The 25 best Elite Eight moments

Before they became known as "Danny and the Miracles" for upsetting favored Oklahoma to win the 1988 national championship, Larry Brown's Jayhawks took care of rival and No. 4 seed Kansas State in the regional finals. Danny Manning scored 20 points and Milt Newton nearly recorded a triple-double as sixth-seeded Kansas turned a two-point halftime deficit into a resounding 71-58 victory, following a 44-point second half. This remains the only time Kansas and Kansas State have met in the NCAA Tournament. 

The Penn Quakers have been a perennial Ivy League power for decades, and in 1979, it enjoyed the best season in program history while reaching the Final Four. The ninth-seeded Quakers, led by star Tony Price, knocked off No. 1 North Carolina and No. 4 seed Syracuse before facing fellow underdog, 10th seed St. John's in the regional final. Thanks to 21 points from Price, Penn edged St. John's, which was unable to get a final shot in the waning seconds, 64-62. The Quakers, who lost to eventual national champion Michigan State in the Final Four, finished 25-7.

All those years watching Carolina neighbors like the Tar Heels, Wolfpack, and Blue Devils have all the NCAA Tournament fun, the Gamecocks thought it was time to get in on the action. As the No. 7 seed in 2017, South Carolina upset Duke and Baylor to set up an Elite Eight date with fourth-seeded Florida. The Gamecocks trailed by seven at halftime, but regrouped behind Sindarius Thornwell's 26 points and held the Gators to three field-goal attempts over the final 3:55 of the game to pull out a 77-70 victory and earn the school's first berth in the Final Four.

Butler's second straight, but still seemingly improbable, run to the 2011 national championship game included a win over No. 1 seed Pittsburgh and fourth-seeded Wisconsin before facing No. 2 seed Florida in the regional final. Though the eighth-seeded Bulldogs needed overtime to pull off another upset, their nine three-pointers and 41-34 rebounding advantage were enough to beat the Gators 74-71.

Loyola, Chicago, which won a national title during a historic run in 1963, also became the fourth No. 11 seed to reach the Final Four -- tying the record for lowest seed to do so -- after it shot 57.4 percent to take down ninth-seeded Kansas State 78-62 in the 2018 regional final. After winning its first three games of the NCAA Tournament by a combined four points, this was the Ramblers' most decisive triumph of the event, and perhaps a sign they were worthy of a spot in the Final Four all along.

Syracuse's 2016 run to the Final Four as a No. 10 seed was highlighted by its 68-62 victory over top seed Virginia in the Elite Eight. Most notably because the Orange had to fight their way back from a 35-21 halftime deficit and 16-point hole early in the second half. Malachi Richardson scored 21 of his 23 points in the second half, where Syracuse used a 15-0 run to turn the tides and become, at the time, the fourth double-digit seed to reach the national semifinal round.

Kentucky was in the midst of an undefeated season when it ran into the third-seeded Irish in the 2015 regional final. The Wildcats trailed by six points with a little more than five minutes to play in the game. However, they made their final nine shots and Andrew Harrison sank a pair of three throws with six seconds left in regulation to pull out the 68-66 victory and remain undefeated -- at least for one more week.

Coached by Rick Pitino and led by a guard named Billy Donovan, sixth-seeded Providence rolled to a 103-82 win over No. 2 Alabama in the Sweet 16 but faced powerhouse, No. 1 seed Georgetown, which it lost 84-66 to in the Big East tournament, in the national final. But Reggie Williams and the Hoyas proved no match for the Friars, who shot 54.3 percent and forced 15 turnovers in the 88-73 victory. Donovan scored 16 of his 20 points from the free-throw line.

Stephen Curry's remarkable NCAA Tournament performance, averaging 32.0 points and shooting 44.2 percent from three-point range, is still worth talking about. The only thing missing from that overall body of work was Curry and his Cinderella, 10th-seeded Davidson squad falling short of a Final Four appearance. Curry had 25 points in the Elite Eight contest versus No. 1 seed and eventual national champ Kansas, but even with that and the Wildcats' overall gritty effort, they could not overcome shooting 38.6 percent and going 8-of-27 from three-point range in the 59-57 loss.

Not even 24 points and 14 rebounds from Zion Williamson, in what would be his final collegiate game, could save 32-win, top-seeded Duke from falling 68-67 to No. 2 seed Michigan State in this 2019 regional final classic. That's because Spartans guard Cassius Winston (20 points, 10 assists) was better overall, and teammate Kenny Goins nailed the go-ahead basket with 34.3 seconds left in regulation. 

The "Cardiac Pack" might be responsible for the most memorable underdog run to a national title in college hoops history. Just to get an invite to the Big Dance, Jim Valvano's North Carolina State squad need to slay the giant Ralph Sampson and Virginia in the ACC Tournament final. In order to reach the Final Four, the sixth-seeded Wolfpack had to do it again in the 1983 regional final. And thanks to 24 points from Dereck Whittenburg, late free throws from Lorenzo Charles, and 15 forced turnovers, N.C. State overcame Sampson's 23 points, 11 boards, and the top-seeded Cavaliers' 63.4-percent shooting effort to pull out a 63-62 win.

We love it when matchups between Nos. 1 and 2 seeds are entertaining and competitive. That was the case in 2014, when second-seeded Wisconsin edged No. 1 seed Arizona, 64-63 in overtime, to punch a ticket to the first of back-to-back Final Four trips. Badgers star Frank Kaminsky scored six of his 28 points in the extra session; and pulled down 11 boards, as his squad outlasted the Wildcats in a contest fitting for those who enjoy good defensive basketball. 

Indiana's most recent national title came in 1987 (thank you, Keith Smart). However, the NCAA Tournament road to that championship wasn't easy. The Hoosiers beat fifth-seeded Duke by six in the Sweet 16, then had their collective hands full with No. 10 seed LSU in the regional final. Indiana faced a nine-point hole with 4:38 to play but stepped up defensively to force four turnovers and hold the Tigers to one field-goal attempt over the final 4:18. Down one, Ricky Calloway scored the winning bucket with 6 seconds to play on a put-back of Daryl Thomas' airball.

Despite bringing 10 losses into the 2014 NCAA Tournament, freshman-laden, No. 8 seed Kentucky got hot at the right time and made it all the way to the national championship game. The Wildcats' earned their Final Four berth after one of those freshmen, Aaron Harrison, knocked down a deep three-pointer with 2.3 seconds left in regulation for a 75-72 victory over No. 2 seed Michigan.

We touched on Loyola as the fourth No. 11 seed of all time to reach the Final Four. The first, however, was LSU. To get there, these Tigers, who took 11 losses into the 1986 NCAA Tournament, beat the top-three seeds in the Southeast Region. It was at the regional final where the Tigers topped No. 1 seed Kentucky 59-57. That victory came a little more than two weeks after the Wildcats beat LSU 61-58 during the SEC Tournament.

Some Villanova folks have dubbed the Wildcats' 78-76, 2009 regional-final victory over No. 1 seed Pittsburgh the "Game of the Decade." With the game tied at 76, Wildcats guard Scottie Reynolds took a touch-pass from teammate Dante Cunningham at roughly three-quarter court, then weaved his way toward the paint and into a wall of Pitt defenders before dropping his runner in with .5 seconds to play. It secured the program's first Final Four appearance since winning the 1985 national championship.

With one stroke from deep, John Lucas' three-pointer with 6.9 seconds remaining in regulation ended Saint Joseph's special 2004 season. Lucas' go-ahead basket gave second-seeded Oklahoma State a 64-62 regional-final victory in one of the great NCAA Tournament contests of all time. While the Cowboys moved on to the Final Four, the Hawks -- paced the backcourt of Jameer Nelson and Delonte West -- finished  30-2.

Kansas was a No. 1 seed. VCU was the 11th and had taken part in a "First Four" play-in game to open the 2011 NCAA Tournament. Didn't matter, because the Cinderella Rams had all the confidence in this Elite Eight contest. In the end, it wasn't really close. Jamie Skeen had 26 points with 10 rebounds and VCU held the blue-blood Jayhawks to 2-of-21 shooting from three-point range and forced 14 turnovers en route to a memorable 71-61 victory.

Another special matchup between college basketball bluebloods. And, in the case of this 2017 Elite Eight contest, a meeting between Nos. 1 and 2 seeds. The Tar Heels were the top seed, while Kentucky was right behind. It also lived up to the hype, coming right down to the final seconds. After Kentucky's Malik Monk tied at 73 with a three-pointer, Luke Maye's jumper with 0.3 seconds remaining in regulation gave Carolina the 75-73 victory.

The Elite Eight weekend of the 2005 NCAA Tournament might have been the most exciting two days of basketball in the history of the Big Dance. We start with fourth-seeded Louisville coming back from a 13-point halftime deficit to take down Kevin Pittsnogle (25 points, 6-of-9 three-pointers) and No. 7 seed West Virginia by scoring 50 second-half points to force overtime. Behind the play of Larry O'Bannon (24 points) and Taquan Dean (23 points), the Cardinals took control in the extra session for a 93-85 victory. 

Talk about wild. No. 2 seed Kentucky trailed by eight points with 5:25 left in regulation, but deep-threat Patrick Sparks (15 points, five three-pointers) helped get his team back into the game, and the Wildcats even led before Michigan State tied it with 1:03 left in regulation. This instant classic, where these college hoops giants combined to go 19-of-38 from three-point range -- would need two overtimes to decide a winner, which would be the fifth-seeded Spartans, 94-88.

Some fans or college hoops experts might argue, but the highlight of that wildly entertaining Elite Eight weekend of 2005 came when No. 1 seed Illinois rallied to beat third-seeded Arizona 90-89 in overtime. Playing in the suburbs of Chicago, the Illini trailed Arizona by 15 points with a little over four minutes to play. But paced by Deron Williams and Luther Head, Illinois went on a furious 20-5 run to force overtime, then ultimately win it for its first trip to the Final Four since 1989.

George Mason's run to the Final Four in 2006 remains one of the most improbable performances in NCAA Tournament history. Seeded 11th, the mid-major Patriots, under coach Jim Larranaga, beat Michigan State, No. 3 seed North Carolina and fellow upstart Wichita State to reach the regional final versus top-seed Connecticut. Against the Huskies, George Mason hit half of its 60 field-goal attempts, made nine three-pointers, and got 19 points with 12 rebounds from center Will Thomas to win 86-84 in overtime. At the time, George Mason was the second double-digit seed ever to reach the Final Four.

A year after being stunned by No. 16 seed University of Maryland, Baltimore County, top-seeded Virginia redeemed itself by winning the school's first national title in 2019. In the process, the Cavaliers survived a grueling and intense three-game stretch. In the regional final, Virginia overcame 42 points from Purdue's Carsen Edwards and needed a Mamadi Diakite-tying bucket at the end of regulation to ultimately beat the third-seeded Boilermakers 80-75 in overtime.

The title says it all. And, most college basketball fans of age know what we mean without any names involved. Duke's 104-103 overtime-victory over Kentucky in the 1992 regional final is widely regarded as the best game in NCAA Tournament history. The contest was insanely competitive — Kentucky shot 56.9 percent and Duke a ridiculous 65.4 — and the teams combined to go 20 of 38 from three-point range. It was heated and physical and exemplified the madness of March. Of course, the most lasting memory of that game was Christian Laettner's winning turn-around jumper from the free-throw line off a perfect three-quarter court inbound pass from Grant Hill.