ESPN
Mar 20, 2022, 05:16 AM
Entering the round of 32 in the 2022 NCAA tournament, three Cinderella teams hoped to keep their tournament dreams alive.
No. 15 seed Saint Peter's, which upset No. 2 seed Kentucky in the first round, took down Murray State. Two No. 12 seeds, Richmond and New Mexico State, lost in the round of 32.
Kansas escaped a close call against Creighton, Baylor fell to North Carolina and Michigan knocked off Tennessee.
Check your brackets
Here's a look at Saturday's must-see moments and Sunday's slate of games:
Sunday's men's NCAA tournament schedule (all times ET)
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
Fill out a second chance bracket
Life is sweet for Saint Peter's
Pushing 🅿️eaco*ck#MarchMadness @Peaco*cksMBB pic.twitter.com/Z4SHFhjUa0
— NCAA March Madness (@MarchMadnessMBB) March 20, 2022
Jersey represent! Congratulations, @Peaco*cksMBB. 🦚 https://t.co/QkOBI0MXJA
— njdotcom (@njdotcom) March 20, 2022
HOW SWEET IT IS! PEAco*ckS WIN!!!!!!!!!#StrutUp🦚 pic.twitter.com/g6qDHHIsM8
— Saint Peter's Athletics (@SPUAthletics) March 20, 2022See AlsoMarch Madness 2022: Coach K vs. Tom Izzo, upsets abound and more from Sunday's NCAA tournament gamesMarch Madness 2022: Illinois outlasted Chattanooga, Coach K's last dance and more from the NCAA tournamentMarch Madness 2022: Coach K vs. Tom Izzo, upsets abound and more from Sunday's NCAA tournament gamesWe're tracking every upset in the NCAA men's tournament
LET'S GET IT 🦚🦚🦚🦚 https://t.co/wO1lyCVlN3
— New Jersey (@NJGov) March 20, 2022
The Peaco*cks never trailed against Murray State and became the third 15-seed to reach the Sweet 16 with a 70-60 victory.
UNC hangs on
— ESPN Stats & Info (@ESPNStatsInfo) March 19, 2022R.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!!!!
— Trae Young (@TheTraeYoung) March 19, 2022
The 8-seed Tar Heels blew a 25-point lead in the final minutes, but UNC advanced to the Sweet 16 after upsetting the 1-seed/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 scored only nine points in his previous two NCAA tournament games. He also got props from Trae Young on Twitter.
Meanwhile, North Carolina's women's basketball team was pumped watching the game in their hotel lobby.
— Carolina Women's Basketball (@uncwbb) March 19, 2022Our 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 2017 and 2019. 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
— NCAA March Madness (@MarchMadnessMBB) March 19, 2022
Wolverines keep dancing
— NCAA March Madness (@MarchMadnessMBB) March 19, 2022ELI BROOKS WITH THE SKY HOOK 😱
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 〽️#MarchMadness pic.twitter.com/zQxnQr5RVT
— NCAA March Madness (@MarchMadnessMBB) March 20, 2022
Bolstered by a big second half, Juwan Howard's 11-seed Wolverines knocked off the No. 3 Volunteers 76-68. Michigan will appear in the Sweet 16 for the fifth consecutive tournament. Hunter Dickinson and Eli Brooks combined for more than half of Michigan's total points.
— NCAA March Madness (@MarchMadnessMBB) March 20, 2022Juwan Howard took a moment to console Kennedy Chandler after the Michigan-Tennessee game
Respect. 👏 @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.
Gonzaga advances past Memphis
'Sup Sweet Sixteen 😏 pic.twitter.com/TtfLfJvcAT
— Gonzaga Basketball (@ZagMBB) March 20, 2022
Timme to Chet is a TOUGH combo to stop 🔥 @ZagMBB #MarchMadness pic.twitter.com/4qHJS4Git3
— NCAA March Madness (@MarchMadnessMBB) March 20, 2022
Penny Hardaway's team came to play against Gonzaga, as Memphis entered halftime with a 10-point lead. But Bulldogs forward Drew Timme scored 21 of his 25 points in the second half to lead his squad over the Tigers 82-78. It's Gonzaga's seventh straight Sweet 16 appearance, tying Duke for the third-longest streak in NCAA tournament history.
Jayhawks survive the upset bid
This fadeaway was textbook, Remy Martin 😤@KUHoops | #MarchMadness pic.twitter.com/1J4lqQ3LJ2
— NCAA March Madness (@MarchMadnessMBB) March 19, 2022
— NCAA March Madness (@MarchMadnessMBB) March 19, 2022AGBAJI WITH THE STEAL AND SLAM
JAYHAWKS UP 3 😱@KUHoops #MarchMadness pic.twitter.com/K8IdWSaWw2
MADE IT SWEET pic.twitter.com/uUizWdKAVp
— Kansas Men's Basketball (@KUHoops) March 19, 2022
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.
Bluejays forward Arthur Kaluma logged 24 points, 12 rebounds and three assists. He joined Doug McDermott as the only Creighton players in the past 50 years with at least 20 points and 10 rebounds in a tournament game.
Providence downs Richmond
Noah Horchler is all smiles after this RIDICULOUS block 😄😄
— NCAA March Madness (@MarchMadnessMBB) March 19, 2022
#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 more than two decades.
Arkansas moves on
SURVIVE AND ADVANCE SURVIVE AND ADVANCE SURVIVE AND ADVANCE SURVIVE AND ADVANCE SURVIVE AND ADVANCE SURVIVE AND ADVANCE SURVIVE AND ADVANCE SURVIVE AND ADVANCE SURVIVE AND ADVANCE SURVIVE AND ADVANCE SURVIVE AND ADVANCE SURVIVE AND ADVANCE SURVIVE AND ADVANCE SURVIVE AND ADVANCE pic.twitter.com/cx4nNpFYeT
— Sweet Sixteen Hogs 🐗 (@RazorbackMBB) March 20, 2022
Despite being outscored 31-27 in the second half, Arkansas outlasted New Mexico State 53-48 to reach the Sweet 16. Guard JD Notae (18) and forward Jaylin Williams (10) were the only Razorbacks to reach double digits in scoring.
Bruins take care of business
— UCLA Men's Basketball (@UCLAMBB) March 20, 2022
UCLA's 72-56 win over Saint Mary's lifted the team to the Sweet 16, where North Carolina awaits. The Bruins and Tar Heels have a combined 17 national titles, which is tied for the second most entering an NCAA tournament.
Big-time block
— NCAA March Madness (@MarchMadnessMBB) March 20, 2022EVER SEEN A PEAco*ck FLY!? 🦚
KC Ndefo with the WILD chase down block for @Peaco*cksMBB 🔥 #MarchMadness pic.twitter.com/Kc976Wgnt3
Trae Hannibal already had one highlight-worthy dunk against the Peaco*cks. KC Ndefo's chase-down block ensured that he wouldn't have another.
Grown man slam
MALCOLM DANDRIDGE WITH THE GROWN MAN SLAM TO GIVE @Memphis_MBB THE LEAD OVER TOP-SEEDED ZAGS 😱#MarchMadness pic.twitter.com/vF2V98Qqrb
— NCAA March Madness (@MarchMadnessMBB) March 20, 2022
The Tigers might have lost, but Malcolm Dandridge's commanding dunk over ESPN's No. 1 NBA prospect Chet Holmgren was a worthy highlight from the game.
Friends in strange places
— 7:40pm TNT 🐗 (@RazorbackMBB) March 20, 2022We love y'all!
You too random Syracuse fan. pic.twitter.com/VlCBBWvfjn
What do New York and Arkansas have in common? This one fan, apparently.
Hannibal flies high
— NCAA March Madness (@MarchMadnessMBB) March 20, 2022THE STEAL TO THE ALLEY-OOP 😱
RACERS ARE OFF TO THE RACES 🏇#MarchMadness pic.twitter.com/UGWfgSG2SY
Trae Hannibal threw down the hammer with an acrobatic jam that would have made Murray State alumnus Ja Morant proud.
Peaco*cks have a fan club
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 @Peaco*cksMBB pic.twitter.com/Fy1qkeYKq3
— UMBC Athletics (@UMBCAthletics) March 18, 2022
Cinderella lives in Jersey City, New Jersey. #StrutUp #MarchMadness
— Governor Phil Murphy (@GovMurphy) March 18, 2022
Always been a fan of St. Peter's
— Jack Harlow (@jackharlow) March 18, 2022
WE DID IT EVERYBODY!!! ☑️#StrutUp🦚 | #MarchMadness pic.twitter.com/rrrFIGznVg
— Saint Peter's Men's Basketball (@Peaco*cksMBB) March 18, 2022
Cowboy up
When in Texas 🤠#CarolinaFamily | #MarchMadness pic.twitter.com/PfAkliHsma
— Carolina Basketball (@UNC_Basketball) March 18, 2022
