With the Big Dance on a short break, here are my Top 7 furious-finishes from the 2016 NCAA Tournament's opening weekend.

  • 7

    Cincinnati Bearcats Get Hearts Broken, Again

    After losing via a shocking buzzer beater in the American Athletic Conference tourney, the Cincinnati Bearcats still made the Big Dance, only to have their hearts broken again. Trailing by 2 with time expiring, this dunk that would have sent the game to overtime was waived off and ended (9) Cincy's season. Instead, (8) St Joseph's got to advance to the round of 32.

  • 6

    Irish Tip-Toe Into Sweet 16

    One of the 2016 Cinderella's saw its season end with a last second tip. The 14th-seeded Lumberjacks of SF Austin knocked off West Virginia, a third-seed. However, the their luck ran out as Notre Dame's kicked in. A tap and tip with 1.5 seconds remaining pushed the Irish into the Sweet 16 and send SF Austin packing.

  • 5

    Little Rock With A Lotta Fight

    There's no quit in the Trojans from Arkansas-Little Rock. A 12-seed, trailing by 11 with under 2:30 to play in their second round matchup with (5) Purdue Boilermakers, the Trojans fought back, capped by Josh Hagins'  game-tying 3-pointer from WAY DOWNTOWN that ultimately forced overtime. Little Rock would go on to defeat Purdue 85-81, only to be handily sent packing in the next round, losing 78-61 to Iowa St.

  • 4

    Midnight Strikes, Crushing UNI Panthers

    Further down on this list, you'll find the dramatic and stunning finish that propelled the University of Northern Iowa into this very game. However, despite the heroics (see below), midnight would eventually come for the Panthers. Leading by a dozen with 44 seconds to play, UNI would fumble-and-bumble-away their 12 point lead, allowing Texas A&M to complete a miracle comeback and send the game to overtime. In extra time, the Aggies would take the victory 92-88 to advance to the Sweet 16.

  • 3

    15 Over 2

    The men's NCAA Tournament has never seen, to date, a 16-seed knock-off a 1-seed. However, for the eighth time in tournament history, a 15 did beat a 2. And, maybe the most stunning part is that (2) Michigan State didn't play poorly. In fact, the team that many thought they should have been a tournament 1-seed, shot over 55% from the floor. For this upset, you must credit the incredible shooting performance of the Blue Raiders. Middle Tennesee also shot better than 55% for the entire game, including nearly 58% from 3-point range (11-19). Middle Tennesee went on to win 90-81. But, Jim Boeheim's 2-3 zone proved to be the antidote as Syracuse would advance to the Sweet 16 with a dominant 75-50 drubbing of the Blue Raiders.

  • 2

    Wisconsin Wins It At The Buzzer

    This was an exciting finish and buzzer beater that many on the East Coast probably didn't get a chance to watch LIVE. It was one of the late games on Sunday night and didn't have a ton of local interest. Not only did Wisconsin's Bronson Koenig nail a game-tying 3-ball with under 15 second to play, he banged this buzzer beating, game-winner as time expired to send the Badgers to the Sweet 16.

  • 1

    Texas Gets The Horns - UNI's Half-Court Buzzer Beater

    You can argue that some of these other plays should take the top spot, but I chose this one because it touched on so many key points: Buzzer beater, game winner, from half-court, and, it was an upset. The University of Northern Iowa's Paul Jesperson banked-it-in from the half-court line to beat the buzzer and stun Texas. Sadly, UNI's run came to close in their next game after blowing a 12-point lead with under a minute to play (see above).

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