Posted in

Ranking the 10 coolest plays of men’s 2026 March Madness, from Otega Oweh to Braylon Mullins

by sports••0
Ranking the 10 coolest plays of men’s 2026 March Madness, from Otega Oweh to Braylon Mullins

In practice, the NCAA Tournament is a zero-sum game. One entrant (that’s you, Michigan) claims the national championship; the other 67 feel the sting of elimination. It’s what gives March Madness its frenetic stakes. It also makes results feel ephemeral. Stories keep overwriting themselves, and audiences are conditioned to move on to the next stunner.

We as fans commit so much time to this journey, across quadbox broadcasts and three separate weekends. We should celebrate all that we saw, even if most of it was rendered into prologue. Accordingly, I’ve put together what I think are the 10 coolest plays from this year’s proceedings. Drop a comment to let me know what was appreciated or what I slept on.

You can watch live sports with Fubo (Stream Free Now!).

Let’s hit a quick caveat before we break it down. These are not the 10 most consequential plays of the tournament. By design, most of those come in the Final Four or national title game. Rather, these plays are about in-the-moment brilliance. Fittingly, we start high above the rim:

10. Malique Ewin, Arkansas (Sweet 16)

Put-back dunks are extra cool because of the sound — that metallic thud captured by the back-rim microphone. One-handed reverse put-back dunks are extra extra cool, as Ewin so generously demonstrated for us:

The crowd’s collective gasp made it really pop. Arkansas lost to Arizona in this regional semifinal, but Ewin’s jam gave its audience the Edvard Munch face.

9. Chase Johnston, High Point (round of 64)

High Point was indeed the high point of this year’s opening round. The program entered the bracket with zero tournament wins, and it drew a formidable power-conference opponent in fifth-seeded Wisconsin.

The Badgers led the Panthers by eight points with less than five minutes to go. Then came Johnston’s gliding transition trey from way beyond the arc. This was the bucket that spawned High Point’s late surge:

Johnston went on to hit the decisive layup, his first made 2-pointer of the season (!). But this 3 still looks like the cooler play, absolutely mesmerizing in a vacuum. I could watch it on a loop for an hour straight.

8. Yaxel Lendeborg, Michigan (Elite Eight)

It gets lost in the championship run, but the Wolverines’ leader really pulled off a Euro step reverse and-1. That sounds like a syntax error, but it looks smooth as silk:

Lendeborg’s flashiest move happened in front of the bright orange Tennessee baseline. It ripped open the momentum for Michigan, and a close game soon ballooned to a blowout. Will Tschetter’s on-court reaction drove the feeling home.

7. Trey Kaufman-Renn, Purdue (Sweet 16)

Kaufman-Renn is an Indiana native who played all 147 of his collegiate games with Purdue. Even though his Boilermakers bowed out in the Elite Eight, this buzzer-beating tip-in versus Texas felt like the crowning achievement of a meaningful career:

It’s not the sleekest game winner of this tournament, but it was thrilling nonetheless, especially coming from a four-year program staple.

6. Terrence Hill Jr., VCU (round of 64)

This shot has everything one could want from a first-round highlight. It’s a small school versus a historic blue blood. It’s the coronating moment of a huge second-half comeback. It’s icy isolation with crossover, fadeaway swagger. And it got Ian Eagle to erupt:

“Ohhh yeah!,” indeed.

5. Dylan Darling, St. John’s (round of 32)

The Johnnies’ buzzer-beater over Kansas was made sweeter by narrative arc and dramatic tension. The Jayhawks had just tied the game with Darryn Peterson, prodigal freshman and potential No. 1 NBA Draft pick. Rick Pitino was scheming an after-timeout set against another all-time great head coach in Bill Self.

And, as detailed by The Athletic’s Sam Blum, Darling told Pitino to call his number for the final possession, even though the redshirt junior was scoreless to that point. The result:

Kevin Harlan’s revved-up call minted a classic.

4. Braden Frager, Nebraska (round of 32)

Frager’s finish against Vanderbilt can stand on its own. The Cornhuskers were coming off of their first-ever NCAA Tournament win, and the Nebraska-raised freshman fearlessly went to the rack as time wound down. It looked like coach Fred Hoiberg was going to call timeout for that final possession — until he didn’t.

The red-clad crowd went bonkers, and for an instant, the Huskers were America’s team:

And still … this moment is buoyed by what happened directly afterward. Tyler Tanner’s heave from behind the half-court line looked good up until the final millisecond. Sheesh.

3. Alvaro Folgueiras, Iowa (round of 32)

What was in the second-round water? St. John’s and Nebraska gave us two indelible game-winning baskets, but Iowa’s stands as the coolest for a few reasons. The other two shots were right at the rim, while the Hawkeyes hit a loping 3-pointer. The play was set up in frenzied full-court transition; Folgueiras’ feet were barely set as he shuffled into the catch-and-shoot corner:

This also knocked out a No. 1 seed … and the defending national champion.

2. Otega Oweh, Kentucky (round of 64)

In another world, Santa Clara’s Allen Graves makes this list. His steely go-ahead 3 was several feet behind the line, and it broke a 70-70 tie with 2.4 seconds left. However, we don’t live in that world. We live in this one, where Oweh drilled the equalizing miracle — on the run, off the dribble, well contested and from nearly half court:

What?! Kentucky won in overtime. Oweh’s 32-footer became the first weekend’s most disarming moment.

1. Braylon Mullins, UConn (Elite Eight)

What else could it possibly be? As The Athletic’s Ian O’Connor wrote, Mullins’ 35-foot dagger was a singular feat of March Madness. It permeated beyond sports to become a “where were you when?” cultural moment.

It also sealed an unprecedented comeback — before Connecticut’s triumph and Duke’s anguish, No. 1 seeds were 134-0 with a halftime lead of at least 15 points. Cinematic:

Mullins and his Huskies fell one game short of the ultimate glory, but this sequence will live forever. It belongs to the public now. The Cameron faithful have already closed this tab. Everyone else can bask in the surreal.

Streaming and ticketing links in this article are provided by partners of The Athletic. Restrictions may apply. The Athletic maintains full editorial independence. Partners have no control over or input into the reporting or editing process, and do not review stories before publication.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *