March Madness 2025: Alabama State wins NCAA tournament's first game with Hail Mary basket by Amarr Knox

March Madness 2025: Alabama State wins NCAA tournament's first game with Hail Mary basket by Amarr Knox

Welcome to "One Shining Moment," Alabama State. (Photo by Dylan Buell/Getty Images)

March has officially begun, courtesy of Alabama State in the First Four.

The Hornets notched their first NCAA tournament win in program history on Tuesday with a football pass-turned-tip-drill-turned-lay-up from Amarr Knox, who put them ahead 70-68 over St. Francis with an assist from Micah Simpson.

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It was a proper start for March Madness in Dayton:

MARCH IS HERE.

ALABAMA STATE WINS IT ON A HAIL MARY 🤯

(via @MarchMadnessMBB)pic.twitter.com/slvl7yp07k — Yahoo Sports (@YahooSports) March 19, 2025

Knox led Alabama State with 16 points on 8-of-15 shooting.

You really need to see the baseline angle to understand how ludicrous these plays are.

Alabama State was trying to break a tie after back-to-back 3-pointers from St. Francis, who had led for most of the game but sputtered offensively at multiple times in the second half. Both teams were playing their first NCAA tournament game in over a decade — it was Alabama State's first since 2011 and St. Francis' first since 1991.

Tuesday will be remembered as one of the brightest moments in Alabama State program history. The reward: a date with No. 1 overall seed Auburn on Thursday.

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