March Madness 2022: The first No. 1 seed falls and more from Saturday’s NCAA tournament action
North Carolina blows a 25-point lead in the second half, but manages to hold on for a 93-86 OT win over Baylor. (0:44)
March Madness calmed down a bit Friday with higher seeds mostly taking care of business. The Notre Dame Fighting Irish, Miami Hurricanes and Iowa State Cyclones were the only double-digit-seeded teams to advance in the 2022 NCAA tournament on the second day of the tournament. The Auburn Tigers, Villanova Wildcats and Purdue Boilermakers, meanwhile, had big, statement wins.
Heading to the round of 32 on Saturday, our two biggest Cinderellas will look to keep their tournament dreams alive. Saint Peter’s, which upset No. 2 seed Kentucky in the first round, faces Murray State. The winners of two 12-5 upsets, Richmond and New Mexico State, face Providence and Arkansas, respectively.
5:15 p.m.: 11 Michigan Wolverines vs. 3 Tennessee Volunteers
6:10 p.m.: 12 Richmond Spiders vs. 4 Providence Friars
7:10 p.m.: 5 Saint Mary’s Gaels vs. 4 UCLA Bruins
7:45 p.m.: 15 Saint Peter’s Peacocks vs. 7 Murray State Racers
8:40 p.m.: 12 New Mexico State Aggies vs. 4 Arkansas Razorbacks
9:40 p.m.: 9 Memphis Tigers vs. 1 Gonzaga Bulldogs
Bluejays and Jayhawks are going at it 🍿#MarchMadness pic.twitter.com/6ZG1jRWWko
The underdogs came to play today against the 1-seeds. Creighton is matching Kansas shot-for-shot, and is rocking it from beyond the arc despite going 5-of-43 from 3 in its previous two games combined.
The Tar Heels blew a 25-point lead in the final minutes, but 8-seed UNC is going to the Sweet 16 after upsetting the 1-seed, and reigning national champion, Baylor in the round of 32. It’s North Carolina’s ninth win against a No. 1 seed in the NCAA tournament, which ties (of all schools) Duke for most all time.
UNC guard R.J. Davis played the hero this time, dropping 30 points to go with six assists and five rebounds. Davis had only nine points combined in his previous two NCAA tournament games. He also got props from Trae Young on Twitter.
R.J. Davis is the 2nd North Carolina player with 30 points in a game against a No. 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament since seeding began in 1979.
The only other Tar Heel to accomplish the feat was Al Wood in 1981 (National Semifinals against Virginia). pic.twitter.com/GyNDdsvdiO
BE GREAT RJ DAVIS!!!!
Meanwhile, North Carolina’s women’s basketball team was pumped watching the game in their hotel lobby.
Our hotel lobby 🙌🙌🙌
Way to go @UNC_Basketball !#GoHeels x #MarchMadness pic.twitter.com/xlwgCjrjDd
Baylor is the fifth straight defending national champion not to make it out of the opening weekend. Virginia fell to Ohio State in 2021 and Villanova lost in the round of 32 in 2019 in 2017. The other defending champ to lose in the round of 32 recently? North Carolina. The end result here is an awful lot of busted brackets.
🤷♂️ @UNC_Basketball #MarchMadness pic.twitter.com/z6xplqB2Ns
WHY NOT?! @BaylorMBB #MarchMadness pic.twitter.com/WVZZY89qxz
WE ARE GOING TO OT 👀#MarchMadness pic.twitter.com/5aN29G5MTR
Scott Drew couldn’t watch the end of regulation 😂 @BaylorMBB#MarchMadness pic.twitter.com/kAFMJ2aNDw
Saturday’s first game has been an absolute doozy, with Baylor engineering a 25-point comeback to tie it against UNC. R.J. Davis’ attempted buzzer-beater fell short and the game will be decided in overtime.
HERE COMES @BaylorMBB 👀
Bears go on a 9-0 run #MarchMadness pic.twitter.com/JD5wqO0LpJ
Baylor’s not done just yet. They’re on a 20-4 run in Texas, during which the Tar Heels turned the ball over seven times, and have cut UNC’s lead to single digits. This one feels like it’ll go down to the wire.
Rejected by Bacot ❌@UNC_Basketball is in control #MarchMadness pic.twitter.com/zn5wyuket0
RJ Davis … again 😳
Sheesh @UNC_Basketball
| #MarchMadness pic.twitter.com/o76Z65GhiD
Armando Bacot is swatting shots. R.J. Davis has 24 points. Baylor is down by over 20 in the round of 32 and is running out of time to turn things around.
RJ DAVIS HEAT CHECK.
He’s got 17 and extends @UNC_Basketball‘s lead #MarchMadness pic.twitter.com/MNAZG19Oyz
Really not shocked with 1st half score in @UNC_Basketball vs @BaylorMBB : The TarHeels were super in dominating @MarquetteMBB in round & have picked up the same pace vs Bears . The Tar Heels lead 42-29 at the half .
R.J. Davis continues to dominate — he’s got 17 at the half — and Baylor is in real trouble in its round of 32 matchup against UNC. The Tar Heels are up 42-29 at halftime. That’s the most points Baylor has allowed in the first half in the past three seasons. The last time Baylor overcame a double-digit halftime deficit to win was back in 2019, against Texas.
RJ Davis is cooking 🔥
He’s got UNC’s first 8 points #MarchMadness pic.twitter.com/XcabH8UoB8
Tar Heels guard R.J. Davis missed his first shot of No. 8 UNC’s matchup against No. 1 Baylor, but then nailed two 3-pointers and a long 2 in quick succession. He has North Carolina’s first eight points as the Heels try to pull off the upset — and that’s after scoring a combined nine points in UNC’s first two NCAA tournament games.
Saint Peter’s wrecked a lot of brackets with its upset of Kentucky. It has gained a following and a fan in UMBC, which in 2018 became the only No. 16 seed to defeat a No. 1 seed in the tournament.
And, when you pull off a massive upset, you get verified on Twitter.
WELCOME TO THE CLUB @PeacocksMBB pic.twitter.com/Fy1qkeYKq3
Cinderella lives in Jersey City, New Jersey. #StrutUp #MarchMadness
Always been a fan of St. Peter’s
WE DID IT EVERYBODY!!! ☑️#StrutUp🦚 | #MarchMadness pic.twitter.com/rrrFIGznVg
When in Texas 🤠#CarolinaFamily | #MarchMadness pic.twitter.com/PfAkliHsma