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Buzzer-beaters, upsets and unbeatens
This weekend had it all, from remarkable rallies from Seton Hall, triple OT games, and more than a few wild shots. We break it all down.
Mike Miller
January 05, 2026
Good morning! What a college hoops weekend.
1. Quite the weekend for wild finishes
If 2026’s first weekend’s any indication of what the year holds for college hoops, I can’t wait to see what’s next.
There were half a dozen wild finishes over the last three days that resulted in buzzer-beaters, upsets and remarkable rallies.
Take No. 23 and its 104-100 overtime win Saturday vs. Auburn. The Dawgs (13-1, 1-0 in SEC) led by four points with five seconds left in OT, then fouled Auburn on a 3-point attempt with less than a second left. And it wasn’t OK.
Yes, Georgia, which got 31 points from Jeremiah Wilkinson, won the game. But someone check Mike White’s blood pressure. Also notable: Auburn (9-5, 0-1), did not start Tahaad Pettiford, who had a game-high 25 points. Here’s why.
That finish was quick compared to San Diego State’s 110-107 triple-overtime win on Saturday over Boise State. There’s a comprehensive summary here. The short(er) version: SDSU (9-4, 3-0 in MWC) led by 24, but blew that lead and Boise (9-5, 1-2) tied it with about four minutes left and had a chance to win in regulation. No dice.
The first OT is back and forth and Boise leads until BJ Davis calmly does this.
SDSU controls double OT, but Boise forces triple OT and essentially runs out of gas. “We snatched victory from the jaws of defeat, then we snatched defeat from the jaws of victory,” Boise State coach Leon Rice said. “I mean, just crazy. You expect nothing less (in this series). It’s unreal.”
Seton Hall’s 56-54 win on Sunday against Creighton didn’t have the same scoring, but was no less dramatic. The Pirates (13-2, 3-1 in Big East trailed by 16 points in the second half, but shot 86.7% from the field in that half — while holding Creighton (9-6, 3-1) to 20% from the field.
And once it got a game-winner from Najai Hines, it was time to celebrate in Newark. "We’re going to fight until there are zero seconds on the clock,” coach Shaheen Holloway said afterward.
How can you not love college hoops?
More wild finishes and buzzer-beaters:
Josh Hubbard’s 38-point night was the stuff of Steph Curry, and was the difference for the Bulldogs (9-5, 1-0 in SEC). Texas (9-5, 0-1) also helped a little.
Dayton beat Loyola Chicago on Javon Bennett’s drive to the basket with 1.9 seconds left.
Belmont (13-3, 3-2 in MVC) blew a 9-point lead with 2:44 remaining as Southern Illinois (8-8. 2-3) pulled off a Sunday stunner.
Jackson Paveletzke’s buzzer-beating 3-pointer gave Ohio a 68-67 win at Eastern Michigan.
North Dakota State’s Damari Wheeler-Thomas hit 2 free throws to force OT, then Oral Roberts’ Jack Turner forced double OT on a late tip-in. Noah Feddersen finally won it for the Bison off a rebound in the final second.
Daeshun Ruffin scored 31 points as Jackson State beat Alcorn State, 89-86, for its second win of the season.
And this doesn’t even include the confounding Cal-Notre Dame finish from Friday night. I’ll dive more into that below.
2. Rough Saturday for traditional blue bloods
It doesn’t happen often, but Kansas, Kentucky, North Carolina and UCLA all lost on the same day. Those traditional blue bloods had plenty of company, though.
