Dime Magazine Presents: The Top 8 NCAA Conference Tournament Moments

#4: Gerry McNamara isn't overrated, apparently
WHEN: 2006 Big East Tournament
DIME SAYS: Before the '06 Big East tourney, some local and national media had made Syracuse senior PG Gerry McNamara a scapegoat for the Orange's subpar season. The popular word being thrown around was "overrated." How did G-Mac respond? Going on a one-man killing spree at Madison Square Garden. He beat Cincinnati with a buzzer-beater. He sent the UConn game into overtime with a clutch three and led 'Cuse in another win. He made clutch shots, steals, and assists to beat Georgetown. Then he beat Pitt in the title game. In the process, coach Jim Boeheim was glad to let those media critics eat it: "Without Gerry McNamara, we wouldn't have won 10 fucking games this year!"

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#3: Allen Iverson vs. Ray Allen
WHEN: 1996 Big East championship, Georgetown vs. UConn
DIME SAYS: Two of this generation's greatest NBA perimeter scorers gave us a preview in college under the bright lights at Madison Square Garden. After A.I. and Ray (and don't forget Victor Page) went shot-for-shot, it came down to UConn behind by one in the final seconds. Ray got the ball, and with A.I. all over him, threw up a twisting, off-balance, impossible hang-time shot that somehow went in. Iverson came down and missed a jumper, and "Junkyard Dog" Jerome Williams missed an easy putback at the buzzer to end a classic. Check out UConn coach Jim Calhoun partying like it's 1999, but immediately switching to somber mode when he remembered he still had to shake hands with Big John Thompson.

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#2: Randolph Childress is a bad mutha...
WHEN: 1995 ACC championship, Wake Forest vs. North Carolina
DIME SAYS: Childress didn't have to average 35 points and seven assists during the '95 ACC tournament. He didn't have to put up 37 and 7 and stick the game-winner against UNC in the final. Why? Because when he broke out a crossover that dropped Tar Heels PG Jeff McInnis on his ass—then paused to give McInnis the "Come here" sign before drilling a three-pointer—Childress branded his name and that image into the memories of anybody who was watching college ball back then. Last we heard, Childress is playing pro ball in Italy, and he's also the answer to a trivia question: When was the last time Tim Duncan wasn't "The Man" on his own team?

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#1: The Epic
WHEN: 2009 Big East quarterfinals, UConn vs. Syracuse
DIME SAYS: From about 9:30 p.m. to 1:30 a.m., the Orange and the Huskies put on the greatest show of college basketball you may ever see. Besides some future NBA talent on the court and the natural UConn/Syracuse rivalry, there wasn't much going in to suggest this game would become legendary. Six overtimes later, it was embedded in the history books Current NBA rookie PG Jonny Flynn put up 34 points, 11 dimes and 6 steals in 67 grueling minutes for the Orange, while counterpart A.J. Price had 33 and 10 dimes for the Huskies in 61 minutes. 'Cuse forward Paul Harris posted 29 points and 22 boards. Hasheem Thabeet went for 19 points, 14 boards and 6 blocks, one of five UConn players to snatch double-digit rebounds. Oh, and Syracuse won, 127-117. "Epic" is the only appropriate word.

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