Alabama State represented the HBCU experience well in this year’s NCAA Tournament. A miraculous full-court play in the waning seconds gave the Hornets their first-ever win in the ‘Big Dance’ with a 70-68 victory over Saint Francis (PA) in the NCAA First Four.
TJ Madlock was fouled with 12.4 seconds left and missed the front end of a one-and-one that could have broken the 68-68 tie. However, Saint Francis turned the ball over on the ensuing possession giving Alabama State the ball back with 3.4 seconds remaining. Alabama State threw the ball the length of the court for a wild play that ended up with the ball being tipped to Amarr Knox, who made the game-winning layup with 1 second remaining.
The play was one of many dramatic finishes in this year’s tournament, which was won by the University of Florida on Monday night. So did the play merit a spot in the prestigious “One Shining Moment” recap video that airs at the conclusion of the tournament?
One Shining Moment answer
Yes it did.
The play was edited down to five seconds and can be seen from the- 38-:43 second mark of the 3:02 long video. Mathematically speaking, 2.75 percent of the video featured Alabama State. So as it stands the official visual story of the 2025 NCAA Tournament can not be told without including the champions from the SWAC. You can see the video here.
Knox was featured in an Alabama State jersey in the storied video but we may never see him in the SWAC or HBCU basketball again. A week after hitting the game-winning shot Knox entered the transfer portal. The latest check of his social media accounts doesn’t have any information about Knox committing to a new school. He can return to Alabama State if he chooses but the expectation in today’s basketball culture is that he will not.
But for One Shining Moment, Amarr Knox and the Alabama State Hornets left us with one final reminder of 2025 that an HBCU can create its own magic in the Madness of March.
