Another year of college sports is in the books. With 2019 just around the corner, let's take a look back at the top games across the NCAA from 2018 (in no particular order).
These are the games that stood out to the krikya18.com team. Did we miss something? Email callan.sheridan@turner.com and we'll add it to the list.
YEAR-IN-REVIEW: Best comebacks in 2018 | Best performances | Best photos
DI men's basketball | 16-seed UMBC busts brackets with unprecedented first-round win | March 16, 2018: No. 16 seed UMBC made history in the 2018 NCAA tournament when they took down No. 1 seed Virginia 74–54. It marked the first time a 16-seed has beaten a 1-seed in the men’s tournament — in 136 all-time contests.
DI women's basketball | Arike Ogunbowale plays hero twice in the Final Four | March 31 & April 1, 2018: Arike Ogunbowale hit a buzzer-beater against No. 1 UConn to send her team to the 2018 Final Four title game. Then she sunk an almost identical shot to help the Irish defeat Mississippi State in one of the most memorable Women's Final Fours of all time.
FBS football | Tua comes off bench, leads Alabama to CFP title in OT | Jan. 8, 2018: After entering in the second half to replace Jalen Hurts, Tua Tagovailoa threw three touchdown passes, including a 41-yard pass to DeVonta Smith for the 26-23 OT win over Georgia in the national championship title game in Atlanta.
FBS football | Hurts relieves Tua, rallies Alabama to SEC title | Dec. 1, 2018: In an oddly familiar situation less than a year after Tagovailoa's title game heroics, Hurts entered the 2018 SEC championship game for an injured Tagovailoa and led Alabama to a 13-point comeback win over Georgia.
DI women's lacrosse | Michigan finds magic in final seconds | April 28, 2018: Michigan dug out of a 6-0 hole, then scored twice in the game's final six seconds to stun No. 16 Penn State 12-11 in Happy Valley in the Wolverines' regular season finale.
Check out the unbelievable turn of events in the final 30 seconds of play today.
— Michigan Women’s Lacrosse (@UMichWLAX)
We are relentless. We will never give in.
DI men's lacrosse |Albany wins historic duel between faceoff extraordinaires | May 19, 2018: This game featured two history-making faceoff men in Denver’s Trevor Baptiste and Albany’s TD Ierlan. Baptiste, the NCAA’s all-time winningest specialist, and Ierlan, who set three NCAA single-season records, competed to a 15-15 stalemate as Albany defeated Denver 15-13 to advance to championship weekend for the first time in program history.
DI beach volleyball | Florida State survives five-set semifinal thriller | May 5, 2018 : With the national semifinal dual tied at 2-2, Florida State freshman Madison Fitzpatrick and sophomore Francesca Goncalves closed out the victory to give the fourth-seeded Seminoles a 3-2 win over No. 3 Hawaii to book a trip to the national championship final.
DI men’s volleyball | LBSU regains momentum, wins title in five sets | May 5, 2018: After winning the first set, Long Beach State dropped the next two and looked to be in trouble against UCLA in the national title match. But the 49ers battled back to defeat the Bruins 3-2 [25-19, 23-25, 20-25, 26-24, 15-12] for the program’s second national championship.
DI women’s volleyball | Nebraska rallies from 2-0 deficit for reverse sweep | Dec. 13, 2018: Although Nebraska didn’t capture the national championship, the Huskers pulled off a memorable come-from-behind win in the semifinals. They went 25-23, 25-20, 15-11 in the last three sets to complete the reverse sweep over Illinois.
RELATED: 10 years later, how Penn State volleyball lost only two sets in 2008 and won a national title
DI softball |Big fourth inning moves UCLA one step closer to WCWS berth | June 2, 2018: The Bruins came back from a 4-0 deficit, scoring five times in the fourth inning en route to a 6-5 victory over No. 2 Florida. That win punched a ticket to the national semifinals. The Bruins would eventually move on to the WCWS finals, where they fell to Florida State in two games.
DI men's hockey | UMD wins tight battle in Frozen Four championship | April 7, 2018: Minnesota Duluth jumped out to a 2-0 lead and held off a late game surge from the Irish for a tense 2-1 victory. It marked the Bulldogs' second national title in program history.
DI men's hockey | Northeastern wins first Beanpot in three decades | Feb. 12, 2018: With an emphatic 5-2 win over BU, the Huskies won their first Beanpot championship in 30 years — and the team’s fifth overall in tournament history.
DI women's hockey | Colgate wins double overtime marathon in national semifinals | March 16, 2018: Colgate earned its first-ever ticket to the national championship after a 4-3 victory in double overtime over No. 2 Wisconsin. The Badgers outscored Colgate 2-1 in the third period to force the extra time, but Bre Wilson-Bennett's 17th minute goal in double overtime sent the Raiders home with a victory. That game-winner also gave Wilson-Bennett a hat trick.
DI men's basketball | Seton Hall, Kentucky trade trio of insane clutch shots in OT thriller | Dec. 8, 2018: Seton Hall and Kentucky answered back and forth with last-second 3s to force overtime at MSG (with Kentucky's coming at the buzzer from half-court). The Pirates' Myles Powell had the last laugh, though, as he nailed an off-balanced 3-pointer with 1.5 seconds to go in a 70-67 Seton Hall upset win.
The Myles duo delivered in the clutch for ! ❄️ caught up with Myles Cale & Myles Powell after the upset of No. 9 Kentucky!
— NCAA March Madness (@marchmadness)
DI men's basketball | Kansas tops Duke in Elite Eight battle of bluebloods | March 25, 2018: It took overtime to decide which iconic program would reach the 2018 Final Four. Kansas outlasted Duke 85-81 behind 32 points from Malik Newman, who also scored all 13 of the Jayhawks' points in the extra period. The game featured 18 lead changes and 11 ties.
DI men's basketball | Penn ends Nova's Big Five dominance | Dec. 11, 2018: Penn stunned Villanova 78-75 to snap the Wildcats’ 25-game Big Five winning streak. The win was the Quakers' first over Villanova since 2002.
DI women's soccer | Florida State wins all-ACC battle for national title | Dec. 2, 2018: Florida State defeated 21-time NCAA champion Tar Heels in the Women's College Cup finals as Dallas Dorosy found the back of the net in the 60th minute in a 1-0 victory.
DI baseball | Oregon State keeps title hopes alive in epic Game 2 win | June 26, 2018: Oregon State trailed 3-2 heading into the ninth inning of Game 2 of the CWS and was down to their final out before elimination. Then Cadyn Grenier hit an RBI single and Trevor Larnach crushed a two-run homer to keep Oregon State alive. Oregon State then won Game 3 the following day for the national title.As we look toward 2019, what are some of your favorite memories of 2018? 🤔
— NCAA Soccer (@NCAASoccer)
DII men's basketball | Ferris State closes its history-making season with thrilling title win | March 24, 2018: Ferris State won its first national title in a 71-69 win decided in the final seconds of regulation. The two teams played to a 32-32 tie in the second half. Northern State had a chance for the win as time expired but missed the long 3 attempt.
DII football | Valdosta State wins record-setting shootout for national title| Dec. 20, 2018: Valdosta State defeated Ferris State 49-47 in a game that filled up the stat sheet and shattered multiple offensive records. Despite losing, Ferris State had the play of the night on an incredible deflection touchdown catch.
DII women's basketball | Central Mo. ends No. 1 Ashland's incredible win streak | March 24, 2018: In a major upset, No. 6 Central Missouri ended No. 1 Ashland’s 73-game winning streak — the longest in DII history — to win the 2018 Division II Women’s Basketball Championship.
RELATED: The 13 best photos from college sports in 2018
DIII football | Mary Hardin-Baylor gets revenge, rallies for championship | Dec. 14, 2018: In a battle of undefeated teams playing for a national title, Mary Hardin-Baylor overcame an early 10-0 deficit to claim its second NCAA Division III national championship with a 24-16 victory over Mount Union in Stagg Bowl XLVI.
DIII men's lacrosse | Wesleyan takes home program's first national title | May 27, 2018: Wesleyan men’s lacrosse earned its first-ever national championship — in its first-ever appearance — by defeating two-time defending champion and No. 3 ranked Salisbury 8-6.
Sometimes you're just in the right place at the right time. Four moments that meant the most to us in 2018:
— US Lacrosse Magazine (@USLacrosseMag)
DIII men's basketball | Grinnell catches fire from 3-point range| Nov. 15, 2018: Grinnell men's basketball shattered the NCAA Division III record for 3-pointers in a game, netting 42 shots from long range in a 164-107 victory over Emmaus Bible.
DIII women's basketball | Amherst finishes off perfect season (again) | March 17, 2018: Amherst women's basketball capped off its second consecutive undefeated season with a second straight national championship, improving to an astounding 66-0 two-year record.
RELATED: 2019 NCAA championships winter selection show schedule
