The 15 best games from the 2011-2012 season

1. December 10th: Indiana 73, No. 1 Kentucky 72: After the rematch that took place in the Sweet 16, we should all be well-versed in what happened on that Saturday afternoon. Indiana took advantage of foul trouble for Anthony Davis and a poor showing from Terrence Jones to jump ahead by as many as ten points during the second half, but Kentucky came storming back to take the lead in the final seconds. After missing a couple of free throws late, Kentucky missed on a chance to foul the Hoosiers when they were up two on the final possession, setting up this memorable buzzer-beater from Christian Watford.

There was more to this game than the simple fact that Indiana and Kentucky, two heated rivals, were playing. The Hoosiers made a statement for themselves that they were back and once again relevant nationally.

2. February 25th: No. 3 Kansas 87, No. 5 Missouri 86 OT: Playing in what could end up being the final edition of the Border War, the Tigers and the Jayhawks certainly did not disappoint. Missouri opened up a 19 point lead early in the second half, but Thomas Robinson and Tyshawn Taylor led Kansas back. The Jayhawks finished their rally when Robinson scored a three-point play with 16 seconds left. In overtime, Kansas jumped out to a lead, answering every Marcus Denmon jump shot, before Taylor won the game with two free throws with 8.3 seconds left.

3. December 3rd: No. 1 Kentucky 73, No. 5 North Carolina 72: This game had more preseason hype than any this year, and it certainly did not disappoint. The Tar Heels got up early and went into the halftime break with a 43-38 lead, but the Wildcats came back in the second half. Michael Kidd-Gilchrist had a bit of a coming out party, finishing with 17 points and 11 boards, but it was Anthony Davis’ block of a John Henson jumper with six seconds left that sealed the game. UNC missed an opportunity to foul in the final seconds and extend the game.

4. February 8th: No. 9 Duke 85, No. 5 North Carolina 84: The Blue Devils hung around with a very impressive first half, but UNC seemed to turn things on in the second half of the first battle between the two Tobacco Road rivals this year. The Tar Heels kept control of the game, but couldn’t seem to pull away down the stretch, allowing Duke to stay within 8-to-10 points. That cost them, as the Blue Devils used an impressive run to erase a 10 point lead in the final 2:30. The comeback was capped with a 3-pointer from Austin Rivers at the buzzer.

5. February 4th: No. 4 Mizzou 74, No. 8 Kansas 71: In the first game of the rivalry this season, it was Missouri’s opportunity to make a run and comeback on the Jayhawks. Down eight with three minutes left in the game, the Tigers went on an 11-0 run sparked by Marcus Denmon. He hit two ridiculous three and also finished a 3-point play in that stretch.

6. March 16th: No. 15 Norfolk State 86, No. 2 Missouri 84: Like any upset of a No. 2 seed, Norfolk State just refused to go away. Every time it looked like the Tigers were going to make a bit of a run, the Spartans would answer with s tough pull-up jumper or a banked-in three. Missouri just couldn’t escape. With the score finally tied and just under a minute left, Kyle O’Quinn — who finished with 26 points and 14 boards — followed up a missed shot with an and-one, and Norfolk State had their win.

7. November 30th: UNLV 94, UCSB 88 2OT: The wildest part about this game is that it wasn’t even on TV. UNLV, fresh off of their upset of then-No. 1 North Carolina, got the best that Orlando Johnson had to offer, as he finished with 36 points. UCSB forced the first OT when they missed the second free throw and tied it on an offensive rebound putback with just a second left. The second overtime was forced with Chace Stanback hit a game-tying three with 1.7 seconds left. UNLV pulled away in overtime.

8. March 22nd: No. 1 Syracuse 64, No. 4 Wisconsin 63: Wisconsin was absolutely unconscious from three, hitting 14-27 on the game and making six in a row on six straight possessions midway through the second half. But through it all, Syracuse never went away, managing to take a one point lead into the final possession. Unfortunately for the Badgers, they couldn’t make a 15th three, as Jordan Taylor missed at the buzzer in the Sweet 16.

9. March 8th: Cincinnati 72, No. 14 Georgetown 70 2OT: The Hoyas and the Bearcats traded haymakers down the stretch as Cincinnati outlasted Georgetown when a Henry Rims three bounced harmlessly off the rim.

10. February 14th: George Mason 62, VCU 61: Mason erased a five-point lead in the final minute despite the fact that VCU went 5-6 from the free throw line and didn’t commit a single turnover. The game ended like this.

11. November 30th: No. 22 Creighton 85, San Diego State 83: Doug McDermott scored 25 points and grabbed 12 boards as Creighton fought all the way back from 17 down in the first half at Viejas Arena. SDSU was down three in the final seconds, but Creighton opted to foul.

12. March 18th: No. 6 Cincinnati 62, No. 3 Florida State 56: Cincy capped off a comeback when Dion Dixon slammed home a dunk off of a steal to give the Bearcats the lead for good with 1:32 left in the game.

13. January 12th: Manhattan 75, Iona 72: Manhattan was down 18 points with eight minutes left in the game, but they managed to put together a furious rally to knock off the Gaels at home. The run was capped by this game winning three.

14. February 18th: Creighton 81, Long Beach State 79: Doug McDermott scored 36 points and grabbed 11 boards as the Bluejays fought back at home in their BracketBusters game with the 49ers. Antoine Young ended up hitting the game-winning shot with 0.3 seconds left.

15. January 7th: Stanford 103, Oregon State 101 4OT: With 37 seconds left in the fourth overtime, Chasson Randle scored his 24th point to give the Cardinals the win over the Beavers. 12 players scored in double figures.