overtime game, with Texas Tech completing a thrilling comeback victory against Arkansas in the Sweet 16. Here's a look at how overtime is handled in the NCAA Tournament for both the men's and women's sides. REQUIRED READING: Sweet 16 loaded with storybook talent from past Cinderellas. But where were the upsets? NCAA Tournament overtime rules The overtime rules in men's and women's college basketball are the same in the NCAA Tournament as they are during the regular season. If two teams are tied at the end of regulation, the game moves into a five-minute overtime period. The teams don't change baskets during that time, remaining on the hoop they were attacking in the second half. The teams play until a period ends with one of the teams winning. Each of the extra periods is five minutes long, with a one-minute break between them. There is no limit to the number of overtime periods that can be played. It doesn't emulate soccer, for example, and have a free-throw contest if a winner isn't determined after the first two overtime periods. Overtime rules are the same in the men's and women's game, though it follows the second half for the men and the fourth quarter for the women.
NBC Sports
19-03-2025
- Sport
- NBC Sports
March Madness History: Best moments in NCAA Division I Men's, Women's Basketball Tournament
Anything can happen in March Madness. Game-winning shots that live forever. Players that become household names. Teams from out of nowhere that grab our attention (and set our brackets on fire). They send us on perhaps the biggest emotional roller-coaster in sports. Name any human state of mind. Joy, sorrow, exhilaration, heartbreak - it's all to be found here, all on the court. What will this year's NCAA Division I men's and women's basketball tournaments bring us? Only time will tell. But time has told us plenty already, too. Let's look back at some of the greatest moments in March Madness history – at least, so far… Men's 1992: Duke vs Kentucky - Christian Laettner's 'The Shot' When you think 'March Madness buzzer-beater,' chances are that this is the one that pops in your head. A tense overtime between Duke and Kentucky in the 1992 Men's Elite Eight saw the Wildcats take a 103-102 lead with 2.1 seconds left, thanks to Sean Woods' runner over Duke's Christian Laettner. But after calling timeout, Duke drew up one final play. As the referee blew his whistle to resume the game, Grant Hill was under the far basket. Hill threw a 79-foot inbound pass down the court, which Laettner caught. What happened next has gone down in history. Duke's 104-103 triumph propelled them into the Men's Final Four, where they beat Indiana and Michigan to become National Champions. Women's 1994: North Carolina vs Louisiana Tech - Charlotte Smith's buzzer-beater After Pam Thomas' go-ahead jumper gave Louisiana Tech a two-point lead over North Carolina with :16 left in the 1994 Women's National Championship, the Tar Heels missed their shot on the other end and scrambled for the ensuing rebound. They only avoided disaster after a jump ball was called and the possession arrow went in their favor - but now, just 0.7 seconds remained on the clock. And after calling timeout to draw up a play, they had to call another when said play was covered by the Lady Techsters. But they still had just enough time. Stephanie Lawrence sent the inbounds pass to an open Charlotte Smith, who then made a buzzer-beating three-pointer to give UNC a 60-59 win and its first NCAA women's basketball national title. Men's 1982: North Carolina vs Georgetown - Michael Jordan's legend is born An absolute classic spawned the absolute GOAT. With :16 left in the 1982 Men's National Championship game, a 19-year-old North Carolina freshman named Michael Jordan buried a go-ahead jumper to give the Tar Heels a 63-62 lead over Georgetown. An errant pass by the Hoyas then ended up in the hands of Jordan's teammate and future Lakers legend James Worthy to effectively seal the game and the national title for UNC. Mary Omatiga, Women's 2017: Mississippi State vs UConn - The queens are dethroned It's impossible to talk about women's college basketball without mentioning the excellence of UConn. The Huskies have won an NCAA-record 11 women's national titles overall, and entering their 2017 Women's Final Four matchup against Mississippi State, they put both their pursuit of a fifth consecutive title and a 111-game win streak on the line. It was going to take something amazing to make UConn finally stumble. Sure enough, that's what happened in an overtime thriller in Dallas. After a flagrant foul on Mississippi State, the Huskies made two free throws to tie the game at 64-64 and got the ball back. But UConn then turned the ball over with 12.3 seconds to go. The Bulldogs would get the last shot. They made it count. After Dominique Dillingham brought the ball up court, she passed back to Morgan William near midcourt. William then penetrated the right side of the lane, stopped, and fired a high arching shot that fell into the net as the buzzer went off. Mississippi State had delivered an all-time upset. And as the Bulldogs celebrated, UConn head coach Geno Auriemma simply shook his head and grinned. All good things… Men's 2018: UMBC vs Virginia - The game that changed two programs Just because something's never happened before doesn't mean that it can't happen. Don't believe that? Then believe the 2018 University of Maryland-Baltimore County Retrievers, who delivered the first-ever win by a No. 16 seed over a No. 1 seed in the history of men's March Madness. UMBC didn't just beat No. 1 seed Virginia, but beat them convincingly. After the game went to halftime tied at 21-21, the Retrievers took control in the second half with steady shooting that overcame what had been the nation's top scoring defense. In turn, the Cavaliers' offense went cold, and an improbable upset became reality before our eyes: UMBC 74, Virginia 54. The game changed UMBC's perception forever, both on and off the court. But it also changed Virginia and head coach Tony Bennett, who used the loss as a chance to pull himself and his team closer together. One year later, in 2019, Bennett and the Cavaliers were cutting down the nets as National Champions. Women's 1998: Harvard vs Stanford - The first '16 over 1' upset As seismic as UMBC's 2018 win over Virginia was, the NCAA women's tournament had already experienced its first - and to this day, only - '16 over 1' moment. 20 years before, in fact. No. 16 seed Harvard traveled 3,000 miles to face No. 1 seed Stanford on their home court to start the 1998 NCAA women's tournament. Stanford had reached the three previous Women's Final Fours (1995, 1996, 1997) and had won 59 consecutive games at home. But Harvard wasn't scared, and a tight game ensued. With less than a minute to go, Harvard was leading 66-65 but desperately needed a big shot. Enter Suzie Miller, who'd given Harvard their slim, one-point edge not long before. Miller got open in the corner, and with :46 left, she buried a 3-pointer to effectively topple the mighty Cardinal. Harvard went on to win, 71-67. Two days later, they lost their second-round game to Arkansas. But the 1998 Crimson women's place in history endures. Nate Ryan, Men's 1983: NC State vs Houston - Lorenzo Charles' dunk that delivered a title A tight 1983 Men's National Championship game between NC State and Houston's vaunted 'Phi Slama Jama' squad ended in desperation, then elation, for the Wolfpack. With :44 left and the game tied at 52-52, NC State looked to hold the ball for a final shot attempt. But with Houston employing a half-court trap defense, the Wolfpack was forced to pass the ball around just to keep the Cougars from a potential game-changing steal. Eventually, the ball came to Dereck Whittenburg, who heaved a prayer from long distance. The shot was falling short of the basket, but teammate Lorenzo Charles caught it and dunked it in with :02 left to give the Wolfpack a 54-52 win and the national title. Charles' dunk, as well as NC State head coach Jim Valvano's run around the court in celebration, have been replayed thousands of times ever since. Women's 2006: Tennessee vs Army - Candace Parker's history-making dunks Before Candace Parker came to Tennessee, she made headlines for winning the co-ed slam dunk contest at the 2004 McDonald's High School All-American Game. Nearly two years after that contest, as a freshman for the Lady Vols, she made even more headlines after throwing down the first – and second – slam dunks ever recorded at the NCAA women's basketball tournament. Early in Tennessee's first-round game against Army, the 6-foot-4 Parker got out on a fast break, raised the ball with her right hand and slammed it home to the thrill of the crowd in Norfolk, Virginia. Later in the second half, with Tennessee in command of the game, Parker got another opportunity. She got a pass while cutting to the basket and again, she delivered a one-handed jam with her right hand. Men's 2016: Villanova vs North Carolina - Kris Jenkins lives the dream Countless little kids have dreamed it up and played it out on their driveways: Making the shot that wins the National Championship. In the 2016 men's national title game, Villanova's Kris Jenkins did it for real. After North Carolina tied the game, 74-74, with a three-pointer by Marcus Paige, Villanova had 4.7 seconds and one more chance to win the game in regulation. Ryan Arciadiacono took the inbounds pass up the court before passing the ball off to Jenkins with less than two seconds left. Jenkins set up from three-point range and fired. The buzzer blared. The shot went in. The crowd erupted. And after a boom from the rafters, confetti rained down. Hollywood couldn't have scripted it any better. Women's 2023 & 2024: Iowa vs LSU - Caitlin Clark, Angel Reese fuel sport's rise Call them the catalysts. Caitlin Clark and Angel Reese have both played pivotal roles in the ongoing surge of popularity for women's basketball, both at the collegiate and professional level. After impressive collegiate careers, Clark and Reese have established themselves as stars in the WNBA. Both are set to enter their second seasons in the 'W' after earning All-Star honors as rookies in 2024, with Clark herself claiming 2024 Rookie of the Year honors. But they'll always be intertwined thanks to their two showdowns in the 2023 and 2024 NCAA women's tournaments - games that will be looked back upon as special moments in the sport's history. In the 2023 Women's National Championship, Reese and LSU pulled away from Clark and Iowa in the 2nd quarter. They held the Hawkeyes at bay from there to capture the Tigers' first-ever women's basketball national title, with Reese being named the tournament's Most Valuable Player. A year later, LSU and Iowa met again in the 2024 Women's Elite 8. Clark delivered a stellar performance in the rematch, posting 41 points and 12 assists to lead the Hawkeyes past the Tigers and into another Women's Final Four. (The Hawkeyes would ultimately fall to undefeated South Carolina in the National Championship game.)
Fox News
19-03-2025
- Sport
- Fox News
Alabama State gets March Madness started with miraculous Hail Mary in final seconds to advance
Welcome to March Madness, Alabama State. The First Four games kicked off the tournament on Tuesday night, and fans were treated to an instant classic that came down to the wire. Alabama State took down St. Francis (Pa.), 70-68, with a miraculous bucket in the game's final ticks. With the game tied at 68 with 3.4 seconds left, Alabama State did their best Christian Laettner impression, as Micah Simpson launched a Hail Mary from one end of the floor to the other. The ball was tipped in the air, but it somehow landed in the hands of Amarr Knox who was right underneath the basket, and he was able to bank in the layup. St. Francis had one second for a miracle, but the three-quarters shot fell short. Alabama State's prize is a date with No. 1 Auburn in the Round of 64. Alabama State was down by as many as nine points, after Riley Parker hit a three-pointer with 1:12 to go in the first half, but they were able to cut the deficit to five before the half. St. Francis, though, got it back up to eight early in the second half; however, Alabama State was able to chip away and even lead by four in the final 100 seconds. Chris Moncrief of St. Francis drilled a three with 40 seconds left to make it 68-68, and Alabama State's TJ Madlock missed a one-and-one. However, St. Francis turned the ball over, which led to the wild finish. If Alabama State has anything to look forward to, it's the fact that Auburn has hit quite the skids, losing three of their last four games after a 27-2 start. Knox, the hero, led the way with 16 points for Alabama State.
Fox Sports
19-03-2025
- Sport
- Fox Sports
The madness has arrived: Alabama State wins opening game of tourney on last-second shot
Move over, Christian Laettner — you have some company. Alabama State took down St. Francis (PA), 70-68, thanks to a made layup off a Hail Mary pass in the final second in the first game of the 2025 NCAA men's basketball tournament. After Alabama State got the ball back under its own basket with 3.4 seconds remaining, guard Micah Simpson threw a pass that traveled beyond the opposing free-throw line. Unlike Laettner's memorable Hail Mary, though, the pass wasn't cleanly got. The ball ricocheted off a player and found the hands of Alabama State guard Amarr Knox. Knox slightly bobbled the ball, but he was right under the rim. He tossed the ball off the backboard and in, giving Alabama State a two-point lead with a second remaining. St. Francis' ensuing Hail Mary attempt fell short. Following a timeout, guard Chris Moncrief's three-quarters court-length shot fell short, giving Alabama State the victory. Alabama State's reward for taking down St. Francis is a tough one. The No. 16 seed will take on No. 1 seed Auburn in the Round of 64 on Thursday. The Tigers earned the top-overall seed in the 2025 NCAA Tournament. This is a developing story. Want great stories delivered right to your inbox? Create or log in to your FOX Sports account , and follow leagues, teams and players to receive a personalized newsletter daily! recommended Get more from College Basketball Follow your favorites to get information about games, news and more
Chicago Tribune
18-03-2025
- Sport
- Chicago Tribune
Column: Is it OK to still hate Duke? 3 pressing questions about this year's NCAA Tournament.
The NCAA Tournament is here, and that can mean only one thing. TV timeouts. So let's take a quick one while we check the video monitor and answer three pressing questions about this year's month of Madness. 1. Is it OK to still hate Duke? It's never not OK to hate Duke, though it's hard to dislike freshman star Cooper Flagg, the top player in the nation and consensus No. 1 pick in this year's NBA draft. Duke earned its reputation as an unlikable program during the Christian Laettner era, when coach Mike Krzyzewski was in his heyday. T-shirts reading, 'I Still Hate Christian Laettner,' were spotted in the stands at the ACC Tournament last weekend. Laettner welcomed the hate. 'No one thinks more highly of me than probably myself,' Laettner told the Tribune's Skip Myslenski during the 1992 Final Four. 'I think that's fine.' His Duke teammate Bobby Hurley was asked during that '92 tournament whether he ever wanted to reach up and grab Laettner by the throat. 'At times,' Hurley replied. 'But I couldn't reach that high.' Both have moved on, but the reputation remains. A made-for-March Madness title game would pit Duke against No. 2 seed St. John's, coached by Rick Pitino, who as Kentucky's coach in '92 famously neglected to have a player guard the inbound pass to Laettner that led to the iconic buzzer-beater in the East Region final. Either way, you'll be treated to that shining moment a few dozen times if Duke makes a run. We're getting ahead of ourselves a little bit, but this is Duke's best shot at winning a national title since Jon Scheyer took over from Coach K in 2022-23. The Blue Devils enter as a No. 1 seed after winning the ACC Tournament without Flagg, who sprained his right ankle in a quarterfinal. There are no real villains on this Duke team like Laettner or the always-annoying Grayson Allen, who perfected the role and even carried it over to the NBA. With Flagg back, the Blue Devils should cruise to the Sweet 16, where a possible matchup against No. 4 seed Arizona awaits. Scheyer, a former Mr. Basketball of Illinois at Glenbrook North who once scored 21 points in 75 seconds against Proviso West, has had the weight of the world on his shoulders since replacing Krzyzewski. Scheyer never has backed down from a fight, and this month figures to be a series of street brawls — with Duke back as the villain you never knew you needed. 2. Why are there so many SEC teams? The SEC set an NCAA Tournament record with 14 selections from the 16-team conference better known for football and Finebaum. Either it's the best conference in history or conference realignment has watered down the sport. Any of five SEC teams has a realistic chance to win it all: top-seeded Auburn and Florida, No. 2 seeds Alabama and Tennessee and third-seeded Kentucky, which had 11 Quad 1 wins, fifth in the country. Even No. 6 seed Missouri is … uh, never mind. SEC teams won 89% of their nonconference games, so there's a reason for the hype. But even teams that struggled in conference play were rewarded, including Porter Moser's Oklahoma Sooners, who went 6-12 in SEC games. Texas made it in with a First Four berth despite also going 6-12 in the conference and 19-15 overall. Matthew McConaughey was not on the selection committee, yet the Longhorns made it anyway, so look for him loitering near the bench when Texas takes on Xavier on Wednesday in Dayton, Ohio, for a shot at upsetting sixth-seeded Illinois. The Big Ten, by the way, sent eight teams, and they all finished above .500 in conference play. Not that anyone in the conference is complaining. 3. How do I win my office pool? Having never won the Tribune office pool in 43 years, despite running it for 15 years in the 1980s and '90s, I can't dispense any real advice. My heart says Michigan State. My head says Florida. But my alma mater is Missouri, which has mastered the art of heartbreaking losses for so long, I always pick the Tigers to lose in the first round (to No. 11 seed Drake this year). That's why my old college roommates banned me from participating in any group texts during Mizzou games in March. The trendy practice to fill out brackets this year is to ask AI, which saves time and theoretically equalizes the field if everyone in your pool uses the same AI chatbot. The Sporting News used Perplexity AI, which picked Michigan State, Florida, Alabama and Houston in the Final Four, with Alabama beating Tom Izzo's Spartans for the title. used ChatGPT, which has all four No. 1 seeds in the Final Four and Duke beating Auburn. Boring? The Athletic made projections based on 200,000 simulations of the 68-team bracket. Going by percentages, the four top seeds all advance to the Final Four, with Duke over Florida for the title. Duke has a 23% chance to win it all, while Illinois has less than 1%, according to the current projections. But those smug computers obviously haven't seen a shirtless Illini coach Brad Underwood and his Super Soaker squirt gun. You can't quantify coach-player bonding in March. Unless you're filling out brackets for more than bragging rights or a sawbuck or two, it's best to fill out your own sheet while doing as little research as possible, then just live or die by the picks. Everyone knows by now the No. 12 seeds are usually the best first-round upset possibilities, along with whoever is playing Purdue, which has lost to Fairleigh Dickinson, North Texas and Little Rock in first-round games since 2016. The fourth-seeded Boilermakers play No. 13 seed High Point, in case you're looking for omens. High Point University, located in High Point, N.C., was named 'the #1 Best-Run College in the nation' by the Princeton Review, according to the school's website. The Panthers are so overlooked, they make Cinderella look like a Kardashian, but it's hard to pick against the Big South champs. Since the tournament expanded in 1985, No. 12 seeds have won 55 times, a decent 35% average. No. 13 seeds have won only 33 times, including Yale over Auburn last year and North Texas over Purdue in 2021. Yale, a 13 seed again, faces No. 4 Texas A&M with a chance to strike another blow for the Ivy League — the conference of upsets since Princeton's Pete Carril perfected the backdoor cut. As for the rest of your picks, go with your heart. Or your head. Or your alma mater or your favorite mascot or whatever. After all, it's just sports.
