After parts one and two, we’re halfway through the top 10 championship games since 2010.
Games from three different sports have made the list. In basketball, Game 6 of the 2013 NBA Finals and Game 7 of the 2016 NBA Finals made the list. For hockey, two Olympic gold medal games (2010 and 2026) made the list. And of course, you can’t have a list of big games without THE game, the Super Bowl. Super Bowl LI more than earned its spot.
The remaining five games are the best of the best. The cream of the crop. It doesn’t get any better than these heart-stopping contests. And spoiler alert, the sports leagues that have made the list already don’t have any of the top five spots. So who else is in?
5. 2016 NCAA Men’s Basketball National Championship: Villanova def. North Carolina 77-74
Villanova and North Carolina both blew out just about everyone en route to the National Championship game. And boy, did this game have a big fight feel.
On Villanova stood now-NBA players Jalen Brunson, Josh Hart, Donte DiVincenzo, and Mikal Bridges. No player on the UNC roster turned into an NBA mainstay, but they had Michael Jordan in the stands cheering them on.
The game was close throughout, and no team ever pulled away. With 1:32 to go in the fourth, Marcus Paige sank a three to cut Villanova’s lead to 70-67. The Wildcats then turned the ball over, allowing the Tar Heels to score again to make it a one-point game.
With 27.1 seconds to go, Villanova was up 72-69. Paige missed an open layup, a disaster for UNC. But he somehow grabbed the ball among a sea of Wildcats and didn’t miss the second layup. Josh Hart sank two free throws on the other end, giving Villanova some breathing room.
But that breathing room wouldn’t last long. North Carolina tried going to Marcus Paige again, forcing a dangerous pass with Daniel Ochefu of Villanova in the passing lane. However, he botched the interception. Paige then got the ball and hit what is best described as a contested, double-clutch, split-legged three. The UNC fans erupted.
Then came the shot heard ‘round the world. Villanova’s Kris Jenkins inbounded to guard Ryan Arcidiacono, who set a half-court screen before hitting Jenkins, the trailer. Jenkins hoisted up and nailed the open triple over the unsuspecting Tar Heel defense. The Wildcat faithful went wild.
March Madness has 68 teams. Every game is win-or-go-home. For a team to win it all in that fashion is a once-in-a-lifetime event.
4. 2011 World Series Game 6: St. Louis Cardinals def. Texas Rangers 10-9 (11 Innings)
One of the biggest factors in making this list is pressure. There was no higher pressure ever on a team than in this game, where the Cardinals were a mere strike away from losing the World Series not once, but TWICE.
The game was destined to be a high-scoring affair from the start, with both teams scoring in the first inning. In the fourth, what should’ve been an easy fly-out to left field resulted in a double for the Rangers after Matt Holliday and Rafael Furcal miscommunicated.
Then, what could’ve been a double-play off a bunt for the Cardinals turned into a ball thrown into the outfield with everyone safe. While only the outfield miscommunication resulted in a Texas run, this was a game filled with the unexpected.
Error After Error After Error
In the bottom of the fourth, the Rangers began making their own mistakes. First baseman Michael Young fumbled a ground ball. He then recovered, only for pitcher Colby Lewis to blow the out by not stepping on first base to beat the runner, Lance Berkman. The Rangers then committed an error on a double play attempt, allowing Berkman to score later in the inning.
The mistakes continued in the next inning. Cardinals third baseman David Freese dropped an easy pop-up by Adrian Beltre. The Cardinals would allow a run but escape a bases-loaded jam to end the inning. Michael Young then made his second giant mistake of the game in the bottom of the fifth, dropping the ball on what could’ve been a double play.
In the same inning, Matt Holliday would make a baserunning error for St. Louis, where he strayed too far from third base with the bases loaded and Rangers catcher Mike Napoli threw him out. Third baseman Adrian Beltre blocked the bag, but it didn’t matter. It cost the Cardinals a run. The errors on both sides were piling up as much as the runs.
On The Ropes
The Rangers scored three runs in the seventh, almost putting the game out of reach. But the keyword there is “almost.” The Cardinals would score one run in the bottom of the eighth and leave the bases loaded.
In the bottom of the ninth, David Freese faced a 1-2 count with two runners on and two outs. He then hit a triple to tie the game. In the top of the tenth, Josh Hamilton belted a two-run shot into the stands to put the Rangers up two.
Lance Berkman then faced a 1-2 count in the same situation as Freese in the previous inning. He too came up clutch, batting in a run to tie the game. Freese would save St. Louis in the 11th inning with a walk-off home run to send the series to a Game 7 that the Cardinals would win.
3. 2018 CFP National Championship: Alabama def. Georgia 26-23
Kirby Smart, a former defensive coordinator at Alabama, left the Crimson Tide for Georgia in late 2015. Now, a couple of seasons later, he was going up against his former school and head coach, Nick Saban, with everything on the line.
This was the third of four years in a row that Alabama would play in the National Championship. It was one of 15 straight seasons where the Tide were, at some point, ranked No. 1 in the AP Poll. They were the powerhouse.
Georgia, on the other hand, was not yet the powerhouse it is known as today. But they were not to be denied and fought their way into the National Championship game.
Setting The Scene
Entering the College Football Playoff, Georgia was the No. 3 seed, and Alabama was ranked No. 4. Georgia scraped by in the semifinals with a 54-48 overtime win over Oklahoma. Alabama faced Clemson for the third time in four straight CFPs and won decisively, 24-6.
The matchup was filled with future NFL players. Tua Tagovailoa, Jalen Hurts, Josh Jacobs, DeVonta Smith, Najee Harris, Calvin Ridley, Jerry Jeudy, and Minkah Fitzpatrick were all on Alabama’s roster. On the other side stood Nick Chubb, Sony Michel, D’Andre Swift, Mecole Hardman, and Roquan Smith.
The Game
On Georgia’s first drive, Tony Brown of Alabama ripped the ball away from Georgia’s Javon Wims for an interception. But that was the Tide’s biggest highlight of the first half. They couldn’t get anything going offensively other than their first drive, where they missed a field goal.
Jalen Hurts, their quarterback, had only 21 passing yards and completed three of eight passes. Georgia was up 13-0 at the half.
So Nick Saban made a bold move, subbing in true freshman Tua Tagovailoa at QB. On Tua’s second offensive drive, he escaped three Bulldogs defenders simultaneously on a 3rd-and-7 to get a first down. That drive led to a big touchdown to get the Tide on the board.
But the Bulldogs responded with a bomb of a touchdown to Mecole Hardman, and Bama had to climb back again. The game then saw back-to-back interceptions. Georgia picked off Tua, and then, an Alabama lineman picked off a ball that was batted in the air.
Down To The Wire
After that, the Tide sank two field goals. With 3:56 to go, Alabama was down 20-13 at the Georgia 7-yard line on a 4th-and-4. Tua completed a major pass on the run to Calvin Ridley to tie the game. Alabama got the ball back quickly, but despite being well within field goal range at the Georgia 18-yard line, Alabama kicker Andy Pappanastos missed yet again, so the game went to overtime.
In overtime, Alabama forced Georgia into a field goal, sacking QB Jake Fromm and almost pushing Georgia out of field goal range. Georgia responded by sacking Tua behind the 40 on a disastrous first down.
But the freshman had ice in his veins. On a 2nd-and-26, he launched a pass to DeVonta Smith for a game-winning touchdown. In a game of momentum swings, a true freshman led the powerhouse of college football to a comeback win in a game for the ages.
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