The first No. 1 seed has been removed from the March Madness brackets. The first shocking moment of the NCAA tournament's Round of 32 came early Saturday, when the Bears fell to the Tar Heels despite an epic rally. The East is the most wide-open region with the Tar Heels, UCLA and Saint Peter's all in it.
Saint Peter's became the third 15-seed in history to reach the second weekend by defeating Murray State 70-60.
It was not easy for either of the No. 1 seeds to survive, but the Kansas Jayhawks did.
The panel of Myron Medcalf, Jeff Borzello, John Gasaway and Joe Lunardi weighed in on Saturday's events and looked ahead to a Sunday schedule that will round out a thrilling first weekend.
You can check your March Madness brackets by following this link.
I would not be surprised if Kentucky and Baylor were eliminated from the East Region. I still think the field is a step behind. This region is starting to feel like the best team right now will be able to reach New Orleans. In recent weeks, the Tar Heels have defeated Duke and eliminated a No. 1 seed. I don't think there is a team in the East Region that is better than the UNC squad that is 8-1 in its past nine games. The Tar Heels will have a chance to reach their first Final Four since they won the national title if Brady Manek is out there.
I would still be surprised, but it is not out of the question. It is a wide-open region with the 1-seed out and the 2-seed out. The defense of the Boilermakers leaves a lot to be desired. The Bruins will have to hope that Jamie Jaquez Jr. is close to 100% healthy in order to beat Carolina in the Sweet 16. The Tar Heels are playing their best basketball of the season. They have defeated the same number of teams in the first four months of the season in March.
The personnel is competent. Manek has scored at least 20 points in five of his past six games and we think he will be able to play in the Sweet 16 despite his controversial ejection. He is the catalyst for big Carolina wins, even though he wasn't great Saturday. R.J. Davis scored 30. There is a person named Armando Bacot. The Tar Heels have made 24 3s in two games and held both teams to less than 1 point per possession. They have a chance to beat anyone if their perimeter shooting and defense continues.
If Manek is on the floor, we have evidence to support this contention. The senior will play his usual number of minutes. Saint Peter's already performed that service with respect to Kentucky, after UNC knocked off the East Region's top seed. The crown is the highest remaining seed, and on paper it's an open bracket. The Tar Heels are still shooting the lights out in the tournament even after a disastrous last 10 minutes of regulation. A Final Four trip for an 8-seeded UNC team would be no surprise.
After UNC won at Duke, Lunardi said on College Basketball Live that we were witnessing a perfect storm. If North Carolina beats Houston the next day, it will be in a good position to take out a 1-seed.
The Tar Heels blew a 25-point second-half lead to the Bears. It might have been a bigger surprise that they won the game again in overtime. I lost to Kentucky in the East Region final of the Elite Eight. With Big Blue Nation out of the way, what is the next game?
Gasaway makes it a point to always agree with Jay and his railing. He has a point on this topic. The portion of the North Carolina-Baylor contest that transpired after Brady Manek was ejected for a flagrant 2 was surely the game to illustrate Jay's bill of indictment. The Tar Heels displayed the most inexplicable compulsion for dribbling into the nearest corner on every possession, which led to the incredible comeback by the Bears.
The BU full-court press mauled UNC in the backcourt on inbounds passes and officials swallowing their whistles was a significant factor in the rally. In addition to the Manek ejection, there was also an interaction between Jeremy Sochan and Armando Bacot. It almost seemed as if there were stretches when the officials doubted themselves, and a form of anarchy ensued. I will defer to Jay on the reform program that will fix it because the game was not oil painting. There will always be complaints about the officials. It has been a part of the game.
You could almost hear the gears turning as the officials huddled. We went full circus mode after Carolina declined to follow the script and began handing the whole thing back to Baylor.
I was waiting for the crew to call the coaches and say, "Hey, next chippy play and that guy is out." We got Sochan and Bacot escalating their hand-to-hand (or was it leg-to-leg?) combat in plain sight. The officials were reluctant in that spot given the turn of events, but I agree. They and the two teams lost.
We probably get to the finish line unscathed on a couple of the traps that are part of the program. After that, clip all the uncalled bumps and hacks from the first half and make it the next big summer blockbuster.
North Carolina and Baylor are playing a physical, tough, competitive game. But, it's not basketball. It's hockey and rugby. This has been happening all season, and needs to change.
— Jay Bilas (@JayBilas) March 19, 2022
Officiating is a problem, so I agree with Jay. I don't usually think about the officials after a game, except on extreme occasions. Tennessee defeated Arizona earlier this season. The game on Saturday was definitely another. The officials were terrible. The lack of consistency was amazing. Fans of both teams talking about how bad the referees were is a problem. The rest of the game frustrated players, coaches and viewers, so I would take the Manek ejection out of the equation.
The jockeying should have been stopped earlier. The referees didn't know how to call fouls in the second half because they didn't know if they were fouling on every play. They didn't call any fouls in the first half and other calls were questionable at best. It would be a storyline if the crew of Kissinger, Eppley, and Hampton were to referee another game in this year's tournament. The NCAA tournament is supposed to feature the best officials in the game, and having a chance to adjudicate later rounds in the tournament is the reward. The NCAA is supposed to change the rules.
If they are not stopping games to let a couple of players fight, then we are not watching hockey-like affairs. I think we are more careful in our assessment of the officials. Big moments and impactful calls in close games tend to alter our perspectives but don't always define what's happening for 40 minutes in hundreds of games around the country I think we have an issue with consistency. That is the word the coaches used when I spoke with them. They did not ask for calls to go their way. They wanted to be sure that the officials would be the same throughout the game.
That leads us to the UNC-Baylor situation. When the pace changed and Nolan Richardson seemed to replace Scott Drew as the coach for the Bears, the officials changed. During the first half of the game, there were a number of calls that were either missed or ignored. That is the problem. The officials set the tone for the game and then they change it in real time.
Before and after games, officials should be available for questions. The internet has made it impossible for officials to remain secret in a world with it. Talking to the media won't hurt them. It will help us understand their approach to crucial calls. The officials in the UNC-Baylor game should hear from the fans. The current system does not allow this change, which would add a layer of accountability that would help everyone involved.
I don't think it was sluggish. It was a punch in the mouth from Memphis that should have made them more prepared for the title game. The Zags were complicit all the way, as the Tigers had a smart game plan and played to their strength.
It was Memphis that looked like a deer in the headlights after the half. The coach left Duren on the floor to pick up his fourth foul. He refused to let his team use timeouts. The nation's top team was still pushed to the limit by the courage of the Tigers.
Was this the "great escape" every champion needs? Or a weakness that will be used in a later round? If Texas Tech is the Final Four opponent, it will be an absolute test for Gonzaga. When the time comes, I expect Timme and Co. to be ready.
I think the worry is if Drew Timme is struggling, this team can't separate from an opponent or launch a comeback. In the first half against Memphis, he was the leader of the team as they were down by double digits. I think that is a concern for any team in the situation. If their best player goes cold, most elite programs will have challenges. Timme is reliable.
The Georgia State and Memphis games showed that a quick team can cause trouble. The way they finished both games showed how difficult it will be to beat them. Memphis had lost two games in a row. The seeds were better than the tigers. They would have challenged every team in the field on Saturday. We should consider that in our assessment of this game. The national title can still be won by the bulldogs. This is not the team that had an aura of invincibility last season. These dogs are more vulnerable.
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Borzello thinks that many people didn't think that the way the Tigers have played over the past two months would be expected. There are a lot of teams left in the tournament that will struggle with Memphis right now, and Gonzaga got punked in the first half. Timme struggled, the 3s weren't falling, and the free throws weren't falling. Memphis was the superior team for 20 minutes. Timme came out and looked like the best player in college basketball, even though he didn't know what happened in the halftime locker room.
The biggest concern is not the slow starts against Georgia State and Memphis, but the fact that the top seeds have lost in the first three days of the tournament. That happens in March. If Timme is struggling or gets in foul trouble, I'm worried about whether the Zags can consistently create offense. They don't have the elite perimeter players they did last season, so a lot will fall on Andrew Nembhard. He needs to keep playing at a high level.
Gasaway said to give Memphis credit. The game was very similar to the one last April when the Bears destroyed the same team. Timme put on his superhero outfit. The sluggishness is taking a specific form that really reminds me of the Bears and the national title game. Mark Few's team shot better from the field against Memphis, but it almost didn't matter. The Tigers didn't turn the ball over and pulled down one in every three misses. That is the formula that was used a year ago. The team might get a lot of chances to score against it.
Doug Edert drained three big shots down the stretch for Saint Peter&s in a 70-60 win over Murray State in the NCAA tournament.
Saint, Medcalf. Peter's. Also, Shaheen Holloway. Wow. He beat John Calipari in the win over Kentucky. It was a big win. The next step was difficult as well. A lot of young coaches are not good in the second-round game because of the limited prep time and rest. No team on the Murray State schedule was able to stall the Racers. But he was ready. I don't know how a team that lost at Siena by 14 points a month ago is in the Sweet 16 after beating Kentucky and Murray State. March is crazy.
The Peacocks! America has Peacocked its way into its hearts. This is one of the best sports stories of the year. Every year in the NCAA tournament, there are upsets, but a 15-seed making the Sweet 16? Not much. Saint Peter's is just the third 15-seed to win two NCAA tournament games, and Saturday certainly wasn't a one-off.
Pick the winner of the games in the NCAA tournament from the Sweet 16 to the championship. The tournament challenge had a second chance.
The Peacocks beat Murray State and never trailed. Not for a second. This is one of the most difficult jobs in the MAAC and it's one of the reasons why Holloway has them in the Sweet 16. He has more NCAA tournament wins than his mentor, after Kevin Willard mentioned him on Friday night as his potential successor at Seton Hall. An incredible story.
Even if he had to clarify in his postgame interview that he is actually a New York guy, Saint Peter's is Jersey strong. The nation was acting like the Ohio Valley Conference was the big, bad favorite for 40 minutes of basketball. The team has played with confidence and composure from the beginning against Kentucky to the end against Murray State. Saint Peter's is going to Philadelphia. If there is one lesson the other teams at the regional could learn, it is not to underestimate the Peacocks.
The campus of Saint Peter is nothing like that of the other 15-seeds who are in the Sweet 16. Florida Gulf Coast and Oral Roberts are both country clubs. This is the most unlikely Sweet 16 entrant in the history of the NCAA tournament.
The winner of the Texas vs. Purdue game has a chance of making the Final Four, so I am most interested in that game. The battle between the Boilermakers and Longhorns is a battle between one team with an elite offense and a vulnerable defense and a team with a defense-first coach. Both teams took a week between the conference tournaments and the NCAA tournament to iron things out. We need to take the opponent into account, but Texas had its most efficient offensive outing since December against Virginia Tech. How will Texas deal with Purdue? How will the guards compete against the Longhorns? I am curious.
You can watch every Men's NCAA Tournament game live. March Madness is live.
I love the Wisconsin-Iowa State game. I don't think anyone would have bet that a game between two teams that were picked to finish near the bottom of their respective leagues would lead to a trip to the Sweet 16. The story of one of college basketball's biggest surprises will be extended by a win for either team.
Wisconsin looked vulnerable. Johnny Davis might not be able to pull the Badgers to safety this time. Davis has been a clutch player all year. The Iowa State team that beat LSU has had some ugly moments this season. Izaiah Brockington could shine on the big stage. Both teams exceeded their odds. Either Greg Gard leads Wisconsin to the Sweet 16 or T.J. Otzelberger takes a team that won two games all of last season to the second weekend of the NCAA tournament.
Heading into the round of 64, I would have thought I was less interested in the game than I am now. The Frogs were average on defense in Big 12 play, but they did not look like it against the Pirates. The Pirates were held to 42 points in 65 possessions. It is possible that the average of the teams in the Big 12 means outstanding once they play outside the league. The theory will be tested in a way that is very rigorous.
I'm all over the Miami guards. This movie has been seen by Jim Larranaga and George Mason before. The veteran guards of Coach L will control the game and take advantage of every turnover. This will be one of those big seed-line upsets that is really not.
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