Jake’s Take: Five great NCAA Tournament games of the past 10 years

Sunday, March 11, 2012. It's a date that has been circled on my calendar for 365 days. To some, it might be the greatest day of the year. For others, it's the day that leads to the greatest three weeks of the year. March 11 has a nickname – it's called "Selection Sunday."

For those of you who have no idea what I'm talking about, Selection Sunday is the day the NCAA Tournament teams are selected and announced. It's the day many college hoops fans anticipate from day one of the season. Will their favorite team make the big dance? If so, what seed did they get and what matchups will they face? How far can they go? Selection Sunday is like a second Christmas.

So as we get ready for this year's NCAA Tournament, let's take a look back at five great NCAA Tournament games from the past 10 years:

5. Iowa State falls to Hampton: Ok, so it was 11 years ago, but when you're talking about the biggest upset in NCAA Tournament history (based on tournament seeds) you can make exceptions to the rules. Everyone knows the story, and most Panther fans love to relive it. Hampton scores with seven seconds left, Iowa State goes coast-to-coast for the potential game-winning lay-up, but it does not fall. Final score: Hampton 58, Iowa State 57.

4. Northwestern State stuns Iowa: For Hawkeye haters like me, this probably goes down as one of the greatest tournament games ever. Iowa fans will remember it forever, as much as they hate to. The third-seeded Hawkeyes took a double-digit lead on the 14th-seeded Demons in the second half, but Northwestern State scrapped back to cut the Iowa lead to just two points with under a minute left. Northwestern State got an offensive rebound in the final seconds and threw up a 3-pointer from the corner. Must I continue? Final score: Northwestern State 64, Iowa 63.

3. Duke survives Butler: I won't lie about this one; it's completely biased. I am a huge Duke fan, and this game was by far the greatest Duke game I have ever watched, or at least tried to watch. Those who watched in the UNI dorms may remember the game freezing on Jon Scheyer's face for the remaining five minutes of regulation. In a mad panic, I found a friend on Skype to watch the end of the game. What did I (attempt to) see on that computer screen? Gordon Hayward of Butler missing a half-court shot that would've won the game. Duke won! Final score: Duke 61, Butler 59.

2. Kansas wins in overtime: Another great national championship game. Memphis misses numerous free throws down the stretch, KU's Mario Chalmers hits a 3-pointer to send the game into overtime and Kansas pulls away with a seven-point victory. Kansas 75, Memphis 68.

1. Down goes Kansas: Is it even a question? Of course, number one has to be what probably goes down as the greatest UNI basketball game of all time. Jordan Eglseder hits two early 3-pointers, but neither were as big as the cold-blooded Ali Farokhmanesh 3 with 35 seconds remaining. Why didn't he run more time off the clock? Who cares! Final score: UNI 69, Kansas 67.