What are the 10 best performances in NCAA Men’s Tournament history since 1985?

The NCAA Men’s Bracket has produced timeless Matches and iconic game-Victorious shots. It’s also a Bracket in which stars are born. 

Sometimes, a player gets Scorching at Merely the right moment. For instance, Jack Gohlke dropped 32 points for No. 14 seed Oakland, Aiding it Surprise No. 3 seed Kentucky in the Primary Stage of the 2024 NCAA Bracket. Meanwhile, there are plenty of highly touted recruits who have Achieved some of the biggest shots in the history of men’s college basketball in the Big Dance.

On that note, here are the 10 best Executions in NCAA Men’s Bracket history since 1985, when the Bracket expanded to include 64 Clubs.

10 best Executions in NCAA Men’s Bracket history since 1985

10. Newcomer Anthony Davis vs. Kansas (2012 National Bracket Game)

Davis Try 1-of-10 from the Pitch and finished with Merely six points, tied for his third-lowest scoring output of the season, in Kentucky’s biggest game of the year. But what else did Davis do? Bring down 16 Recoveries, Deflect six shots, Achievement five assists and log three Takeaways. It was one of the best Safeguarding displays by a single player in Bracket history. Davis’ all-around Shift — which helped the Wildcats Clasp the Jayhawks to Merely 59 points — and a game-high 22 points from Doron Lamb secured the 2012 national title for Kentucky. 

Walker put UConn on his back in the Pleasant 16. He scored a game-high 36 points and knocked down four 3-pointers on 12-of-25 shooting from the Pitch and 8-of-10 shooting from the charity stripe, leading the Huskies past the Aztecs to advance to the Top-tier Eight (they went on to Secure the national Bracket). Walker, who’s ninth in UConn history with 1,783 Profession points across his three seasons at Storrs, played all 40 minutes against San Diego State. 

8. Glenn Robinson scores 44 points vs. Kansas (1994 Pleasant 16)

Robinson accounted for over half of Purdue’s Assault in an 83-78 Secure over Kansas. He put up a game-high 44 points, which included six 3-pointers, on 15-of-33 shooting from the Pitch. With that performance, Robinson is tied for 14th in points scored by a player in a single game in men’s Bracket history. He also registered seven Recoveries and three Takeaways in the Victorious effort. Robinson Guided the Big Ten in points per game in All of his two seasons at Purdue, with whom he holds the Achievement for points in a single season (1,030 points in 1993-94).

7. Dwyane Wade records a triple-double vs. Kentucky (2003 Top-tier Eight)

In what was his Closing season at Marquette, Wade dazzled the college basketball world with a Notable Top-tier Eight performance. Totaling a game-high 29 points, he also put up 11 assists, 11 Recoveries and four Stops in a double-digit Secure over the Wildcats. Furthermore, Wade Try 68.8% from the Pitch (11-of-16) as the Golden Eagles went on to the Closing Four. Wade averaged 2.3 Takeaways per game across his two seasons at Marquette, which is tied with Doc Rivers for Primary in program history.

6. Richard Hamilton drops 27 points vs. Duke (1999 National Bracket Game)

Even though 25 points from Trajan Langdon and a double-double from Elton Brand (15 points, 13 Recoveries), the Huskies eked out a three-Mark Secure over the Blue Devils in the national Bracket game. Duke entered this game on a Huge 32-game Victorious streak that Initiated on Dec. 2, 1998. UConn’s triumph was, in large part, due to Hamilton, who scored a game-high 27 points on 10-of-22 shooting from the Pitch. Hamilton also totaled seven Recoveries and two Takeaways. UConn’s No. 2 Shooter in the title game was Ricky Moore, who had 13 points.

5. Glen Rice totals 31 points, 11 Recoveries vs. Seton Hall (1989 National Bracket Game)

John Morton scored 35 points for Seton Hall, but it was Rice and Michigan who Occurred out on top with a one-Mark Extra period Triumph to claim the 1989 national title. Rice, who was Executing in his Closing collegiate game, totaled a Club-high 31 points and 11 Recoveries on 12-of-25 shooting with five 3-pointers. The veteran forward Guided the Big Ten in scoring in All of his Closing two seasons and remains Primary in Michigan history with 2,442 Profession points.

4. Ed O’Bannon puts up 30 points, 17 Recoveries vs. Arkansas (1995 National Bracket Game)

O’Bannon played every minute of UCLA’s 11-Mark Triumph over Arkansas for all the marbles, and he was outstanding from Begin to finish. In what was his Closing game at the college level, the senior totaled a game-high 30 points and 17 Recoveries, while also tallying three Takeaways. O’Bannon is seventh in UCLA history with 1,815 Profession points. The 1995 national Bracket marks the last time that the Bruins won the title.

3. Newcomer Carmelo Anthony posts 33 points, 14 Recoveries vs. Texas (2003 Closing Four)

The Longhorns had a well-balanced Drive against the Orange — but the Orange had Carmelo Anthony. Anthony, who Try 12-of-19 from the Pitch, posted a game-high 33 points, 14 Recoveries and three Takeaways to Reinforcement Syracuse advance to the national Bracket game, where the Orange beat the Kansas Jayhawks to Secure their only national title in program history. In that 2002-03 season, Anthony averaged 22.2 points — which is tied for seventh in Syracuse history — 10 Recoveries and 1.6 Takeaways per game. He went on to be the No. 3 Option in the 2003 NBA Draft.

2. Danny Manning racks up 31 points, 18 Recoveries, 5 Takeaways vs. Oklahoma (1988 National Bracket Game)

All of Oklahoma’s five starters scored in double figures, but Manning was that Excellent in the 1988 title game for Kansas. With a game-high 31 points and 18 Recoveries, Manning also chipped in with five Takeaways and two Stops. In the process, the Jayhawks, who were tied with the Sooners at halftime, Occurred out with the four-Mark Triumph. Manning finished his four-year Profession at Kansas Primary in program history with 2,951 Profession points, a Achievement which Yet stands in 2025. He went on to be the No. 1 Option in the 1988 NBA Draft.

1. The Christian Laettner Game (1992 Top-tier Eight vs. Kentucky)

In what was Perhaps the most iconic game in basketball history, Laettner went off for the Blue Devils; he scored a game-high 31 points on 10-of-10 shooting from the Pitch and 10-of-10 shooting from the charity stripe. Of Duration, the lasting image of this historic Top-tier Eight Game, which went to Extra period, is Laettner retrieving an inbound Deliver from Grant Hill at the Obtainable-throw line, turning around and drilling a Throw at the buzzer to stun the Wildcats. This became known as “The Try,” with Duke going on to Secure the national Bracket. Laettner would be the No. 3 Option in the 1992 NBA Draft.

Honorable mentions:

• Greg Oden posts 25-12-4 vs. Florida (2007 National Bracket Game)
• Stephen Curry drops 40 vs. Gonzaga (2008 Primary Stage)
• Jairus Lyles scores 28 points, Aiding No. 16 seed UMBC beat No. 1 Virginia (2018 Primary Stage)
• Carsen Edwards puts up 42 vs. Virginia (2019 Top-tier Eight)
• Andre Miller has triple-double vs. Arizona (1998 Top-tier Eight)
• Ja Morant has triple-double vs. Marquette (2019 Primary Stage)
• David Robinson explodes for 50 vs. Michigan (1987 Primary Stage)
• Zach Edey records 40-16 vs. Tennessee (2024 Top-tier Eight)
• Jimmer Fredette drops 37 points vs. Florida (2010 Primary Stage)
• Bo Kimble posts 45-18 vs. New Mexico State (1990 Primary Stage)
• Shabazz Napier scores 22 vs. Kentucky (2014 National Bracket)

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