Best Moments of the 2018 NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament

Recapping the highlights from the 2018 NCAA men's basketball tournament, from stand-out performances to meme-worthy moments and more.

SI Staff | Apr 5, 2018

Best Moments of the 2018 NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament /

Round 1

Jairus Lyles (10) scored 28 points as UMBC pulled off the biggest upset in the history of the NCAA tournament on March 16. The Retrievers stunned No. 1 overall seed Virginia 74–54.

Round 1

Loyola-Chicago team chaplain Sister Jean Dolores- Schmidt became an international sensation as the No. 11 Ramblers shocked Miami.

Round 1

Marshall junior guard Jon Elmore (33) used a combination of slashing drives and deep threes to score 27 points and lead the No. 13 seed to a 81—75 win over No. 4 Wichita State.

Round 1

Houston’s Rob Gray scored a career high 39 points in the win over No. 11 San Diego State, but we all just wanted to talk about his man bun.

Round 1

K.J. Maura and Jourdan Grant were all smiles after helping UMBC trounce Virginia.

Round 1

The final game of the first night was a stunner as No.15 Buffalo trounced No. 2 Arizona 89–68.

Round 1

OKlahoma freshman sensation Trae Young (11) was not enough to get the Sooner past No. 7 Rhode Island.

Round 2

Josh Hall (33) of the Nevada Wolf Pack celebrates with Hallice Cooke (13) after defeating the Cincinnati Bearcats during the second half.

Round 2

After beating the buzzer—and Houston—with a three, Michigan freshman Jordan Poole sprinted away from his teammates to avoid being tackled.

Round 2

Michigan State’s Matt McQuaid had his corner three blocked by Syracuse’s koming koming, but he caught the rebound and chucked the ball up and into the basket just as time expired in the first half.

Round 2

Tennessee became Loyola-Chicago’s latest victim thanks to Clayton Custer’s buzzer beater.

Round 2

Purdue center Matt Haarms earned plenty of attention—for how often he fixed his hair.

Round 2

Marshall coach Dan D’Antoni rocked this T-shirt and blazer ensemble like few others can.

Round 3

Michigan made 14 three-pointers and hit 62.0% of its shots to roll past Texas A&M, 99–72.

Round 3

Villanova’s Mikal Bridges thought he had a poster dunk, but West Virginia big man Sagaba Konate rose up, volleyball style for this astounding block.

Round 3

Purdue engineers worked 30 straight hours to design a brace 7'2" center Isaac Haas could use to protect his broken right elbow, but he was still unable to play as the No. 2 Boilermakers lost 78–65 to Texas Tech.

Round 3

Kentucky guard P.J. Washington went 8 for 20 at the foul line (5 of 12 in the second half) as his Wildcats fell to Kansas State 61–58.

Round 3

His recovery from a groin injury looked complete after Florida State’s Terrance Mann soared for four dunks (and 18 points) in the 75–60 win over Gonzaga.

Round 3

The fashion police were on to Loyola-Chicago coach Porter Moser for his eclectic mixing of patterns.

Round 4

With a 78-52 drubbing of Kansas State, the Ramblers stayed alive in the bracket.

Round 4

Kansas guard Malik Newman (14) made a critical defensive stop on Duke’s Grayson Allen at the end of regulation. Kansas would prevail in overtime, 85–81.

Round 4

Villanova coach Jay Wright was content to take a confetti bath as the Wildcats celebrated reaching their second Final Four in three seasons

Round 4

Muhammad-Ali Abdur-Rahkman and the Wolverines dominated Florida State on both ends of the court for their 13th straight win.

Round 4

Florida State coach Leonard Hamiltong did not want to discuss his decision to not foul in the final seconds of the loss to Michigan with CBS’s Dana Jacobson.

Final Four

Moritz Wagner was the star of Michigan's 69–57 win over Loyola–Chicago in the Final Four, but he almost knocked out the TBC broadcast crew in the process and even broke Bill Raftery's glasses.

Final Four

Loyola-Chicago's dream Cinderella run came to an end at the hands of Michigan in the Final Four, a heartbreaking defeat in the last game of Ramblers' senior Ben Richardson's career.

Final Four

When Bill Self took out his star senior at the end of the national semifinals game against Villanova, Devonte' Graham buried his head in his coach's chest. Villanova finished with a record-setting 18 three-pointers in a 95-79 win over Kansas.

Final

After draining his fifth three pointer of the night, Donte DiVincenzo hit the courtside crowd with a sly wink. The "Big Ragu" finished with 31 points and was named Most Outstanding Player in the national title game.

Final

Villanova guard Jalen Brunson shared a moment with coach Jay Wright as the national championship game came to an end on Monday night.

Final

Villanova captured its second title in three years under coach Jay Wright, winning all six of its NCAA Tournament games by double figures.

Published Apr 5, 2018

SI STAFF