The Most Incredible Buzzer-Beaters of the 2015-16 College Basketball Season

If there's anything that gets a fan more in the mood for March Madness than a good old-fashioned buzzer-beater, I don't what it is. 

Nothing this side of David Barrett has the Pavlovian ability of a last-second shot to send college hoopsters into a Big Dance reverie.

Therefore, now that the ol' calendar has finally flipped to the month of madness, let us get into the spirit of the season with a look at the best buzzer-beaters of the season.

We included these for their drama and their March feel, even if they happened in the dead of January.

Only true buzzer-beaters were considered; no half-timers here. Also, only D-I schools were eligible, and yes, if there's still a second or two left on the clock when the shot goes in, we can still relax a little bit and call that a buzzer-beater.

Louisiana Tech's Derric Jean Downs Half-Court Shot, Marshall

Jay LaPrete/Associated Press

This one gets special consideration because, well, it just happened Thursday.

There may not have been a national spotlight on Louisiana Tech vs. Marshall, but there were implications for Conference USA, where the two programs were vying for high seeds in the all-important-at-this-level conference tournament.

It looked like the Thundering Herd were going to pull it out, until Bulldogs guard Derric Jean played this little number from center court.

"

Holy 😱 didn't know @StephenCurry30 was playing for @LATechHoops 🔥🔥🔥 @LATechSports @CUSAMBK #Halfcourtshot #CUSAMBK pic.twitter.com/CIJte9J05j

— American Sports Net (@LiveOnASN) March 4, 2016"

Georgia Tech Floater Sinks Notre Dame

Marcus Georges-Hunt is quietly having a solid season for the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets. He's currently seventh in the ACC with 16.8 points per game.

It's been quiet mainly because Georgia Tech is not good, with a 17-13 record and a standing of 12th place in the conference.

The team and Georges-Hunt have still had their moments, though, perhaps none more notable than Georges-Hunt's spin into the lane and double-clutch floater to down then-No. 19 Notre Dame.

Melo Trimble Flushes Wisconsin

Buzzer-beaters on the road are always a little surreal. And the crowd goes quiet!

Such was the case January 9 when Maryland point guard Melo Trimble buried a three in the final moments to further what was then some considerable college basketball agony in Madison. Less than a month after head coach Bo Ryan's surprise retirement, this loss was Wisconsin's second straight and gave the defending national finalists a 9-8 record on the season.

But don't worry too much for Wisconsin fans. They eventually resurrected themselves and are now squarely in position to return to the big tournament. They even had their revenge on the Terps in College Park. And they didn't need a buzzer-beater to do it, cruising to a 13-point win.

Wolfpack Keep the Eagles Grounded

If a buzzer-beater can be a bummer, here it is.

No disrespect to NC State and Maverick Rowan, the freshman who flashed open just long enough to chip in the game-winning layup on Wednesday to beat Boston College 73-72.

It's just that BC appeared on the cusp of its first ACC win of the season. They had NC State star and ACC leading scorer Cat Barber blanketed on the play. And then Rowan somehow leaked through, and Boston College fell to 0-17 in conference play.

The 7-23 Eagles have one more chance to avoid losing the entire slate when they face Clemson on Saturday. If they can't get it done, Boston College will apparently become the first major college program in nearly 40 years to go winless through a conference in both football and basketball in the same season.

Ouch.

Texas A&M Takes a Wild One from Kentucky

February 20 might have given Texas A&M the biggest win of a big season in College Station. 

It didn't come without some strangeness. A dicey technical foul on Kentucky late in the overtime period ultimately put the Aggies in position to win what had been quite a back-and-forth contest.

A&M guard Danuel House missed his own buzzer-beater, but freshman big man Tyler Davis' putback edged out the clock to deliver the win.

The victory helped stop the bleeding in what had to that point been a miserable 1-4 month for the Aggies.

Mississippi State Puts Vanderbilt in a Quinndary

Malik Newman must have been lucky to have Quinndary Weatherspoon to bail him out.

The touted freshman had an opportunity to be the hero February 16 against highly favored Vanderbilt. He did not capitalize on that opportunity.

Down by two, the Bulldogs needed two to tie and three to win when Newman threw up a deep shot from straight away. The shot clunked off the backboard like a dodgeball throw. 

As Alysha Tsuji of USA Today blog For The Win tells it, the rebound came, "fortunately, into the hands of his teammate, Gavin Ware. Then, rather than trying to get a shot up quickly, Ware passed the ball back out and MSU whipped it around to freshman Quinndary Weatherspoon, who was ready to shoot in the corner." 

The second attempt looked a lot better, and it certainly sounded much better as it swished through the twine.

Lester Medford Sends Baylor Past Texas Tech

Point guard Lester Medford does some of everything for the Baylor Bears.

Except score.

That's not entirely true, but at 9.4 points per contest he's fifth on the team in that category and isn't what you'd call Baylor's go-to guy in most situations.

But apparently he's Option Numero Uno for buzzer-beaters.

On January 16, Medford—who was apparently sick that day, no less—canned his only three-pointer of the game to help Baylor avoid a road upset at Texas Tech.

"We told him that great players always play their best when they're sick," head coach Scott Drew said after the game. "So, I thought he really competed."

Well if that's all it takes, hey, Self, old people can dunk!

Grayson Allen's Controversial Finish

“The basketball gods were good."

That's one way to put it.

So sayeth head Blue Devil Mike Krzyzewski (according to Whitelaw Reid of the Charlottesville Daily Progress) after Duke's 63-62 win over Virginia in Durham, North Carolina on Feb. 13.

Star Cavalier Malcolm Brogdon hit what looked to be the go-ahead shot in the game. That is, until Duke guard Grayson Allen got into the lane and got off a wild, off-balance shot that did him one better. 

And that's when things went a little crazy. Scads of fans and observers said Allen did not get the shot off cleanly before his foot hit the ground and as such should have been whistled for the travel.

There was no call, though. Just another day in college basketball and another buzzer-beater memory for Duke fans.