In a March Madness where it seems there was a lack of Cinderella upsets or shocking action, Midnight arrived late. But boy, did it arrive.
Maryland, the four-seed in the West Region, was struggling in their Round of 32 matchup against a 12-seed Colorado State which was looking for its first Sweet 16 bid since 1969.
A back-and-forth battle took place in Seattle – with Colorado State taking a lead with six seconds remaining on a three-point jumper from Jalen Lake.
After advancing the ball, Maryland called timeout to draw up a play with about three seconds remaining in the game.
On the inbound, the ball came to freshman phenom Derik Queen. The Baltimore big man drove the lane and put up a shot in the dying moments which fell right through the rim to win the game for the Terrapins.
It’s the first buzzer beater of this year’s NCAA Tournament – with Maryland winning 72-71 to move on to their first Sweet 16 in nine years.
Maryland freshman Derik Queen (center) hit the first buzzer beater of March Madness 2025
Queen hit a running shot with less than two seconds to go to beat 12-seed Colorado State
Queen (25) told coach Kevin Willard that he wanted the ‘MF ball’ at the end of the contest
After the game, Maryland head coach Kevin Willard revealed how confident Queen was in himself to get the game-winning shot.
‘I asked everybody. I said, “Who wants the ball?”,’ Willard said.
‘[Queen] said “Give me the MF ball.” I said, “Alright, you’re getting it.”‘
Queen, one of the top freshmen in the country, kept his confidence high when addressing the shot after the game.
‘I’m from Baltimore, that’s why. I kinda had it going, me and my teammates had it going, and like I said they trusted me to take that last shot,’ he said.
Now, the Terps are heading to the Sweet 16 for the first time since 2019. They play one-seed Florida in San Francisco.
