On Wednesday, two college programs were able to celebrate exciting wins at the buzzer ahead of the upcoming quest for a national title. In one game, the unranked Syracuse Orange got a last-second three from guard John Gillon to upset the No. 10 Duke Blue Devils. In the other matchup, the No. 6 Oregon Ducks were able to hold off unranked California thanks to a three from Dylan Brooks. The two thrilling victories signal that one of the favorite times for sports fans is right around the corner, with March Madness 2017 and the craziness of the NCAA tournament brackets.

Gillon's buzzer-beater three

The Syracuse Orange are making another surge towards a potential spot in the NCAA tournament. On Wednesday evening, they were able to knock off the No. 10 team in the land in front of over 30,000 rowdy fans.

Playing the role of hero for his team, was John Gillon. After a missed shot by Duke, Syracuse snatched the rebound. The senior guard received the inbounds pass at the other end with just over four seconds to go. He quickly dribbled up past the half court line, and then pulled up just before the three-point line. From there Gillon released and banked home the game-winning shot, giving the Orange an amazing 78-75 win at the Carrier Dome.

As one might expect, it sent the fans into a frenzy for the home team.

The win moves Syracuse to a record of 17-12 overall and 9-7 in the conference. As of this report, Joe Lunardi's "Bracketology" via ESPN lists the Orange as a No. 10 seed in the South region. Lunardi projects the team would play in Tulsa, Oklahoma with a first round game against Minnesota.

Brooks' Oregon heroics

In Berkeley, California during the same night of action, it was Dillon Brooks playing hero, once again, for his Oregon Ducks.

In this situation, he was able to help his team complete the double-digit comeback. Brooks hit a three with just 0.2 seconds left on the game clock giving the Ducks a 68-65 win.

The team also continues its spot among the top six teams in the nation as well as their hunt for the Pac-12 title.

The Ducks are now 14-2 in the conference and 25-4 overall heading towards March Madness. On the "Bracketology" projections, Joe Lunardi has Oregon as a No. 2 seed in the West region.

Buzzer beater madness

The latest NCAA buzzer-beater wins certainly have college basketball fans anticipating more to come in the next several weeks. Over the years, there have been plenty of these historic shots which have put players and teams into historic college basketball highlight reels. Among them are famous March Madness buzzer-beater shots from Christian Laettner of Duke, Steve Nash of Valparaiso, and most recently, a championship-winning shot by Villanova's Kris Jenkins.

Soon, conference tournaments will start up with both Syracuse and Oregon competing to win those brackets. From there, the two teams should find out their fate for the NCAA tournament. Selection Sunday arrives on March 12, 2017, and days later the "madness" will really get going.
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