March Madness 2022: Coach K vs. Tom Izzo, the ‘Buckets’ family and more from Sunday’s NCAA tournament games
March Madness 2022 has been an entertaining ride, and it’s just getting started.
Saturday’s slate of NCAA tournament games saw 8-seed North Carolina upset the defending champion Baylor Bears. Michigan took down No. 3 Tennessee, adding to the hoops drama.
That wasn’t all. Creighton played tough against No. 1 Kansas, but the Jayhawks escaped with a 79-72 victory.
Buckle up for more hardwood theatrics as the second round continues Sunday.
Duke’s Mike Krzyzewski will meet Michigan State’s Tom Izzo for the final time. Krzyzewski is retiring after 42 seasons with the Blue Devils. It’s the sixth meeting between Coach K and Izzo in the NCAA tournament, a record for the most common matchups between head coaches, according to ESPN Stats & Information.
Auburn guard Jabari Smith takes the court after his exceptional performance against Jacksonville State in the first round. Arizona and Villanova are a couple other top-two squads playing.
12:10 p.m.: 5 Houston Cougars vs. 4 Illinois Fighting Illini
2:40 p.m.: 7 Ohio State Buckeyes vs. 2 Villanova Wildcats
5:15 p.m.: 7 Michigan State Spartans vs 2 Duke Blue Devils
6:10 p.m.: 11 Iowa State Cyclones vs. 3 Wisconsin Badgers
7:10 p.m.: 11 Notre Dame Fighting Irish vs. 3 Texas Tech Red Raiders
7:45 p.m.: 10 Miami Hurricanes vs. 2 Auburn Tigers
8:40 p.m.: 6 Texas Longhorns vs. 3 Purdue Boilermakers
9:40 p.m.: 9 TCU Horned Frogs vs. 1 Arizona Wildcats
MILWAUKEE — When New Mexico State stunned UConn in the first round of the NCAA tournament on Thursday, America was introduced to “Teddy Buckets.”
Aggies guard Teddy Allen scored 37 of his team’s 70 points, the most ever by a New Mexico State player in the tournament. After the game, Allen went viral by staring into a TNT camera and saying, “Bye, bye, blue bloods!”
“The interview after the game, that’s exactly who he is all the time,” said Allen’s younger brother, Timmy, a forward for Texas. “But I don’t know, I’m definitely a fun guy.”
don’t play bout him https://t.co/CSeoR6lTXN
Not only does Timmy Allen also have some personality, he’s the rightful owner of the “Buckets” nickname, at least until big brother stepped in.
“I was the original ‘Timmy Buckets,'” Teddy said Saturday, as Texas prepared for its second-round matchup against Purdue. “It’s been my Twitter handle since the seventh grade or something like that. And then he started going crazy and it went to Teddy Buckets. So either or, but we both get to the basket for sure.”
New Mexico State is Teddy Allen’s fourth school in five years, while Timmy transferred from Utah to Texas following the 2020-21 season. Longhorns coach Chris Beard said the team delayed several film sessions Thursday so Timmy could watch Teddy’s game against UConn. Beard is close with New Mexico State coach Chris Jans.
“I think Timmy was the original ‘Buckets,'” Beard said. “It’s my understanding that Teddy took it. I love Teddy, but I’m a Timmy guy.”
While Teddy might be the more brazen and outgoing brother, Timmy has his own swagger.
“Timmy has his own dance,” Texas guard Courtney Ramey said. “You should see it someday. Big fun guy over here. Big fun guy.”
If Texas keeps dancing in the NCAA tournament, the moves are sure to come out. — Adam Ritttenberg