2000s: Top 10 College Hoops Games

SI Staff | Dec 17, 2009

2000s: Top 10 College Hoops Games

Baylor 116, Texas A&M 110 (5 OT) | Jan. 23, 2008

AP

In the longest game in Big 12 history, Curtis Jerrells scored 11 of his 36 points in the fifth and final overtime to lift Baylor after five of the 11 Bears who had played had fouled out and two others had four fouls. Three players logged at least 56 minutes for the Texas A&M, including Bryan Davis, who finished with 30 points and 14 rebounds, and Dominique Kirk, whose buzzer-beating tip-in forced the second overtime.

North Carolina 75, Illinois 70 | 2005 NCAA title game

Robert Beck/SI

Of the four No. 1 vs. No. 2 games in the decade, only one was played in the NCAA tournament. Appropriately enough, it came in the title game, where No. 1 Illinois met No. 2 North Carolina, the first time the top two teams faced off for the championship since 1975. The game didn't disappoint, as the Illini rallied from 15 points down in the second half to force two late ties. The Tar Heels went ahead 72-70 with 1:20 remaining and survived three missed three-pointers that could have tied the game or put Illinois in front. Sean May had 26 points and 10 rebounds for the Tar Heels, who got Roy Williams his first national title.

Arizona 96, Gonzaga 95 (2 OT) | 2003 NCAA second round

John W. McDonough/SI

This is the first of two appearances for Gonzaga on this list (and what some would call the best Zags game, a 73-71 loss to UCLA in the 2006 NCAA tournament, narrowly missed the cut). Arizona's Salim Soudamire made a short jumper with 2:03 remaining to put the Wildcats in front 96-95 in the second overtime -- the game's last points -- but there was still plenty of drama remaining. The Bulldogs had two shots in the final seconds, but Tony Skinner missed a three and Blake Stepp missed a bank shot as the horn sounded. Luke Walton, a star senior forward for top-seeded Arizona, sent the game into the second overtime by making a jumper in the closing seconds.

Duke 98, Maryland 96 (OT) | Jan. 27, 2001

Manny Millan/SI

In the first of four classics between those two teams that year (including a meeting in the Final Four), Duke pulled off a miracle comeback at College Park. The second-ranked Blue Devils trailed No. 8 Maryland by 10 points with 54 seconds left, but All-America guard Jason Williams made two three-pointers and a pair of free throws in a 14-second span to get Duke within two. Two free throws from Nate James sent it to overtime. With Duke up two and four seconds left, National Player of the Year Shane Battier blocked a shot by Maryland's Juan Dixon that would have tied the game.

Oklahoma State 105, Texas 103 (3 OT) | Jan. 16, 2007

AP

Center Mario Boggan, a 16 percent three-point shooter, made a trey with 3.2 seconds left in the third overtime to lead the 12th-ranked Cowboys past the 21st-ranked Longhorns. Boggan finished with career highs of 37 points and 20 rebounds in 54 minutes. Kevin Durant, who would become the first freshman to win National Player of the Year, had given Texas the lead on a three-point play with 10 seconds to go, part of a 37-point, 12-rebound effort. "I don't know if I'll ever be involved in another one like that," Texas coach Rick Barnes said.

George Mason 86, UConn 84 (OT) | 2006 NCAA regional final

John Biever/SI

The Patriots punctuated their stunning run to the Final Four by overcoming a nine-point deficit in the second half against the top-seeded Huskies, who entered the game at 29-4 and featured a starting lineup with five future NBA draft picks. The George Mason starters accounted for 83 of the team's 86 points, led by 20 from Jai Lewis. UConn's Denham Brown missed a potential game-winning three-pointer at the overtime buzzer.

Gonzaga 109, Michigan State 106 | Nov. 22, 2005

AP

This was classic March Madness ... in November. In the quarterfinals of the Maui Invitational, Gonzaga's Adam Morrison scored a tournament-record 43 points; Michigan State's Maurice Ager countered with 36, including a game-tying three at the buzzer in regulation. The lead changed hands 13 times in the final 7:30 of regulation, including four in the final 1:14.

Elite Eight | 2005 NCAA tournament

John W. McDonough/SI, David E. Klutho/SI, John Biever/SI

Three games from this round could each occupy spots on this list, but the trio belongs together. For the first time in the Big Dance's 67-year history, three regional finals were decided in overtime. Two Final Four-bound teams staged improbable comebacks on the same day: Illinois (which erased a 15-point deficit in the final four minutes against Arizona) and Louisville (which rallied from 20 down against West Virginia). The next day, Kentucky forced overtime with Patrick Sparks' desperation three-pointer (which prompted a seven-minute review to confirm it was indeed a three) before Michigan State prevailed in double OT.

Kansas 75, Memphis 68 (OT) | 2008 NCAA title game

John Biever/SI

The first Final Four to feature all four No. 1 seeds was a dud on semifinal Saturday, but championship Monday more than made up for it. Sparked by freshman Derek Rose, Memphis led by nine with just over two minutes left, but Kansas made a furious rally and tied the game on a fading three-pointer by Mario Chalmers with 2.1 seconds left. That shot set up the first overtime title game in 11 years and only the third since 1964. The Jayhawks controlled the extra period and salted away the game by doing the one thing the Tigers could not do in regulation -- make free throws in the final seconds.

Syracuse 127, UConn 117 (6 OT) | 2009 Big East tournament

AP

The Orange and the Huskies thrilled a late-night crowd at Madison Square Garden with a 3-hour, 46-minute game for the ages in the tournament quarterfinals. It nearly ended in regulation on a three-pointer by Syracuse's Eric Devendorf, but officials correctly ruled the ball was still in his hands when the clock expired. The Orange didn't grab their first lead of any extra session until the sixth and final overtime, when they finally pulled away to win the longest game in conference history. Before the final buzzer at 1:22 a.m., eight players had fouled out and six had recorded double-doubles.