The return of the NCAA tournament after a one-year hiatus because of the pandemic has already provided so many great moments through the first weekends of the men’s and women’s tournament. The men’s side saw a historic number of upsets through the first four days that leaves the Sweet 16 with the highest seed total in history. The women’s tournament has gifted us a matchup between UConn’s Paige Bueckers and Iowa’s Caitlin Clark, the two best freshmen in the country, to start its own Sweet 16 while the favorites have mostly held court.
Texas A&M’s Jordan Nixon gave us the first buzzer-beater of March Madness
Nixon hit two clutch shots to keep the Aggies alive in the women’s NCAA tournament.
Ricky O'Donnell has covered basketball at all levels for more than a decade at SB Nation. He’s currently the Associate Director of Programming.
The only thing missing from March Madness so far was a true buzzer-beater. Now we have it thanks to Jordan Nixon of Texas A&M women’s basketball.
The No. 2 seed Aggies trailed almost the entire night against No. 7 seed Iowa State, but the got the game into overtime in their round of 32 matchup. In the final seconds of the extra frame, Nixon grabbed a defensive rebound and took the ball coast-to-coast to hit a game-winning layup as the buzzer sounded. Aggies win, 84-82, to reach the Sweet 16.
Nixon, a 5’8 redshirt sophomore guard who started her career at Notre Dame, was absolutely electric all night. She finished the game with 35 points and seven assists on 16-of-28 shooting from the field. The game-winner wasn’t her only clutch shot.
With the Aggies trailing by two on their final possession of regulation, Nixon hit a tough layup off a pick-and-roll to tie the score and force OT.
Nixon’s 35 points are tied for the second-most in Aggies history during a tournament game, behind only Chennedy Carter’s 37-point performance in the 2019 tournament, per ESPN.
Nixon gave an emotional post-game interview where she thanked her teammates for trusting her in big moments. The NCAA tournament is at its best during moments like this.
The Aggies now face No. 3 seed Arizona in the Sweet 16 on Saturday evening. Their sophomore guard just became a star overnight. We can’t wait to see what she does from here.
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