We are 25 years into the 2000s, and to celebrate, we’re picking out the Top 25 moments for Michigan athletics this century. At No. 5 is one of the most iconic shots in the men’s basketball program and NCAA Tournament history:
We’ve reached the “I’ll never forget where I was when X happened” stage of our series covering the Top-25 moments for the Michigan Wolverines since 2000. For the No. 5 spot — one of the most iconic finishes in the history of the men’s basketball program that triggered a run to the national championship.
5. Jordan Poole drills mid-court buzzer-beater to stun Houston in the NCAA Tournament (2018)
3. Jordan Poole, 2018 vs Houston.
Michigan’s tournament run seemed over. Until Poole caught the ball with under a second left, fading away from 30 feet.
The shot launched Michigan to the Final Four and Poole into March Madness immortality. pic.twitter.com/cEeWvAqQ0t
— TJ Ross (@TJRossSF) March 22, 2025
I can watch this clip over and over again. Every March, it’s appointment viewing on social media as fans lament on the madness of the NCAA Tournament.
Michigan was dead to rights in this game. The starters were 15-of-43 (34.8 percent) from the field and 3-of-19 (15.7 percent) from deep. With 10 seconds left, Muhammad-Ali Abdur-Rahkman missed a layup, and Houston’s Devin Davis went to the free throe line up by two points with four seconds remaining. He was 9-of-10 from the free throw line, but proceeded to miss the two most important ones with the pressure of the game on his back.
Head coach John Beilein called a timeout and rallied the boys for one final play, a play that they practiced multiple times, putting the game on the back of true freshman Jordan Poole. The Milwaukee-native averaged only six points per game and had played only 11 minutes in what could have been the final game of the season. Instead, with the game on the line, he drilled one of the most memorable shots in the history of Michigan hoops.
By itself, this moment is worthy of a Top-10 ranking, but the Wolverines didn’t stop there. Thanks to Poole’s shot, Michigan became the highest-seeded team remaining in the West Region, as No. 1 Xavier and No. 2 North Carolina didn’t make the second weekend. The Wolverines would face both of their upsetters — No. 9 Florida State and No. 7 Texas A&M — in the next two rounds, vanquishing both on their way to the Final Four.
Michigan continued getting favorable draws, as No. 11 seed Loyola-Chicago inexplicably won the South Region (this was the year No. 1 Virginia fell to No. 16 UMBC in the first upset of its kind). Kentucky, a No. 5 seed, was the highest seed to even make the Sweet Sixteen in the region. Even with all the might of March Madness folk hero Sister Jean, Michigan beat the Rambles by double digits to advance to the National Championship for the second time in the Beilein era.
Unfortunately, the Wolverines ran into a buzzsaw in the Villanova Wildcats, the No. 1 team in the country. Despite doing an excellent job slowing down their starters — particularly AP Player of the Year Jalen Brunson — Donte DiVincenzo dropped 31 points off the bench on 10-of-15 shooting. After halftime, the game was never close.
Still, it was an improbable run from the Wolverines, who were unranked heading into that 2017-18 season. The run they went on was Cinderella-like, and they had to beat a couple counterfeits to solidify that. None of this happens if Poole didn’t hit that shot against Houston, and it is worthy of a Top-5 ranking because of everything that came next.
For more in this series: