Bad beats are as much a part of March Madness as buzzer-beaters and bracket busters.
In 2023, Gonzaga bettors were dealt a brutal bad beat in the final game of the second round of the NCAA Tournament.
Gonzaga, a 4½-point favorite over TCU, led 82-75 when Rondel Walker hit a 3-pointer with five seconds left to cut the Horned Frogs’ deficit to 82-78. For a moment, it appeared Bulldogs bettors were bailed out when Gonzaga’s Hunter Sallis was fouled with 0.7 seconds to go and hit both free throws for an 84-78 lead and apparent cover.
But it wasn’t over.
TCU rolled the inbounds pass up the court, and Damion Baugh waited for the ball to cross midcourt before he picked it up and drained a 3 at the buzzer to deal a bad beat for the ages to Zags backers in their 84-81 win — and a miraculous cover to Horned Frogs bettors.
The crowd at the game in Denver, where sports betting is legal, erupted, and so did the crowds at Las Vegas sportsbooks.
Here are five more of the worst bad beats in NCAA Tournament history:
5. Kansas 75, Memphis 68 (OT, national championship, 2008)
Memphis, a 2-point favorite, blew a 9-point lead with less than two minutes left in regulation as Derrick Rose and Chris Douglas-Roberts missed four of five free throws down the stretch, giving Mario Chalmers a chance to hit a game-tying 3-pointer with 2.1 seconds left to force overtime.
4. N.C. State 80, Arkansas-Little Rock 66 (2OT, round of 32, 1986)
The No. 14-seeded Trojans knocked off No. 3 seed Notre Dame in the opening round and were on the verge of pulling off another upset in the second round as 8½-point underdogs to N.C. State. Little Rock led by five in overtime before the Wolfpack rallied to force a second overtime, where they reeled off a 14-0 run to not only extinguish any hopes of an outright upset, but to torch all tickets on the underdogs.
3. Boston College 88, Pacific 76, 2OT (first round, 2006)
Pacific, an 8-point underdog, tied the game on a 3-pointer in the final seconds of regulation to send the game to overtime, where it blew a 6-point lead. The Eagles then outscored the Tigers 14-2 in the second overtime to cover.
2. Duke 63, Utah 57 (Sweet 16, 2015)
Duke backers will recall this as a miracle cover, but it was a brutal bad beat for Utes bettors, who were looking at either a win at +5½ or a push at +5 when the scoreboard showed a 62-57 final and the players started walking off the court. But officials then ruled a foul had occurred with 0.7 seconds left when Utah’s Brandon Taylor inexplicably fouled Quinn Cook as he tried to dribble out the clock after grabbing a rebound. Cook missed the first free throw, then made the second to cash all Blue Devils tickets.
1. UConn 79, Duke 78 (Final Four, 2004)
In arguably the most infamous bad beat in March Madness history, Duke’s Chris Duhon banked in an otherwise meaningless running 38-foot 3-pointer at the buzzer to crush bettors who backed UConn as a favorite of between 1½ and 2½ points.
The Huskies went on a late 11-0 run to go ahead 78-75 with 3.2 seconds left and UConn center Emeka Okafor at the line with a chance to seal the cover. He missed the first free throw and hit the second to ensure the win but not the cover.
Duhon then took the inbounds pass and raced across half-court before driving a dagger through the hearts of UConn bettors.
CBS announcer Jim Nantz said after Duhon’s shot that “it doesn’t matter.” He could not have been more wrong.
Contact reporter Todd Dewey at tdewey@reviewjournal.com. Follow @tdewey33 on X.
