The NCAA Tournament has featured countless players taking the leap into stardom and college basketball immortality when the lights are brightest.
Some of the best performances have stood the test of time and are still in the record books and the minds of fans and are prevalent in any highlight played regarding the history of the Big Dance. With that in mind, who are the highest-scoring single-game scorers in the men’s college basketball tournament games of all time?
Here are the 10 highest single-game scorers in NCAA Tournament history.
10 highest single-game scorers in NCAA Men’s Tournament history
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10. DePaul‘s David Corzine: 46 points vs. Louisville (1978)
Corzine needed every last point against Louisville in the 1978 Sweet 16 matchup. He knocked down 18 of his 28 shots in the matchup, hit all 10 of his attempts at the charity stripe and even added nine boards. Despite that, the Blue Demons earned just a one-point victory, squeaking past the Cardinals, 90-89.
9. Notre Dame‘s Austin Carr: 47 points vs. Houston (1971)
Carr was a professional scorer, and this isn’t the last you’ll see him on this list. This game was flat-out special, though. Pairing his 47 points with 17 rebounds and converting 13 of his 17 trips to the free-throw line. When all was said and done, Notre Dame came up short, 119-106, despite Carr accounting for nearly half of the scoring total for the Irish.
8. Temple‘s Hal Lear: 48 points vs. SMU (1956)
Lear’s 48-point display saved Temple in this one. Lear made 17 field goals and converted 14 of his 17 trips to the free-throw line. Even with those numbers, however, the Owls won by just nine points. His 48-point game ended up being more than half of his team’s total points for the match in the 90-81 victory in the national third-place game.
7. Houston’s Elvin Hayes: 49 points vs. Loyola-Chicago (1968)
The future Hall of Famer delivered an all-time effort against the Ramblers, and his point total wasn’t even his most impressive stat. His 49 points came off of 20-of-28 shooting, but he dominated the boards. When the final buzzer sounded, he had collected 27 rebounds. He’s still the only player to have 40 or more points and 20 or more rebounds in a tournament game.
6. Navy‘s David Robinson: 50 points vs. Michigan (1987)
“The Admirable,” as he was known, was a star in college and is one of just six players all-time to have a 50-point performance in an NCAA Tournament game. Robinson did it all in this one, scoring 50 points and six rebounds, while adding three steals and two blocks on the defensive end. His Herculean effort was not enough, however, as Michigan came away with the 97-82 win.
T-4. Notre Dame’s Austin Carr: 52 points vs. TCU (1971)
Before Carr had his 47-point masterpiece vs. Houston, he showed out against the Horned Frogs in the first round. Not quite as efficient as he usually was, Carr poured in 52 points on 20-of-34 shooting and 12 makes from the charity stripe. More importantly, he carried the Irish, scoring more than half of the team’s 102 points in the 102-94 win.
T-4. Notre Dame’s Austin Carr: 52 points vs. Kentucky (1970)
Another Carr game! He delivered in this one, scoring 52 of Notre Dame’s 99 total points for the contest. His 52 points came despite getting to the line just eight times, converting all of them. Overall, from the field, he knocked down 22 of his 35 shots, good for a 67.5% true shooting percentage. Unfortunately, that was not enough, as ND fell 109-99.
3. Cincinnati‘s Oscar Robertson: 56 points vs. Arkansas (1958)
“The Big O” wasn’t just a great NBA player, he dominated in college as well. Robertson was also great at seeking out contact, earning 16 free-throw attempts in this one, converting 14 of them. His 56 points lifted the Bearcats to a 35-point win over the Razorbacks in the regional third-place game.
If not for Carr, Bradley’s 58-point game would be talked about much more. His efficiency in the game was wild, shooting 22 of 29 for the day and 14 of 15 from the free-throw line. That wasn’t all he contributed, though, with the big man also pulling down 17 rebounds. His 58 points ended up pacing Princeton to a 36-point win over the Shockers.
1. Notre Dame’s Austin Carr: 61 points vs. Ohio (1970)
No surprise that Carr tops the list, considering four of the top 10 scoring performances have come from the former Notre Dame star. In 1970, though, he delivered a performance for the ages against Ohio in the first round of the tournament. He dropped 61 points to go with six rebounds and shot 11 of 25 from the field. To this day, he’s still the only player to top the 60-point threshold in an NCAA Tournament game.
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