As we ride into Selection Sunday, the countdown of the Top 10 buzzer beats in the NCAA Tournament continues with number five.

Today’s selection will be very familiar to Longhorn fans, as it comes from the Texas/West Virginia Sweet 16 match-up just two seasons ago. As Texas fans will remember, the last 14 seconds of the game were absolutely crazy. The Longhorns were up three points, but West Virginia rushed down the court and tied the game on a Kevin Pittsnoggle trifecta with just five seconds left. Texas immediately pushed the ball up the floor, and A.J. Abrams threw an “ohshit” pass that nearly sailed past Kenton Paulino. But KP calmly controlled the feed, set up for an NBA-range three, and shot the team into the Elite Eight.

In an interesting twist, Pittsnoggle and Paulino are now teammates on the Austin Toros, a team in the NBDL.

The countdown of the top ten finishes in NCAA tournament history continues this evening with number six.

One of the craziest March Madness buzzer beaters I can remember watching as a kid came in a game between Missouri and UCLA in the 1995 NCAA tournament. The Bruins were down a point and had to go the length of the floor with 4.8 seconds to go.

You always hear coaches and TV analysts say that in late-game situations you can take a dribble for each second on the clock. But most players aren’t as fast as Tyus Edney, who streaked down the court, whipped it around his back, and took it to the rim for one of the most memorable plays in tournament history.

In the two previous meetings this season, the Oklahoma State Cowboys took the Texas Longhorns to the wire. When they first met in Stillwater, it was only a 63-61 victory for the Longhorns, while the margin in Austin was a slightly more comfortable seven-point spread. So when the teams met in Kansas City yesterday, Sean Sutton’s team wasn’t daunted by the fact that they were only a 9-seed taking on the league champions. They knew they could hang with Texas, and it showed.

After the Longhorns sprinted out to a 9-3 lead, the Pokes went on a 10-0 run to jump on top and get the entire arena rooting for their upset bid. The rest of the first half was a repeat of the first few minutes, with Texas rebuilding a seven-point lead, yet finding itself down by a point at half following a Terrel Harris three with two seconds left.

The second half was a completely different story, though. The Texas defense — which seemed to confuse the hell out of OSU with a 2-3 zone — held the Pokes scoreless for nearly the first eight minutes of the half, by which point the Longhorns were already up by eleven.

But as had been the case all season for Rick Barnes and company, they could not shake Okie State. The Pokes clawed back over the final 8:02 of the game, chipping away at a 13-point advantage. After an Obi Muonelo layup with just two minutes left, OSU was down just five, and the late-arriving crowd of 19,000 was smelling Longhorn blood. But with Jayhawks, Wildcats, Aggies, Sooners, and even the Colorado band pulling for the Pokes, the Texas defense stiffened up and stopped the comeback short.

The stars of the game for Texas were most certainly D.J. Augustin and Damion James. At one point early in the second half, Texas led by a 37-33 count. Thirty of those points came from Augustin and James. On the day, the pair combined for 47, while James pulled down 11 boards and added a highlight-reel block.

While Connor Atchley had a really rough start to the day, his second-half contributions were huge. The junior’s shot was way off, and he even airballed a free throw. But his scrappy play inside led to some key putbacks in the second twenty, and his four blocks were integral to shutting down the Pokes. He even hustled on the loose balls, getting Texas an extra possession by reaching around an OSU player to throw it off of him along the sideline.

The negative from this win was the unfortunate injury to Gary Johnson in the first half, which initially looked like some kind of knee problem, but is apparently an ankle injury. After he headed to the locker room, he wasn’t seen again until second-half warm-ups, at which point he was walking around with a soft cast or brace wrapped around the ankle. Mark Rosner from the Austin-American Statesman reported in his blog yesterday afternoon that x-rays were negative, so Gary should be ready to go soon. But with the big tourney just a week away, I hope we keep the kid on the bench for the one or two games left and rest him up for the ones that truly matter.

The silver lining in Gary’s injury was a really solid day from Alexis Wangmene. Oklahoma State was absolutely abusing Texas on the offensive glass, grabbing nine rebounds off of their own misses in the first half. Coach Barnes went big in response, running only two guards out there to help fight off the Pokes. But without Johnson on the floor and Dexter Pittman getting yanked after about 0.004 seconds of play, the bulk of the load fell on Lex’s shoulders. And while he did pick up quite a few fouls, he ate up 14 minutes for Texas and added an inside hoop and pair of rebounds.

A win is really nothing more than stat padding at this point for the Horns, because it seems hard to believe that even a Big 12 Tournament title can get them a 1-seed in the NCAAs. The Selection Committee has made it painfully clear that they don’t pay attention to the B12 championship, and who can blame them when it ends just before the brackets are announced? Add that to the fact that UCLA, North Carolina, Tennessee, and Memphis are all winning the games they are supposed to in their own conference tourneys, and there doesn’t seem to be room for Texas or the Jayhawks to slide up a line.

Regardless, the Horns will march on and look for another confidence-boosting W today against the Oklahoma Sooners. Game preview will be coming your way shortly, as we’ve got to head out early in case the shuttle lines are lengthy. As was the case yesterday, enjoy the wall-to-wall hoops action, and check back here all afternoon as I’ve set the website to post some pre-written content throughout the day.

It’s quarterfinal Friday in the Big 12, so by the time you’re viewing this we’ll be knocking back drinks in the Power & Light District after what is hopefully a Longhorn victory. Today we bring you the seventh-most exciting buzzer beater in NCAA tournament history…or at least since the advent of television.

Number seven comes from the 1992 second-round game between 7-seed Georgia Tech and 2-seed Southern Cal. The Trojans led 78-76 with only 0.8 seconds standing between them and the Sweet 16. But the Yellow Jackets had one final play remaining, with the inbounds pass coming from nearly half-court…

The Yellow Jackets would go on to lose to Memphis State (now Memphis) in the following round, but James Forrest’s miracle three-pointer earned a place not only in Georgia Tech history, but March Madness lore.

We continue our countdown of the most thrilling finishes in NCAA tournament history, checking in today with number eight. And while this newest entry is “posting”, I’ll already be two hours north of Austin on I-35. Isn’t technology great?

For this buzzer-beater we head back to the 2006 tournament and a 14/3 match-up. The Iowa Hawkeyes were the team sitting on the top line, while the Northwestern State Demons were playing far, far from home after winning the Southland Conference’s auto-bid. Although NSU was trailing by as many as 17 points in the second half, they were down only two with seconds left in the game. A missed Iowa free throw left the score at 63-61, and the ensuing rebound gave the Demons the final possession.

That’s where our video begins today, which is not the usual CBS footage, but rather another angle accompanied by the radio announcers from Northwestern State. This stuff truly gives me chills. It’s what March is all about.

Bonus points to this video for the awesomely bad Demon mascot and the Iowa Hawkeye pulling an Adam Morrison 80 feet from his basket.

Nothing of concern for bubblers last night, as the auto bids handed out to Portland State and Mount St. Mary’s both came from one-bid conferences. There were a few games of note involving teams on the bubble, so things may be starting to come into focus. Villanova took out Syracuse in the Big East, which likely knocked the Orange out of contention. The win won’t make the ‘Cats breathe any easier yet, but if they happen to pull off the upset today against Georgetown (11 AM CDT, ESPN), then they would be looking quite safe.

The Pac-10 is also setting up nicely for some bubble games, with both Cal and Arizona advancing to the quarterfinals. USC takes on Arizona State (2 PM CDT), while Washington State faces Oregon (8 PM CDT) and Arizona looks to boost its résumé against Stanford (10:30 PM CDT). And although the second quarterfinal of the day has no bubble implications, Cal will be looking for revenge against UCLA after last week’s controversial game in Pauley Pavilion (4:30 PM CDT).

Closer to home, Big 12 tournament play kicks off in Kansas City this morning. We sold our first-round tickets, so we will miss at least the first three games as we drive up today. Personally, we’re pulling for Tech in the first quarterfinal, as Oklahoma State seems to be a more threatening opponent. Sure, the Red Raiders beat Texas just a few weeks ago, but that game was in Lubbock and the Horns had one of their worst defensive performances in months. Oklahoma State took Texas to the wire twice, and we all know the axiom about how hard it is to beat a team three times in one season…

As we’ll be leaving shortly to hit the road, we won’t be around much to discuss the first-round games. You can start your day off with an opening round preview at Burnt Orange Nation or the mini-preview of the conference tourney from Rush the Court.

Luke Winn is back with his four-week Tourney Blog at SI.com. Dude gets to travel the country for March Madness, write about it, and gets paid. Meanwhile, I’m self-financing this gig. I wonder if he needs an intern…

This morning we continue our countdown of the most exciting finishes in NCAA tournament history with number nine.

Unfortunately, today’s video can’t be embedded on the page here, probably because somebody at CBS threw a hissy fit and complained to the person who posted it on YouTube. But at least it’s still online, because you can check it out right here.

In the 1998 East Regional, UConn and Washington were locked in a tight game as time ran down. But despite the close score, the west-coast Huskies didn’t grab their first lead until drilling a three-pointer with 33.2 seconds left. That left Connecticut with the last possession, and it was a crazy one. After two missed bunnies and another pair of wild tips that caromed off the backboard, Richard Hamilton stretched out to control a long rebound in the middle of the lane. And just before the buzzer, he launched the fadeaway that propelled Jim Calhoun’s team to the Elite Eight.

For those who don’t want to watch all of the build-up and skip right to the final possession, click ahead to about the 5:15 mark of the video.

No major disasters for bubble teams last night, as Butler clinched the Horizon’s auto-bid, Oral Roberts won the Summit League, and Western Kentucky took home the Sun Belt title. The Hilltoppers likely weren’t going to make the field anyhow, but as Andy Glockner pointed out in yesterday’s Bubble Watch, they had at least a smidgen of a chance, while MTSU had absolutely none.

Today more of the big boys kick things off in their post-season tournaments, as the Atlantic 10+4, Big East, and Pac-10 start their tournaments with “opening round” play. The MAC, SWAC, Big West, MWC, and C-USA also all get started today, while auto bids will be handed out tonight in the NEC and Big Sky. Those two conference championships are airing on ESPN2 starting at 6 PM CDT.

So much for those Arkansas State/Arkansas games with Nolan Richardson on the wrong sideline. Strollin’ Nolan now says he’s no longer a candidate for the job. It’s a true shame, if only for the fact that we didn’t get to witness the meltdown from Hog fans if he’d reappeared at a school so close to Fayetteville.

The always-excellent Tye over at Bring on the Cats has the most thorough guide to Kansas City you could imagine. Check it out before you hit the road for this weekend’s games, and perhaps we’ll see you down in the Power & Light district.

To count down the days to the Big Dance, we’ll be unveiling the top ten buzzer beaters from the NCAA tournament each morning until the first game. So when you roll out of bed next Thursday, crusty-eyed and anxious for wall-to-wall basketball action, you’ll be met with the early treat of the #1 NCAA buzzer beater of all-time.

This morning we start with #10, which happened just two seasons ago in Greensboro, North Carolina. A lot of pundits had called Tennessee overrated as a 2-seed that had lost four of their last six games, and Bruce Pearl’s team wasn’t doing anything to prove them wrong. Although the Volunteers should have been able to put away 15th-seeded Winthrop early, their largest lead of the game was only six points, and that came just eight minutes into it. But with just 2.9 seconds to go in a tie game, Chris Lofton threw up a shot from just inside the arc to put the Vols up for good.

While the shot didn’t technically come at the buzzer — Winthrop would miss their own game-tying attempt as the horn sounded — it was one of the most exciting finishes in recent memory. And it’s also today’s YouTube highlight, checking in at #10 on the countdown of Top Ten March Madness Buzzer Beaters.

Lots and lots of news for the Horns now that the regular season has come to a close. And that starts with the Big 12 conference awards, where Rick Barnes took home Coach of the Year in a season where his Longhorns set a school record for regular season victories. D.J. Augustin was a unanimous selection to the All-Big 12 First Team, while A.J. Abrams and Damion James were named to the second team. The king of hustle, Justin Mason, was named to the All-Defensive Team.

In the latest Bracketology from Joe Lunardi, the Horns are still a 2-seed playing in the Phoenix regional with UCLA as the 1-seed. God forbid this projection actually holds, as good ol’ Joe has a potential second-round match-up for Texas with Arkansas…in Little Rock. Hardcore amateur bracketologists will be happy to know that Joe is now going daily with his picks from until Selection Sunday.

Andy Glockner’s Bubble Watch — now also a daily feature — has the Big 12 with three “locks” in Texas, Kansas, and OU. He feels that Baylor and K-State are solidly in, and barring a Bear implosion against Colorado on Thursday, I would have to agree. That leaves A&M in the “work left to do” category, which could be something of a misnomer. As long as the bubble doesn’t contract further with cinderella auto-bids, the Aggies should be fine. But while they don’t actually need another win, they certainly can’t afford to somehow lose to Iowa State.

While everybody is focused on seeds and bubbles, there is still that weekly tradition of the polls, which saw Texas climb to 6th in the AP and 8th in the ESPN/USA Today.

Although there’s no Big Monday, there’s more tournament action from Championship Week tonight. Auto-bids will be handed out in the Southern Conference (8 PM CST, ESPN2), where bubble team fans will be pulling hard for Davidson. At the same time, those nervous folks will be hoping that Gonzaga can stave off San Diego in the WCC Championship (8 PM CST, ESPN). And just underway in Albany, Rider and Siena are battling for the MAAC title on ESPN2.