All it takes is one March Madness game for a player to stamp their name into NCAA tournament lore forever.
Does this year’s tourney have an Ali Farokhmanesh or a Harold Arceneaux in its midst? How about a Bryce Drew or even, dare we say … a Stephen Curry? All it takes is one freak performance or a buzzer-beater to become a college basketball legend.
Kentucky’s Otega Oweh made sure he never has to buy himself a drink in Lexington again with a buzzer-beating heave in a thrilling Wildcats win over Santa Clara in the first round of the tournament on Friday. And that 3-pointer only accounted for three of his 35 points in the game.
On the women’s side, there haven’t been too many upsets but the stars are showing out with some monster performances. Olivia Miles cobbled together an all-time stat line on Friday with 12 points, 14 assists and 16 rebounds in TCU’s opening-round win. She’s the third player to record multiple triple-doubles in the NCAA tourney, alongside Oregon’s Sabrina Ionescu and Stanford’s Nicole Powell.
Who has the most points in a single game in this year’s NCAA tournaments?
Men’s tournament top performers
Otega Oweh, Kentucky – 35
As mentioned above, Oweh Oweh hit one of the best NCAA tournament buzzer-beaters you’ll see to force overtime in the No. 7 Wildcats’ 89-84 win over No. 10 Santa Clara. The senior guard had eight rebounds and seven assists on top of it.
AJ Dybantsa, BYU – 35
The star BYU freshman looked every bit like a player who could be taken No. 1 in the 2026 NBA Draft, scoring 35 points and taking over for stretches for the Cougars in their first-round game against Texas. The problem was that he didn’t have any help and BYU fell, 79-71.
Terrence Hill Jr., VCU – 34
The spritely guard came off the bench and delivered an all-timer for the Rams in their upset win over No. 6 UNC on Thursday. Not only did he have 34 points, he shot 7 of 10 from behind the arc and also pitched in five rebounds and five assists.
Tarris Reed Jr., UConn – 31
Speaking of all-time tourney outings, Reed scored 31 points on 12-for-15 shooting, but that wasn’t even close to the most impressive part of his night. The senior center also had a staggering 27 rebounds — and he would’ve had a double-double with just offensive rebounds (11).
Jeremiah Wilkinson, Georgia – 30
No. 8 Georgia got steamrolled by No. 9 Saint Louis in the first round of the tournament, but nobody can blaim Jeremiah Wilkinson for it. The sophomore guard came off the bench and dropped a 30-piece with seven 3-pointers
Women’s tournament top performers
Taryn Barbot, Charleston – 36
The Cougars couldn’t quite pull the upset on No. 3 Duke, but it wasn’t for lack of trying on Barbot’s behalf. She nailed six 3-pointers and went 14 for 16 from the free-throw line in the losing effort.
Avery Howell, Washington – 30
The No. 6 seed Huskies got past South Dakota State in the first round and Howell’s long-range prowess was a big reason why. She nailed seven treys and had nine rebounds in the game.
Zamareya Jones – 30
The Wolfpack hounded Tennessee on Friday night and Jones was a menace on both the offensive and defensive sides of the court. She had five steals along with the 30 points, and went 9-for-15 shooting from the floor in a 76-61 win.
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