The first No. 1 seed has been crossed out from your March Madness bracket. The first earth-shaking moment of the 2022 NCAA tournament’s Round of 32 came early Saturday, when the Baylor Bears fell to the North Carolina Tar Heels despite an epic rally (inspired by a controversial officiating decision that saw UNC’s Brady Manek sent off with a flagrant foul) to force overtime. The 93-86 loss cemented the East as this event’s most wide-open region, with the Tar Heels, No. 4 seed UCLA and the upstart No. 15-seed Saint Peter’s Peacocks all getting primed for the festivities in Philadelphia next weekend along with a team to be determined.
Saint Peter’s was the day’s other huge story, becoming just the third 15-seed in history to reach the second weekend by handling Murray State 70-60.
Meanwhile, the No. 1 seeds that weren’t Baylor — the Kansas Jayhawks and Gonzaga Bulldogs — both survived, but it was far from easy for either.
As 24 teams are trimmed to 16 on Sunday, ESPN’s panel of Myron Medcalf, Jeff Borzello, John Gasaway and Joe Lunardi weighed in on Saturday’s events and also looked ahead to a Sunday schedule that will round out a thrilling first weekend of Madness.
Follow this link for NCAA tournament tip times, and visit here to check your March Madness bracket.
North Carolina, a team we weren’t sure was going to be in the NCAA tournament a couple weeks ago, has punched its ticket to the second weekend. How surprised would you be to see the Tar Heels in New Orleans?
Medcalf: With both Kentucky and Baylor eliminated from the East Region, I would not be surprised. I still think Gonzaga, Kansas and Arizona are a step ahead of the field. But this region is beginning to feel like the “best team right now” will have a chance to reach New Orleans and maybe more. In recent weeks, the Tar Heels won a road game over Duke and have just eliminated a No. 1 seed. I don’t…
Source : espn
