
Unforgettable non-title classics: 25 years of NCAA tournament drama
Sports Illustrated ranks the 25 most memorable NCAA tournament games from 2000–2025 that did not decide the national champion, highlighting buzzer-beaters, upsets and late-game heroics across Final Four, Elite Eight, Sweet 16 and earlier rounds. Highlights include UNC–Duke (2022) and Gonzaga–UCLA (2021) in the Final Four, Wisconsin’s upset of Kentucky (2015), Virginia–Purdue (2019) in overtime, UMBC’s historic 2018 upset, and the 2025 Duke–Houston Final Four, among others; the piece notes that 2026 games were not considered.













