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.