March Madness 2022: Michigan moves on, a No. 1 seed falls, and more from Saturday’s NCAA tournament action
Michigan guard Eli Brooks flips in the hook shot over the defender, putting the Wolverines up four with under a minute left. (0:18)
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 on the second day of the 2022 NCAA tournament. The Auburn Tigers, Villanova Wildcats and Purdue Boilermakers, meanwhile, had big, statement wins.
Entering Saturday’s round of 32, three Cinderella teams hoped 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 were Richmond and New Mexico State. The former fell to Providence, but the latter hopes to continue its run against Arkansas.
8:40 p.m.: 12 New Mexico State Aggies vs. 4 Arkansas Razorbacks
9:40 p.m.: 9 Memphis Tigers vs. 1 Gonzaga Bulldogs
ELI BROOKS WITH THE SKY HOOK π±
The Wolverines can taste the #Sweet16@umichbball #MarchMadness pic.twitter.com/UuR0UjW2cE
Juwan Howard blew a kiss & shared a moment with Chris Webber after @umichbball advanced to the #Sweet16 γ½οΈ#MarchMadness pic.twitter.com/zQxnQr5RVT
Bolstered by a big second half, Juwan Howard’s 11-seed Wolverines knocked off the No. 3 Volunteers, 76-68. They will appear in the Sweet 16 for the fifth consecutive tournament. Hunter Dickinson and Eli Brooks combined for over half of Michigan’s total points.
Juwan Howard took a moment to console Kennedy Chandler after the Michigan-Tennessee game
Respect. π @umichbball @Vol_Hoops pic.twitter.com/G1kQixPRJx
Dickinson’s 48 points through two games are the most points by a Michigan player through the first two rounds of an NCAA tournament since Howard tallied 62 in the same span in 1994.
Noah Horchler is all smiles after this RIDICULOUS block ππ
#MarchMadness pic.twitter.com/uQj33v4aG0
No upset alert here. The Friars decisively handled the Spiders, 79-51, en route to the team’s first Sweet 16 appearance in over two decades.
Jojo takes flight βοΈ
πΊ CBS
pic.twitter.com/24KQ84jscg
go ahead KC
πΊ CBS
pic.twitter.com/qMLfzKO15p
Bang ( but in spanish )
πΊ CBS
pic.twitter.com/zFPdnxwADK
Zakai’ll do that to ya
πΊ CBS
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Tennessee started the game slow as Michigan cruised to a 10-2 lead, largely aided by two early 3-pointers from Dickinson. However, the tide shifted in favor of the Volunteers as they closed the first half on a 13-2 run and forced nine turnovers.
Chi town wassssssup baby π pic.twitter.com/VU8ZlIiPWG
It was touch and go for a while, but the 1-seed Kansas Jayhawks avoided a legitimate challenge from a tough Creighton Bluejays squad. Jayhawks guard Remy Martin finished with 20 points, seven rebounds and four assists on the day.
This fadeaway was textbook, Remy Martin π€@KUHoops | #MarchMadness pic.twitter.com/1J4lqQ3LJ2
AGBAJI WITH THE STEAL AND SLAM
JAYHAWKS UP 3 π±@KUHoops #MarchMadness pic.twitter.com/K8IdWSaWw2
MADE IT SWEET pic.twitter.com/uUizWdKAVp
Bluejays forward Arthur Kaluma finished the day with 24 points, 12 rebounds and three assists. He joins Doug McDermott as the only Creighton players in the last 50 years with at least 20 points and 10 rebounds in a tournament game.
Open three β‘οΈ knockdown β
Jalen Coleman-Lands extends @KUHoops‘ lead #MarchMadness pic.twitter.com/vrncbQD68K
It’s still anybody’s game between Creighton and Kansas, but the Jayhawks are starting to put a little distance between themselves and the Bluejays, thanks to wide-open looks like this one from Jalen Coleman-Lands.
Bluejays and Jayhawks are going at it πΏ#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 πππ
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.
π€·ββοΈ @UNC_Basketball #MarchMadness pic.twitter.com/z6xplqB2Ns
WHY NOT?! @BaylorMBB #MarchMadness pic.twitter.com/WVZZY89qxz
WE ARE GOING TO OT π#MarchMadness pic.twitter.com/5aN29G5MTR
Scott Drew couldn’t watch the end of regulation π @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 π
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 β@UNC_Basketball is in control #MarchMadness pic.twitter.com/zn5wyuket0
RJ Davis … again π³
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 π₯
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!!! βοΈ#StrutUpπ¦ | #MarchMadness pic.twitter.com/rrrFIGznVg
When in Texas π€ #CarolinaFamily | #MarchMadness pic.twitter.com/PfAkliHsma