#ncaa march madness 2018 final four

[d-criss-news]

willropp: In 2015, @calebfoote and I tried out for the @ umichfootball team. I was a WR and he was a DB, despite the coaches insistence that we should be kickers.

Now it’s actually unclear whether we ever made the team or not, never officially got the rejection email… probably went to spam. We did however get to keep the practice jerseys.

@uofmichigan means a lot to me and last night’s national championship was one of the best nights of my life. A culmination of over ten years of ups and downs. Couldn’t love this school, everything it has down for me, and the friends it has brought me, any more than I do.

Bet!!!!

Go blue baby

[sportyconnect]

Introduction March Madness, the NCAA Division I Men's Basketball Tournament, is an exciting time filled with upsets, surprises, and unforgettable Cinderella stories. A handful of teams defy the odds each year, making deep runs that captivate fans nationwide. These Cinderella teams are often led by unheralded players who come together to create something extraordinary on the court. The Memorable Cinderella Stories Throughout the history of March Madness, several Cinderella stories have etched themselves into the tournament's folklore. Let's take a look at a few of the most remarkable ones: George Mason in 2006: The George Mason Patriots, a No. 11 seed, made an unprecedented run to the Final Four in 2006. Despite never advancing past the second round, they shocked the world with their incredible performance. Guard Jai Lewis and forward Ryan Anderson led the charge, showcasing their skills and determination. Gonzaga in 2017: The Gonzaga Bulldogs, also a No. 11 seed, made a historic journey to the national championship game in 2017. Although they had never reached Sweet 16, they displayed unwavering resolve and exceptional teamwork. Guard Nigel Williams-Goss and forward Domantas Sabonis played pivotal roles in their captivating run. Villanova in 2018: The Villanova Wildcats, a No. 2 seed, defied expectations in the 2018 tournament. Despite winning the national championship two years prior, they were not initially favored to return to the Final Four. Led by guard Jalen Brunson and forward Mikal Bridges, Villanova showcased their determination and skill, proving they were a force to be reckoned with. These Cinderella stories, among many others, have inspired fans worldwide and demonstrated the magic that unfolds during March Madness. What Makes a Cinderella Story? While there is no unique formula for a Cinderella story, there are several common factors that contribute to these remarkable runs: Underdog Status: Cinderella teams often emerge from smaller schools or conferences and are considered underdogs in the tournament. They face formidable opponents with more extensive resources and talent. Unheralded Players: Cinderella teams are frequently led by unheralded players who may not be household names. However, they rise to the occasion during March Madness and deliver outstanding performances, displaying their true potential. Momentum: Cinderella teams often enter the tournament with momentum on their side. They might have won crucial games in the regular season or conference tournaments, building confidence and a winning mentality. The Importance of Cinderella Stories Cinderella stories hold significant importance for various reasons: Providing Hope: Cinderella stories offer hope to fans of smaller schools and conferences, demonstrating that dreams can be realized even against the toughest competition. Unleashing Possibilities: These stories showcase the limitless possibilities of March Madness. They remind us that underdogs can triumph against all odds and that anything can happen in the madness of March. Inspiring Achievements: Cinderella stories inspire individuals to pursue their dreams, no matter how unlikely they may seem. They serve as a reminder that remarkable achievements are possible with hard work, dedication, and belief. Conclusion March Madness is an extraordinary time that embraces upsets, surprises, and the enchantment of Cinderella stories. These stories, driven by underdogs and unheralded players, serve as an inspiration to fans worldwide. They remind us that extraordinary moments can emerge within the madness of March, forever etching themselves into the annals of college basketball history. FAQs How often do Cinderella stories happen in March Madness? Cinderella stories occur regularly in March Madness, with unexpected upsets and underdog teams making deep runs in the tournament. While not every year produces a Cinderella story, there are usually a few memorable ones that capture the attention of fans.

What is the significance of Cinderella stories in March Madness? Cinderella stories bring excitement, unpredictability, and a sense of inspiration to March Madness. They showcase the true essence of the tournament, where any team has the opportunity to defy expectations and achieve greatness. How do Cinderella stories impact the NCAA tournament as a whole? Cinderella stories add intrigue and drama to the tournament, attracting more viewership and generating buzz. They create memorable moments and narratives that enhance the overall experience for fans, players, and coaches. Have any Cinderella teams gone on to win the national championship? While Cinderella teams often make deep runs in the tournament, it is rare for them to win the national championship ultimately. However, there have been a few exceptional cases, such as the Villanova Wildcats in 1985, who entered the tournament as an eighth seed and emerged as the champions. Can Cinderella stories be predicted or expected in each March Madness tournament? The nature of Cinderella stories is their unpredictability. While some lower-seeded teams may have the potential for a surprising run, it is impossible to predict which sections will become Cinderella stories definitively. That's part of what makes March Madness so thrilling and captivating. #SportyConnect

[bongaboi]

North Texas: 2022-23 National Invitation Tournament Champions

LAS VEGAS (AP) — Kai Huntsberry scored 14 of his 21 points in the first half, Tylor Perry scored 14 of his 20 after halftime and North Texas beat fellow Conference USA foe UAB 68-61 on Thursday night to claim the program's first NIT championship.

It was the fourth NIT championship game to feature conference opponents — and the first in 20 years. Conference USA is now 18-2 in the NCAA postseason — with Charlotte winning the College Basketball Invitational title and FAU advancing to the Final Four.

Perry, the conference player of the year and NIT MVP, made a steal and a 3-pointer on a fast break to give North Texas the lead for good at 55-53 with 6:22 remaining. Aaron Scott extended it to 61-55 after making a high-arching layup and a jumper.

UAB guard Jordan Walker was fouled on a 3-pointer with 1:48 remaining and he made two free throws to get within 63-59. North Texas had two shots on its next possession after an offensive rebound and Perry sank a jumper.

After UAB made two more free throws with 49.6 seconds left, Perry dribbled down the clock and hit a step-back jumper, with a foot on the 3-point line, for a 68-61 lead. UAB missed a 3-pointer and Huntsberry was fouled at 13.2 before securing it at the line.

North Texas won its second NCAA postseason championship under sixth-year head coach Grant McCasland. The Mean Green won the 2018 CBI title in his first season in Denton.

Scott finished with 13 points and seven rebounds for North Texas (31-7), which set a program record for wins in a season.

Walker scored 21 points on 6-of-14 shooting for UAB (29-10), which was in the NIT title game for the first time in program history. KJ Buffen added 11 points.

Javian Davis converted a three-point play with 12:43 left in the second half for UAB's first lead, 47-45, since it was 15-14. The Mean Green scored 22 of the first 30 second-half points.

It was the fourth meeting of the season between the teams — with North Texas winning two regular-season meetings before a matchup in the conference tournament semifinals.

AP March Madness coverage: https://apnews.com/hub/march-madness and bracket: https://apnews.com/hub/ncaa-mens-bracket and https://apnews.com/hub/ap-top-25-college-basketball-poll and https://twitter.com/AP_Top25

[is6621]

When Going Viral Isn’t Always A Good Thing by Matt Razek

In the age of social media, all it takes is a single message - be it a Facebook status, an Instagram post, a news article, a Tweet, etc. - and you could be known all over the world. As I’m sure you can attest too, though, while this may sound like a good thing, that isn’t always the case.

What does it take to go viral?

Going viral means something different for each individual. For someone like Baker Mayfield (Go Browns), he’s used to getting hundreds of retweets and favorites on a single post. For someone like me, anything more than ten is a big deal and that’s usually because the places I tag in a post help me out.

Though, for someone trying to make it to the big leagues, Forbes gives a few tricks to practice. Not all of them will work for everyone, but if you play your cards right, you could be the next viral social media sensation.

Focus on high quality content before investing in advertising

Know your audience - Enough said.

Partner with influencers - Two words: #FyreFestival

Get your content reposted on popular accounts - All it takes is a retweet, favorite, or like from an account with a lot of followers. Think about the quality of your media post (picture, words, message) before positing if you’re hoping for it to catch the attention of these accounts that get thousands of messages/interactions a day.

Tell a relatable story through your account - If you ever think of Facebook viral posts, it’s often of a picture or a video with a long story that describes it. Individuals love that stuff. Sometimes it can be a heartwarming story; other times it is making sure individuals are aware of a negative trend, a missing person, etc. 

Keep it short and to the point - Twitter is great for this. A simple photo and 180 characters. Plus, humans have short attention spans so you don’t have much space for filler content.

Utilize interactive content - Instagram has taken this to a new level with improvements to its stories feature that allows individuals to ask open-ended questions, pose questions, etc.

The term viral comes from virus which is an infection. In the internet world, individuals become “infected” with emotion when they see information that they resonate with, and that causes them to do something with it. Individuals want to share items on social media because they hope for their followers to share similar emotions with them. Below are a few examples of the positive and negative effects of viral information.

The Good Kind of Viral

Who would have thought that a 98-year-old nun would take over the NCAA March Madness tournament over night and become a household sports name? For almost 30 years, Sr. Jean has been the chaplain of the Loyola University Chicago (Go Ramblers!) Men’s Basketball Team. She goes to every game, says a prayer, emails the players individually after each game, and makes sure the coaches know her thoughts. While she has been a sensation at the university, it took a few interviews made into social media posts during the 2018 tournament for her to become, in her humble opinion, “an international sensation.” By the time the Final Four came around, the university needed to send a separate security detail for her thanks to the internet, and she would have receiving lines at multiple events. She was even in a Super Bowl 2019 commercial for March Madness and was the only non-basketball player/coach featured in the 60 second clip. 

The Bad Kind of Viral

We’re used to seeing the good kind of viral as it sometimes becomes more memorable because of the emotions that it invokes in us. But that’s not always the case.

When I was in high school I remember seeing an article outside of a classroom with the following title:

I never read the article posted. I simply just read the title every morning when I would pass by. I remember thinking how sad that was...he seemed so young. I saw a few tweets with the same title over the course of that month. Flash forward a few years and I saw a live TV interview with Bill Nye. My mind was blown. “I definitely saw an article that said he was dead,” I told myself. Turns out, it was an article written by The Onion. If I had only looked at the source and done my research, I would have easily realized this viral message was indeed a hoax and wouldn’t have spent those two years thinking Bill Nye was a dead.

However, there are also bad virals that aren’t as funny. Take this professor who was trying to make a simple joke to her 60 followers but ended up reaching 25 million people. What sounded like good fun, turned into her receiving threats and criticism for not being understanding of those who experience death in their lives, especially her students. 

A similar thing happened to a supervisor of mine who tweeted something during the 2016 presidential election related to female inspirations running and being excited so that his daughters could see it. Someone who barely musters any followers outside of higher education and former students was now getting similar responses to this professor from individuals all over the country sending threats to him and his family. 

Think twice before hoping to be involved in viral content. And, if you’re trying to spread the content, double check your facts to make sure you aren’t spreading fake news!

Sources:

https://www.forbes.com/sites/steveolenski/2018/02/06/7-ways-to-up-your-chances-of-going-viral-on-social-media/#13c942c217af

https://www.lifewire.com/what-does-it-mean-to-go-viral-3486225

https://www.chicagotribune.com/news/opinion/commentary/ct-perspec-viraltweets-reddit-facebook-internet-snowflakes-bullies-viorica-marian-0523-story.html

[jrgsportsbuzz]

NCAA Tournament bubble: Why small conferences should get more consideration in 2019

We are closing in on March, and college basketball fans know what that means. The NCAA Tournament is just around the corner and action-packed, drama-filled basketball is a daily occurrence even before the crazed event known as March Madness begins.

From teams battling to improve their seeding and matchups to other teams battling just to get invited, college basketball’s main event breeds excitement that goes beyond its boundaries from Selection Sunday to the final cutting down of the nets.

The 2019 NCAA Tournament figures to be as exciting, if not more, than any previous installment, but the race for some of the final at-large bids raises an annual question that applies more this season than most other years.

Should more at-large teams be included from smaller conferences?

The answer is a resounding yes.

This has been a season in which many of the power conferences have experienced high levels of parity. A lot of the teams in the middle of the standings in those conferences have mediocre conference records and have stubbed their toes on numerous occasions against conference doormats. Meanwhile, teams in some of the smaller conferences have put together very tidy win-loss records and have proven themselves to be consistent winners on a nightly basis.

Sure, teams like Belmont, Murray State, Lipscomb and Wofford don’t have the quality wins of teams like Oklahoma, Clemson, Minnesota and Alabama. However, just how much reward is there for mediocre play simply because you play in a larger conference?

By and large, the leverage given to power conferences has been fair. Sure, we have had questionable inclusions in the tournament (notable one in 2018 was Oklahoma) based on conference affiliation and name recognition (Trae Young for last year’s Sooners). However, the much-superior talent and strength of schedules in the power conferences allow for .500 teams in such leagues to be included over regular-season conference champions of smaller conferences, and rightfully so.

However, 2019 is looking like a season in which more teams with losing conference records will earn invites than in most other years. In addition, there are more teams in smaller conferences having stellar seasons than usual. A great example would be the Ohio Valley Conference. The OVC is pretty much always a one-bid league with their conference tournament champion often receiving a seed along the 13-16 lines. However, there are four teams atop that league that already have 21+ wins to date. One of the country’s best players and surefire NBA Draft lottery picks resides in that league (Murray State PG Ja Morant). It would be wise for the selection committee to consider taking an at-large team out of this league, especially if one of its top two (Belmont, Murray State) doesn’t win the conference tournament. The Southern Conference also has a strong top four that all currently have 22+ wins as of now. Wofford, Furman and UNC Greensboro would all be great candidates for at-large bids.

The committee has taken at-large teams from smaller leagues before. It usually takes at least one every year. Sometimes, it has been a bad decision, such as the 2008 South Alabama selection as a No. 10 seed from the Sun Belt. However, others have worked out very well (just look up 2006 George Mason, who many thought should not have received an invite before advancing to the Final Four). Sure, the power conference teams have more name recognition and play tougher competition, but the smaller conference teams with very good win-loss records generate a bit more intrigue among NCAA Tournament fans because of the underdog aspect.

Leagues such as the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC), Big Ten (B1G), Big 12 and Southeastern Conference (SEC) boast much more overall talent and are rightfully given multiple bids to the tournament. Teams in these conferences have chances to beat tourney-quality teams on a regular basis and, therefore, can build resumes stronger than teams with better win-loss records from smaller leagues. However, many college basketball fans and analysts would rather see a Belmont team with a gaudy overall and conference record that lost in its conference tournament final over an Oklahoma team with an above average overall and mediocre-to-bad conference record that lost early in its conference tourney.

The balance of power and the chance to win championships are bigger issues in college football than in basketball. Non-power conference football teams basically have zero shot of winning anything worthwhile (just ask Central Florida (UCF)). The College Football Playoff will only include power conference teams under its current four-team format.

The NCAA Tournament, on the other hand, creates ample opportunities for the little guys. For one, every conference tournament champion, from the ACC down to the Southwestern Athletic Conference (SWAC) gets an automatic bid (this comprises 32 bids). However, the vast majority of at-large bids (there are 36) are given to power conference teams. In most seasons, that is justifiable.

However, in 2019, more leverage should be given to smaller conferences. There just aren’t enough power conference teams with resumes that warrant at-large bids and more mid-major level teams have produced solid seasons than usual. The NCAA’s new NET ranking system is a bit more objective than the old RPI. Hopefully, that can create more opportunities for lesser-known teams who are playing lights out to showcase their abilities on college basketball’s biggest stage.

[junker-town]

Kansas vs. Villanova preview: 3 things you need to know about men’s Final Four game

Photo by Maddie Meyer/Getty Images

It’s a rematch of a men’s Final Four game from 2018, and there’s plenty of reason to believe this go-round will be more competitive.

The men’s Final Four gets underway from New Orleans Saturday night at 6:09 p.m. ET when top-seeded Kansas takes on second-seeded Villanova in a rematch of a national semifinal from 2018. ‘Nova ran away with that one, 95-79, and went on to thump Michigan in the national title game two days later.

There are plenty of reasons to believe that Saturday’s showdown will be much closer, and also much lower scoring. Before the action inside the Superdome gets going, here are three things you need to know about Saturday’s first Final Four matchup.

Kansas is chasing the championship it feels it would have had two years ago

The Jayhawks have played down the “retribution” angle all week, but it’s not lost on anyone that Kansas is two wins away from the national championship it appeared it might have been on the verge of landing before the 2020 NCAA tournament was canceled due to COVID.

Before the world stopped, that Kansas team was 28-3, had won 16 consecutive games, and was almost certainly on the verge of being named the NCAA tournament’s No. 1 overall seed. Ochai Agbaji, David McCormack and Christian Braun were all primary contributors on that team, although none of them were playing quite as large a role as they are this season.

Interestingly enough, it’s been a player with an extremely limited amount of NCAA tournament experience who has fueled the Jayhawks’ run up to this point.

Remy Martin played four seasons at Arizona State before coming to Lawrence to wrap up his college career. His only experience with March Madness as a Sun Devil was a pair of First Four games in Dayton and a blowout loss to Buffalo in the first round in 2019.

Martin, who came to Kansas with a reputation for being a feast or famine type player, has predictably had something of an up-and-down campaign. He is averaging a career-low in points (8.6 ppg), has been coming off the bench for the first time since his freshman year, had to battle back from a knee injury in February, and was rumored to be at odds with the rest of the program in the middle of the season (Bill Self dismissed those rumors in mid-January, but they persisted).

In March, however, Martin looked like a completely different player. Despite coming off the bench, he was named the Most Outstanding Player of the Midwest Regional after averaging 16.8 points and 3.3 assists in Kansas’ first four wins. Perhaps just as importantly, he only committed four total turnovers during the regional.

Martin wasn’t around for the disappointment felt throughout The Sunflower State two years ago, but he could play a major role in helping to patch up that wound.

Villanova will be without its second-leading scorer

This topic has been addressed by approximately 15,000 people at this point, but it’s impossible to preview this game without addressing it.

This Villanova team doesn’t have the absurd offensive firepower that its last two championship teams possessed. The firepower that it does have took a significant hit when second leading scorer Justin Moore (14.8 ppg) tore his Achilles tendon in ‘Nova’s regional final win over Houston. Moore also second on the team in assists (2.3 ppg) and third in rebounds (4.8).

Perhaps more important than all the offensive numbers is the fact that Moore has been widely viewed to be Villanova’s top defender all season. His defensive prowess has been on full display throughout this tournament, where the Wildcats haven’t allowed a single opponent to score more than 61 points, and advanced to the Final Four with a 50-44 win over Houston where the Cougars were held to just 1-of-20 shooting from three.

Jay Wright has used a short bench throughout the postseason. Only six Villanova players had seen the floor in the game against Houston before Moore went down. In the Wildcats’ Sweet 16 win over Michigan, Wright played eight players, but only six of them were on the court for more than three minutes.

The bench will almost certainly play a larger role against Kansas, but the question is where those minutes are going to go. Adding to the problem is the fact that freshman Jordan Longino, a player who would have been in line for more minutes with Moore out, tore his meniscus during a March practice and is also unavailable.

Without Moore, someone from the group of Chris Arcidiacono, Bryan Antoine and Trey Patterson will need to step up significantly. The most likely candidate is Arcidiacono, if only because there’s some precedent there. The younger brother of ‘Nova legend Ryan Arcidiacono played 26 big minutes in an 85-74 win over UConn on Feb. 5 where Moore was sidelined by a sprained ankle. Arcidiacono has scored just two points in the NCAA tournament up to this point, but he takes care of the ball and defends well enough to likely be Wright’s best option against Kansas.

Villanova’s free-throw shooting could be the difference in a close game

If Saturday night’s game comes down to the wire and the final minute or minutes end up turning into a free-throw shooting contest, Villanova is the safe bet.

Not only are the Wildcats the best free-throw shooting team in the country, they are currently the best free-throw shooting team in the history of college basketball. ‘Nova is currently shooting 83.0 percent from the charity stripe. Unless that drops significantly this weekend in New Orleans, the Wildcats will break the 1983-84 Harvard Crimson’s all-time record of 82.2 percent.

At 75.0 percent, Moore was actually the worst free-throw shooter of Villanova’s core group of contributors. Collin Gillespie (90.5%), Jordan Slater (87.8%), Caleb Daniels (85.1%), Eric Dixon (82.5%) and Jermaine Samuels (77.5%), all shoot an absurdly high percentage from the stripe and have been lights out from the line in late-game situations.

How to watch Kansas vs. Villanova in men’s 2022 Final Four

You can watch Kansas vs. Villanova in the men’s Final Four on Saturday, April 2 on TBS.

Game: No. 2 Villanova vs. No. 1 Kansas

Time: 6:09 p.m. ET

TV: TBS

Stream: NCAA.com

[theultimatefan]

ESPN, Genius Sports Announce Immersive Experience For The 2022 NCAA Division I Women’s Basketball Championship

Genius Sports Limited (“Genius Sports”) (NYSE:GENI), the official data and technology partner that powers the ecosystem connecting sports, betting and media, today announced a collaboration with ESPN for the NCAA Division I Women’s Basketball Championship using AI-powered tracking data and live video augmentations.

Through its Second Spectrum division, Genius Sports will provide ESPN and consumers with the first live augmented video feeds for women’s basketball, delivering new levels of interactivity and insight to a rapidly growing audience. ESPN will be able to select from a suite of data-driven visualizations, including split-second shot probabilities and distances to 3-point special effects, captured through optical tracking technology that identifies and delivers the precise coordinates of every player and the ball, 25 times a second.

Genius Sports’ technology and augmentation solutions will be utilized during the Women’s Final Four and National Championship games, when this year’s champion is crowned Sunday, April 3 (8 p.m. ET) at the Target Center in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Fans will be able to experience the Second Spectrum enhancements as an alternate viewing option in addition to ESPN’s traditional telecasts of each game.

“Expanding our relationship with Second Spectrum to support of the Women’s Tournament and their fans is another exciting first for us,” said Kevin Lopes, ESPN Vice President, Sports Business Development & Innovation. “The augmented feeds for the NCAA Women’s Final Four and National Championship game will provide fans with an exciting viewing option that leans into innovative stats and visuals.”

ESPN will also have access to Genius Sports’ unique Insight tool, generating advanced statistical insights on individual teams and players. As the Official Optical Tracking Provider of the NBA, Second Spectrum has worked closely with ESPN for the last six years, capturing rich tracking data and delivering augmentations as well as helping to power the first-of-its-kind ‘Marvel’s Arena of Heroes’ alternate broadcast on ESPN in 2021.

“It's appropriate that during this Women’s History Month we make this announcement with ESPN to bring immersive, player tracking technology to ‘March Madness’ on the Women’s Basketball side. The days of women's sports being considered second class are behind us,” said Mark Locke, CEO of Genius Sports. “We are proud to work with ESPN, through the best-in-class work Second Spectrum does, to give the millions of fans young and old, an immersive experience for March Madness that will set a new course not just for the NCAA Championships, but for all of sport that is played by women the world over. It is a new high bar that we will push, and there is no better place to raise that bar than the NCAA Women’s Basketball Tournament with ESPN.”

Genius Sports is the exclusive supplier of official NCAA data, having worked alongside the governing body since 2018 to develop NCAA LiveStats, the NCAA's official tool for the collection, management and distribution of game statistics. Genius Sports is the Exclusive Supplier of Official NCAA Data having worked alongside the governing body since 2018 to develop NCAA LiveStats, college sports’ official tool for the collection, management and distribution of game statistics. NCAA LiveStats will be courtside at every game of the NCAA DI Women’s Basketball Championship, capturing every shot, dunk, rebound, assist and more.

[live-infographic]

The all-time Final Four finishes of NCAA Basketball March Madness visualized by (hopefully correct) current logos of each school. Vacated wins are denoted, as are changes in format with the presence/absence of a national 3rd-place game. Requested by u/triii3iiip via @ http://www.liveinfographic.com/ madsmoves, July 18, 2018 at 03:25AM

[bongaboi]

Kansas: 2021-22 NCAA Division I Men's Basketball National Champions

Kansas pulled off the biggest comeback in men’s national championship game history to beat North Carolina, 72-69, and win the 2022 NCAA tournament.

The Jayhawks were down by 15 at halftime and trailed at 16 at one point in the first half. The 16-point deficit breaks a record held by Loyola Chicago after the Ramblers came back from a 15-point deficit to win the national title. And until Monday night, the biggest halftime deficit ever turned around in a national title game was 10 when Kentucky came back to beat Utah.

David McCormack's basket with 22 seconds left put the Jayhawks up by three after North Carolina's Armando Bacot turned his right ankle and had to limp off the court with less than a minute left. Bacot injured that ankle Saturday against Duke.

The Tar Heels couldn't get a good look on the possession after McCormack's basket before the ball went out of bounds with under five seconds to go. But Kansas' DaJuan Harris accidentally stepped out of bounds while receiving the ensuing inbound pass and gave North Carolina another shot to send the game to overtime with 4.3 seconds to go.

That shot to tie didn't hit the rim. Caleb Love was smothered on the inbounds pass while 3-point threat Brady Manek stumbled as the inbounds play unfolded. Love was forced to shoot an off-balance guarded three that didn't hit anything.

Kansas didn't take long to erase North Carolina's lead in the second half. The Jayhawks quickly got the deficit down to single digits within the first 2:30 of the half and had the game tied before the 10-minute mark as Christian Braun rebounded from a poor first half to score 10 points in the middle of the comeback.

A Remy Martin three put Kansas up 53-50 with 10:20 to go and then Jalen Wilson got an and-one to extend the lead to six just 12 seconds later.

North Carolina didn’t go away. The Tar Heels tied the game at 57-57 before a three by Martin put Kansas back in front. UNC got the game tied at 65-65 with less than four minutes to go before Martin hit another go-ahead three.

UNC then took a one-point lead with less than two minutes to go before McCormack put Kansas up for good.

The title is Kansas' second under coach Bill Self. The first came in 2008 in a game that also goes down in March Madness lore thanks to Mario Chalmers' three with two seconds left to send Kansas into overtime with Memphis.

That title established Self as one of the elite coaches in college basketball and he's now tied with Iona's Rick Pitino and Villanova's Jay Wright for the most national championships among active coaches as he and Kansas are in the midst of a drawn-out battle with the NCAA over alleged pay-for-play violations as part of the FBI's investigation into college basketball.

Perhaps that turmoil between Kansas and the NCAA helped lead NCAA president Mark Emmert to accidentally say the "Kansas City Jayhawks" had won the national title before Kansas received the trophy.

Self is now the only Kansas coach to win more than one national title in his time at the school and KU ties UConn for the sixth-most titles among college basketball programs.The championship comes in Kansas’ 16th Final Four and first Final Four appearance since 2018. KU hadn’t been back to the national championship game since 2012 when it lost to Kentucky.

Before the second half began it was impossible to rule out a Kansas comeback but it was, quite frankly, remarkable how quickly the game turned. And that comeback also happened despite Ochai Agbaji’s four missed free throws within a minute in that span.

Agbaji finished with 12 points on Monday night and was named the tournament's Most Outstanding Player over McCormack despite the big man's season-high against Villanova on Saturday night and his clutch buckets late against North Carolina.

The Jayhawks looked like they had more energy than the Tar Heels after the break after playing incredibly poorly for the first 20 minutes. It also helped that Braun and Wilson started making their shots after they went a combined 2-of-14 in the first half. Wilson even missed four shots near the rim before halftime.

The Tar Heels led 40-25 at the half in a lead that was even more remarkable given what happened at the start. Kansas got off to a hot start much like it did against Villanova on Saturday night and was quickly up 7-0.

UNC outscored Kansas by 22 the rest of the way as the Jayhawks looked lost and had a hard time making shots anywhere on the floor. Kansas was just 10-of-33 from the field in the first 20 minutes and North Carolina, quite frankly, wasn’t much better. The Tar Heels were just 12-of-33 from the field but dominated Kansas on the boards. UNC had eight offensive rebounds in the first half and the continuation of possessions was a huge reason the Tar Heels took such a big lead.

Bacot grabbed 10 rebounds in the first half despite that ankle injury. He finished the game with 15 points and 15 rebounds before he limped off the floor.

Kansas led 11-5 after the hot start and never led again until it was 53-50 after North Carolina took a 20-18 lead with 8:46 to go in the first half. The Jayhawks tied the game at 22-22 but Brady Manek hit two threes to extend North Carolina’s lead to six and spark a 16-0 first-half run that lasted less than four minutes.

[junker-town]

16 things to know about the men’s 2022 NCAA tournament Sweet 16

Photo by Lance King/Getty Images

March Madness returns on Thursday, and Big Dance’s second weekend in the men’s tournament is shaping up to be terrific.

The basketball-less three days between the end of the first weekend of the NCAA tournament and the start of the Sweet 16 are always among the most painful on the sports calendar. Thankfully, the madness returns Thursday night and doesn’t leave us again until a Final Four has been established.

Before we get to that point, here are 16 things you should know about the 2022 crop of Sweet 16 teams and matchups.

1. Duke is a 1-point underdog for Thursday night’s game against Texas Tech, making this just the fourth time in 26 Sweet 16 appearances under Coach K that the Blue Devils have not been favored. Each of the other three times Duke has been an underdog in the Sweet 16, the Blue Devils have gone on to lose.

If Duke breaks that trend, Mike Krzyzewski will win his 100th all-time NCAA tournament game. His 99 victories are already the most of any coach in history.

2. North Carolina and UCLA are both appearing in the Sweet 16 for the 35th time in program history, putting them tied for second in all-time second weekend appearances. Kentucky leads the way with 44 all-time Sweet 16 appearances.

3. When UCLA and North Carolina square off on Friday, it will be just the third NCAA tournament meeting between two of the most storied programs in college basketball history. The Bruins topped the Tar Heels in the 1968 national championship game, and UNC knocked off UCLA in the second round of the 1989 Big Dance.

The matchup is one of two in the Sweet 16 that feature teams which have previously played one another in a national title game. Villanova and Michigan squared off in the 2018 national championship, with the Wildcats rolling to a 79-62 win. They’ll look to go 3-0 all-time versus the Wolverines in March Madness with a win Thursday night.

4. Gonzaga is looking to become just the fourth No. 1 overall seed to cut down the nets since the NCAA tournament selection committee began designating a No. 1 overall seed in 2004. Florida (2007), Kentucky (2012) and Louisville (2013) are the only previous top dogs to get the job done.

The Zags were also the No. 1 overall seed a year ago, but fell to another No. 1 seed, Baylor, in the national championship game.

5. Every seed line from 1-8 has produced at least one national champion besides the 5-seed line. No. 5 seeds have made it to the Final Four seven times (most recently Auburn in 2019), the national title game three times, but have never been able to be the last team standing.

Houston, which will face top-seeded Arizona in the late game on Thursday, is the only 5-seed still standing this year.

Houston coach Kelvin Sampson went shirtless in the locker room (via @CoachAlanBishop)pic.twitter.com/bkFsgu3bgT

— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) March 20, 2022

Unfortunately for the Cougars, No. 5 seeds are just 9-47 all-time in games against No. 1 seeds.

6. There have been six overtime games already in the 2022 NCAA tournament, tying it for the second most all-time. Seven is the record number of overtime games in a single NCAA tournament, shared by the 1995, 1997 and 2014 Big Dances.

7. Gonzaga is appearing in the Sweet 16 for the seventh consecutive NCAA tournament, the longest active streak in college basketball and tied for the third-longest of all-time. North Carolina (1985-93) and Duke (1998-2006) are tied for the record with nine consecutive Sweet 16 appearances.

It should also be noted that Michigan is in the Sweet 16 for a fifth consecutive tournament, putting them tied for the fifth-longest streak of all-time.

8. Just like a year ago, four double-digit seeds — No. 10 Miami, No. 11 Iowa State, No. 11 Michigan and No. 15 Saint Peter’s — have crashed the Sweet 16, making this the first time in history we have had back-to-back NCAA tournaments with four double-digit seeds playing their way into the second weekend.

The record for most double-digit seeds in a Sweet 16 is five back in 1999.

9. At least one power conference team seeded 9th or worse has reached the Sweet 16 in every NCAA tournament since 2008. This year, just like in 2021, we have three — No. 10 Miami, No. 11 Iowa State and No. 11 Michigan.

10. No. 10 Miami vs. No. 11 Iowa State is just the fourth all-time Sweet 16 meeting between a No. 10 and No. 11 seed. Each of the other three times this has happened, the underdog has won the game, and in two of the three times this has happened (2011 VCU and 2016 Syracuse), the underdog has gone on to crash the Final Four.

Miami is currently a 2.5-point favorite over Iowa State.

11. With No. 11 Iowa State and No. 11 Michigan both still dancing, at least one 11-seed has reached the Sweet 16 in seven of the last eight NCAA tournaments.

12. Surprisingly, there are three ACC teams — Duke, North Carolina and Miami — still standing. This marks the fourth consecutive year that the ACC has sent multiple teams to the Sweet 16, the longest active streak of any conference in college basketball. The Big Ten saw its run of 12 consecutive tournaments with multiple teams in the Sweet 16 snapped last year.

13. Baylor’s second-round loss to North Carolina guaranteed not only that this will be the 14th straight tournament without a back-to-back national champion, but the 14th straight year that the reigning national champ has failed to make it back to the Final Four.

Since Florida won the second of consecutive championships in 2007, here’s how the reigning champ has fared in the NCAA tournament:

2008: Florida – Missed tournament 2009: Kansas – Sweet 16 2010: North Carolina – Missed tournament 2011: Duke – Sweet 16 2012: Connecticut: – First round 2013: Kentucky – Missed tournament 2014: Louisville – Sweet 16 2015: Connecticut – Missed tournament 2016: Duke – Sweet 16 2017: Villanova – Second round 2018: North Carolina – Second round 2019: Villanova — Second round 2021: Virginia — First round 2022: Baylor — Second round

14. Fourteen of the 16 teams still standing have been to at least one Final Four in their program’s history. Only Miami and Saint Peter’s have failed to play in a national semifinal. The Peacocks are in the Sweet 16 for the first time, while the Hurricanes are playing their fourth Sweet 16 game, but looking for their first victory in the tournament’s third round.

15. Saint Peter’s is just the third No. 15 seed in the history of the NCAA tournament to crash the Sweet 16. No 15-seed has ever played in a regional final.

In 2013, Florida Gulf Coast rolled into the second weekend with back-to-back 10-point wins, but was bounced by third-seeded Florida, 62-50. Last year, Oral Roberts pushed another 3-seed, Arkansas, to the brink before missing a last second shot and falling by a bucket.

What. A. Game. Max Abmas misses at the buzzer as No. 3 Arkansas holds off No. 15 Oral Roberts and advances to the Elite Eight (via @marchmadness) pic.twitter.com/DbzbQaSbrd

— Sports Illustrated (@SInow) March 28, 2021

The Peacocks will try and break the trend by taking down No. 3 seed Purdue in the first game to tip-off (7:09 p.m. ET) Friday night.

16. In each of the last eight NCAA tournament second weekends, at least one team seeded 5th or worse has won a pair of games to capture a regional title and crash the Final Four. In seven of those eight tournaments, a team seeded 7th or worse has gotten the job done.

2021 — No. 11 UCLA

2019 — No. 5 Auburn

2018 — No. 11 Loyola-Chicago

2017 — No. 7 South Carolina

2016 — No. 10 Syracuse

2015 — No. 7 Michigan State

2014 — No. 7 Connecticut and No. 8 Kentucky

2013 — No. 9 Wichita State

No. 5 Houston, No. 8 North Carolina, No. 10 Miami, No. 11 Michigan, No. 11 Iowa State and No. 15 Saint Peter’s all have a chance to keep that trend rolling this weekend.

[poshcolorway]

Check out this listing I just added to my Poshmark closet: "The Victory" 2018 NCAA Final Four Shirt Size L.

[hoops-etc]

How to Pick Your NCAA Tournament Bracket [2021 Edition]

March Madness, the Greatest Two-and-a-Half Weeks in Sports are back for 2021, so it's time to partake in a national tradition: filling out a bracket, or two.

Trying to pick winners for the NCAA Tournament takes more luck than anything else, especially in the early rounds, and especially when we have the concept of "replacement teams" and no-contest possibilities this year. Things tend to even out as the games go on; you may hit on the national champ or even three-quarters of the Final Four, but nearly every year there will be some little school from I-have-no-idea-where that kills 90% of our brackets before the first weekend has ended.

So how are you supposed to know who to pick when it’s all such a crapshoot? In just a few simple steps, you can be on your way to consistently getting things right almost half of the time!

1. If there is a team that everyone says is going to win it all, pick them

Chances are, they will. (Unless it’s Virginia in 2018, Kentucky in 2015, Duke in ‘99, UNLV in ‘91, or some others.) If the heavy favorite does win the title and you don’t pick them, then you just feel dumb. But even if they don’t, everyone else will get it wrong too! It’s a classic case of, “two wrongs make a right.”

2. Realize that you don’t actually know anything

As we saw in the first step, popular wisdom can be wrong - a lot. Every year, the media, analysts, and “experts” go on TV and make predictions, which then are usually incorrect. If you followed this particular college season you may uncover a dark horse pick or two, but then again, they probably won’t pan out. Because madness. So...

3. Make early-round picks in any way you see fit or think sounds fun

Whether it’s because the school’s name is interesting, you like their mascot, you feel a team that’s won eighteen games in a row is certainly going to win nineteen in a row, or it’s just your alma mater and you want to root for them, go with it. Just don’t agonize or analyze it too much, otherwise, it takes the fun out of the whole thing and opens the door for holding unhealthy grudges against players and/or teams you otherwise have no opinion about.

4. Fill out multiple brackets

Your own mileage will vary on this, but somewhere between two and more than two is a good rule of thumb. In other words, enough where you can pick a different champion among the few that legitimately have a shot at the title, or enough to hedge on the various early-round upsets that you’re not really confident in. Remember, there are 9,223,372,036,854,775,808 different bracket combinations available (just over 9.2 quintillion), which, at a rate of one per second, would take 292 trillion years to fill out. Let’s not go crazy here. Pro-tip: If you want more manageable numbers, FiveThirtyEight is great with math.

A final note, once your bracket is busted - and in all likelihood this will happen fairly quickly, sorry - let it go! Now’s your chance to enjoy the rest of the games, unburdened by the clinging need to get your five dollars back in the pool you entered. Or, if you prefer, there’s moving on with your life and forgetting about the rest of the tournament altogether. But where's the fun in that?

[newjerseyprelawland-blog]

The Laws Of March Madness

By Arishita Gupta, Rutgers University Class of 2024

March 9, 2021

With the new month comes a long-awaited event in the college sports community: March Madness, or rather, a single-elimination men’s college basketball tournament. The tournament hosts 68 collegiate teams that eventually compete to become the Final Four, the penultimate round of the tournament. The tournament is kicked off with Selection Sunday, the annual day on which the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) releases the list of teams that will be competing that year, which falls on March 14th in 2021 [1].

Among many things, the tournament has grown into a lucrative breeding ground of betting and gambling; in fact, betting brackets for the tournament amounted to almost 8.5 billion dollars in 2019 alone [2]! But just how legal are these activities? The answer differs from state to state, and from one method to another.

Sports betting as an activity was initially regulated with the passage of Wire Act in 1961, which allowed states to regulate betting across state lines, as well as the use of wire communication for betting purposes [3]. This act recently faced challenges in the United States Court of Appeals for the First Circuit, which in January, issued a ruling that wire act only applies to sports betting online, not any other forms of gambling [4].

In 2006, Congress also passed the Uniform Internet Gambling Enforcement Act (UIGEA) by tacking it on as a rider, a provision that otherwise would not have passed on its own, to the Safe Port Act of 2006, which strengthened national ports. The UIGEA was another congressional attempt to curb online gambling by prohibiting online transactions to settle unlawful online gambling debts [5].

Betting on collegiate sports in particular became regulated with the passage of the federal Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act (PASPA) in 1992. The PASPA had some exemptions for betting in Nevada, Oregon, Delaware, and Montana, as well as a one-year grace period for states like New Jersey, which licensed casino gambling, to craft their own sports betting laws. It also did not apply to gambling made on horse and dog racing [6].

In 2018, the PASPA was overturned by the Supreme Court of the United States in Murphy v. National Collegiate Athletic Association [7]. This ruling, in favor of Murphy, overturned the law because of its violation of the tenth amendment, which gives the states the right to govern over matters that are not constitutionally allotted or denied to the federal and state governments, respectively. By making this decision, the Supreme Court handed the issue of sports betting to the states to determine how to regulate it. Even though all states now have the freedom to govern collegiate sports betting as their residents choose, yet only twenty have formally legalized it, including New Jersey. Six states, with the recent election, have voted to legalize sports betting, and all but three states of the remaining have put forth some legislation to legalize sports betting in recent years [8].

Yet even across these states that have legalized sports betting, it is important to consider the types of sports betting allowed. In the realm of sports betting, the two main ways participants can bet is either in-person, which involves betting at brick-and-mortar locations, also known as “sportsbooks,” or online, using apps and websites to make transactions [9]. Twelve of the twenty states have legalized both in-person and online gambling, while six have only legalized in-person betting, and the remaining two have only legalized mobile gambling [8].

In the case of March Madness, like many other sports, betting may not occur online or at sportsbooks, as legally protected. Instead, many people run “office pools,” or betting brackets in their workplaces or with their friends, neither of which are allowed by the law in most states.

While these brackets may be illegal, however, rarely are the laws surrounding them enforced. Part of the reason may be because many of these laws are far too nuanced, especially in states where office betting is allowed in certain cases, for law enforcement to pursue the issue. Another reason may be because the issue is simply too large; betting pools are fairly common, and chasing down every private or workplace betting pool participant would be unfeasible and a waste of law enforcement’s time [10]. That is not to say that people have not been persecuted for conducting these brackets; both organizers and corporations alike have been charged with violating gambling laws, facing millions of dollars in settlements [11].

So the question remains: is March Madness betting illegal? It depends on where a participant is and how they plan to play their bets. The laws in states are beginning to change, and there may come a time when even the household and workplace betting brackets become legalized, but for now, it is incredibly important for anyone hoping to participate to check their state laws before proceeding.

______________________________________________________________

[1] What is March Madness: The NCAA tournament explained

https://www.ncaa.com/news/basketball-men/bracketiq/2021-02-24/what-march-madness-ncaa-tournament-explained

[2] Americans to bet $8.5 billion on NCAA's 'March Madness' basketball tournament: report

https://www.reuters.com/article/us-basketball-ncaa-gambling/americans-to-bet-8-5-billion-on-ncaas-march-madness-basketball-tournament-report-idUSKCN1QZ0YH

[3] Wire Act Ruling a Win for iGaming and Lotteries, Status Quo for Sports Betting—for Now

https://www.lexology.com/library/detail.aspx?g=f838e758-6ee2-4363-946b-323bcd13079b

[4] Sports and Only Sports: 1st Circuit Addresses Scope of the Wire Act

https://www.natlawreview.com/article/sports-and-only-sports-1st-circuit-addresses-scope-wire-act

[5] Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act

https://www.ftc.gov/enforcement/statutes/unlawful-internet-gambling-enforcement-act

[6] S. 474 (102nd): Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act

https://www.govtrack.us/congress/bills/102/s474/summary

[7] 16-476 Murphy v. National Collegiate Athletic Assn

https://www.supremecourt.gov/opinions/17pdf/16-476_dbfi.pdf

[8] United States of sports betting: An updated map of where every state stands

https://www.espn.com/chalk/story/_/id/19740480/the-united-states-sports-betting-where-all-50-states-stand-legalization

[9] How to Bet on Sports for Beginners: 12 Tips to Know

https://www.actionnetwork.com/how-to-bet-on-sports/general/sports-betting-for-beginners-10-things-to-know

[10] America's growing love of office pools

https://www.espn.com/chalk/story/_/id/27531317/america-growing-love-office-pools

[11] Illegal Sports Betting

https://www.americangaming.org/illegal-sports-betting/

[bongaboi]

Loyola Chicago: 2021-22 Missouri Valley Men's Basketball Champions

Loyola Chicago isn't exactly Duke or Kentucky, but the Ramblers are now a familiar name in the NCAA tournament bracket.

Loyola Chicago has only been to the NCAA tournament twice since 1985, but it has made both trips count. The first time the Ramblers had one of the most shocking Final Four runs ever, in 2018. Last season they upset No. 1 seed Illinois in the second round to go to the Sweet 16. Along the way, they've won bettors at BetMGM some money with big upsets.

Loyola Chicago is back in the bracket. The Ramblers beat Drake 64-58 on Sunday to win the Missouri Valley Conference tournament and get the auto bid to the NCAA tournament.

Loyola will probably be a double-digit seed in the NCAA tournament, and not one anyone wants to see in the first round.

Ramblers punch another NCAA ticket

This Loyola Chicago team isn't as good as the previous two NCAA entrants, but it's still a quality team capable of winning a game or maybe even two.

The Ramblers were at their best in the semifinals of the MVC tourney. Against top-seeded Northern Iowa, a team that beat Loyola Chicago 102-96 un overtime of the regular-season finale, the Ramblers crushed UNI in a 66-43 win. The Ramblers are an efficient team on both ends of the floor, and their defense was phenomenal against Northern Iowa.

In Sunday's MVC final, Drake came out shooting it well and took an early 18-8 lead. Loyola answered with a 19-0 run. It was the type of stretch that validates all the sleeper love Loyola will get after the bracket is revealed. They played great defense, getting turnovers and turning that into points. For about seven minutes they completely overwhelmed a solid Drake team that came in with a 24-9 record. Drake battled in the second half and it wasn't an easy win for Loyola, as the Bulldogs cut Loyola's lead to as little as two points in the final 30 seconds, but the Ramblers held on to win.

Loyola does a bit of everything well. They shoot it well from inside and outside the arc. They are an active defensive team. Early in the season the Ramblers lost by just 2 points to Michigan State and 9 to Auburn, and also had 10 wins against teams that were in the top 100 of KenPom going into Sunday's games.

In other words, there are a lot of single-digit seeds that are hoping to avoid Loyola Chicago in the first round.

Loyola Chicago has experience

While Loyola has lost a lot of good players from both of its previous tournament appearances, it is still an experienced team. Plenty of the players who were part of the upset of Illinois last season are back. Four seniors took advantage of the NCAA offering an another year of eligibility to 2021 seniors due to COVID-19 and returned to Loyola for an extra season. Loyola's coach Porter Moser left for Oklahoma in the offseason, but new coach Drew Valentine did a great job to keep Loyola on track. This version of the Ramblers won't be overwhelmed by March Madness.

Just like last season, those who rely on analytics will note that Loyola is under-seeded and a good upset pick. The betting line for the Ramblers' first-round game could be lower than similar seed matchups, because Loyola had a No. 24 ranking in KenPom, which influences point spreads. By the numbers Loyola should be closer to a No. 6 seed, but it would be surprising if they're higher than a 10.

You'll hear a lot about Loyola Chicago as the bracket gets analyzed and people pick upset favorites. By now, hearing about the Ramblers won't be so unusual. We already know what success for Loyola Chicago in the NCAA tournament looks like.

[junker-town]

The Best and Worst from Day 3 of March Madness

Photo by Jamie Sabau/NCAA Photos via Getty Images

The reigning national champions are dancing no more, but the Peacocks still are.

A one-seed went down, and with it went the hopes of college basketball’s first repeat national champion in 15 years. Two other top seeds were pushed to the brink. A trendy Final Four pick was bounced by a team many thought didn’t even belong in the field. And, of course, a team nicknamed the Peacocks became just the third 15-seed ever to win multiple games in an NCAA tournament.

Let’s get to it.

March Madness’ 3 best games of Day 3

1. (1) Gonzaga 82, (9) Memphis 78 (West)

You know how you have certain books that you’ll recommend to friends who don’t necessarily love reading? Well this was the type of game that you recommend to your friends who don’t necessarily love college basketball.

A breakneck pace, future pros all over the court, a raucous (mostly pro-Gonzaga) crowd, the tournament’s No. 1 overall seed being pushed to the brink; This one had about everything you could ask for from a second round game.

It was clear from the outset that Memphis’ length and athleticism was going to bother Gonzaga. Just how much so wasn’t fully apparent until the Tigers were carrying a 10-point advantage with them into the locker room at halftime.

In the second 20 minutes, Gonzaga did what great teams do when they’re threatened: They played their greatest hits. Mark Few emphasized getting the ball to star big man Drew Timme more, and Timme responded by scoring 21 of his game-high 25 points in the second half. The Bulldogs also upped their pace, getting easy bucket after easy bucket in transition while also wearing down a Memphis team that very clearly wasn’t as built for playing this type of game as the ‘Zags were.

Drew Timme came up HUGE in the clutch for @ZagMBB 25 PTS 14 REB 10/16 FG#MarchMadness pic.twitter.com/667cwspTmn

— NCAA March Madness (@MarchMadnessMBB) March 20, 2022

Thanks in large part to some woeful free-throw shooting by Gonzaga (13-of-24 at the line after going 16 for 30 in the first round against Georgia State), Memphis never fully went away. The Tigers got within two on Lester Quinones’ triple with 32 seconds to play, but four straight free-throws by Andrew Nembhard — Gonzaga’s lone consistently reliable free-throw shooter — put the game on ice.

The Zags are now off to the Sweet 16 for the seventh consecutive tournament, the longest active streak in college basketball and tied for the third longest all-time. They’ll get fourth-seeded Arkansas on Thursday.

2. (8) North Carolina 93, (1) Baylor 86 (OT) (East)

Where do you even start here?

This game had Shakespearian levels of depth, and peeling away all the layers would take far more time than we have here. So let’s just hit five major things you need to know about one of the wildest second round tournament games in history.

1) North Carolina nearly tied the record for the largest blown lead in NCAA tournament history.

The Tar Heels led Baylor by a whopping 25 points with just over 10 minutes to play, then watched as that lead completely evaporated before the regulation clock struck zero. Had UNC not prevailed in overtime, they would have gone down in history alongside Iona as the only teams in March Madness history to lose a game they once led by 25.

Largest deficits overcome in tournament history: 25-BYU vs. Iona, March 13, 2012 22-Duke vs. Maryland, March 31, 2001 22-Nevada vs. Cincinnati, March 18, 2018 BYU trailed 49-24 with six minutes left in the first half. Baylor trailed by 25 with 10:08 left in the game. Get to CBS

— David Worlock (@DavidWorlock) March 19, 2022

2) Brady Manek got tossed.

North Carolina was up by 25 when Brady Manek was ejected from the game for throwing an elbow that was deemed a flagrant 2 foul.

You can judge for yourself.

Manek was UNC’s leading scorer at the time with 26 points on 8-of-13 shooting from the field. The Tar Heel unraveling began the moment lumberjack-looking stretch four hit the showers, as Baylor instantly went on a 20-4 run to get right back in the game.

It should be stated that Manek’s flagrant 2 does not mean that he has to sit out UNC’s Sweet 16 game against UCLA.

3) It was one of the worst-officiated games of all-time.

If there’s anyone in your life who rocks Carolina blue, you’re likely sick of hearing about how the refs tried to hand the game to Baylor in the second half. While the Bears’ furious rally in the game’s final 10 minutes was certainly aided by some seemingly absurd whistles and non-whistles, the stripes also made some egregious calls against Scott Drew’s team near the end of regulation and in overtime as well.

There are far too many specifics to get into here, but it felt like every call that could possibly be screwed up by this officiating crew (and even some that felt impossible to screw up) was screwed up by this officiating crew. If any one of them works another game in this tournament, it will be a travesty.

4) Scott Drew couldn’t bear to watch the final shot of regulation.

After James Akinjo’s old fashioned three-point-play tied the score at 80 with 15 seconds to go, North Carolina’s R.J. Davis had one final shot to settle things in regulation. The shot came up well short, but Baylor head coach Scott Drew never saw it. He was just waiting to hear the right type of roar.

Scott Drew couldn't watch the end of regulation @BaylorMBB#MarchMadness pic.twitter.com/kAFMJ2aNDw

— NCAA March Madness (@MarchMadnessMBB) March 19, 2022

That’s a terrific March Madness right there that might have been an all-time March Madness moment had Baylor gone on to prevail in overtime.

5) Dontrez Styles’ three changed everything.

Heading into overtime, pretty much every basketball fan in the world thought North Carolina had blown its shot at advancing to the Sweet 16. As much momentum as there can possibly be was in the corner of Baylor, which had already appeared to be the stronger side heading into the afternoon.

On the first possession of the extra period, freshman guard Dontrez Styles, who entered the game averaging just 1.9 ppg for the season, buried a no hesitation three from the left corner to put the Heels back on top. Styles had been just 2-for-14 from three on the season before the shot.

While R.J. Davis and Armando Bacot made all the necessary big plays for the remainder of the overtime, Styles was the man who was there at the time when UNC was most in need of someone to step up and re-assert control.

3. (1) Kansas 79, (9) Creighton 72 (Midwest)

For a while, it looked as though Saturday afternoon’s two standalone games might give us back-to-back bouncings of No. 1 seeds.

The second would have been even more surprising than the first, as Creighton would be taking on mighty Kansas without the services of starting point guard Ryan Nemhard, the Big East Freshman of the Year, as well as 7-foot center Ryan Kalkbrenner. Nemhard was lost for the season in late February, while Kalkbrenner injured his knee late in overtime of Creighton’s 72-69 win over San Diego State on Thursday.

Against all odds, the Bluejays went (nearly) blow for blow with Kansas for 40 minutes on Saturday.

The game’s decisive moment came in the final minute. With Creighton in possession of the ball and trailing by one, an errant pass by Trey Alexander went off the hands of Alex O’Connell and right into the bread basket of Kansas star Ochai Agbaji, who took it the other way for an easy dunk.

AGBAJI WITH THE STEAL AND SLAM JAYHAWKS UP 3 @KUHoops #MarchMadness pic.twitter.com/K8IdWSaWw2

— NCAA March Madness (@MarchMadnessMBB) March 19, 2022

The Bluejays wouldn’t score on any of their final three possessions.

With the win, Kansas tied Kentucky for the all-time lead in both total wins and 30-win seasons. The Jayhawks can move ahead of the Wildcats in the former category with a Sweet 16 win over Providence on Friday.

3 teams that won it the best

1. Providence

Despite being the Midwest Region’s 4-seed, just 20.8 percent of the 17.3 million people who filled out brackets on ESPN.com believed Providence would play to form and advance past the tournament’s opening weekend.

Not only are the Friars marching on, but they’re doing so after wins over South Dakota State and Richmond that came by a combined 37 points.

Doing the heaviest lifting in that total was PC’s 79-51 trouncing of the Spiders on Saturday. Ed Cooley’s team shot over 50 percent from both behind the three-point line and inside it, had five different players score in double figures, and limited Richmond to a dismal 1-of-22 from three.

The 28-point margin of victory was the largest ever by a Providence team in an NCAA tournament game, and sends the Friars to their first Sweet 16 appearance in 25 years.

2. Michigan

The major talk surrounding Michigan in the days between Selection Sunday and the start of first round play on Thursday was how a team with a 17-14 overall record managed to not just make the field of 68, but avoid playing in the First Four.

It isn’t the major talk surrounding the Wolverines anymore.

Michigan trailed by five at halftime and for a healthy chunk of the second half before a decisive 14-5 run spearheaded by Hunter Dickinson and Eli Brooks. Brooks scored four points in the game’s final minute, including a gorgeous running hook shot just before the shot clock buzzer that felt like the biggest bucket of the game.

Eli Brooks dropping the Kareem on Tennessee! #MarchMadness pic.twitter.com/2cGuYlXOY3

— The Comeback (@thecomeback) March 19, 2022

The Wolverines are now headed to the Sweet 16 for the fifth-consecutive tournament, the second-longest active streak in the nation behind Gonzaga, and tied for the fifth-longest streak ever.

3. UCLA

Despite the fact that they were facing a Saint Mary’s team that looked much stronger in their Thursday night win over Indiana than UCLA did in its narrow triumph over Akron, the Bruins rolled to a 72-56 victory that never really felt in jeopardy after the closing moments of the first half.

Four of UCLA’s five starters scored in double figures, and the only starter who failed to hit that mark (Cody Riley), scored nine. The Bruins shot 56.5 percent from the field as a team, and after a bit of a slow start, never seemed to be truly threatened by one of the better Saint Mary’s teams ever fielded by longtime head coach Randy Bennett.

Now we get UCLA vs. North Carolina in the NCAA tournament for just the third time ever, and the first time since 1989. The Bruins bettered the Tar Heels in the 1968 national title game, while UNC won a second round game between the two storied programs in ‘89.

The 3 Biggest Disappointments

1. Baylor

On one hand, you nearly pulled off the (co-)biggest comeback in the history of the NCAA tournament. On the other, you dug yourself a 25-point hole and would up being the first No. 1 seed to get bounced.

Florida’s status as college basketball’s most recent back-to-back national champion (2006, 2007) will stay in tact for at least one year.

2. Richmond

It feels wrong to bag on Richmond after a magical two weeks where the Spiders won the A-10 tournament as a 6-seed and then stunned trendy Final Four pick Iowa in the first round of the Big Dance, but they were awful on Saturday.

Richmond went 1-of-22 from three and was within striking distance of Providence for all of about 30 seconds. Defensively, the Spiders allowed a less than stellar shooting team to connect on more than 50 percent of their three-point attempts for just the second time this season.

Fun fact: Fran McCaffery busted every blood vessel in his face watching this game.

3. Murray State

Murray State fans waiting for their game in Indianapolis on Thursday night certainly appeared to be rooting awfully hard for Saint Peter’s. Well, they got what they wanted, and now they’ll be mentioned in the same breath as Florida and San Diego State, and the topic of the conversation won’t be a particularly pleasant one — at least not for fans of the Gators, Aztecs, and now Racers.

Speaking of ...

5 Day 3 Cheers

1. Saint Peter’s

For just the third time in March Madness history, a 15-seed is crashing the Sweet 16. With its 70-60 win over Murray State, Saint Peter’s joined the 2013 Florida Gulf Coast and 2021 Oral Roberts as the only little guys to achieve the feat.

Two days after shocking Kentucky in overtime, the Peacocks took down another single-digit seed from the Commonwealth as they ended Murray State’s 21-game winning streak.

To be honest, pretty from start to finish on Saturday, Saint Peter’s looked like the team that had the lengthy winning streak and national ranking next to its name. The Peacocks got a double-double from senior big man KC Ndefo and 13 points off the bench from budding international sex symbol Doug Edert to control a game where they never trailed.

First Sweet 16 in program history for No. 15 Saint Peter's. This is what it's all about pic.twitter.com/xiVw9K3sEa

— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) March 20, 2022

Saint Peter’s is the first team from New Jersey to reach the Sweet 16 since Seton Hall made it to the second weekend back in 2000. The point guard on that team? Current Peacocks head coach Shaheen Holloway.

They’ll now face either Texas or Purdue to try and go where no 15-seed has ever been before: A regional final.

2. Juwan Howard’s empathy

As Tennessee and Michigan shook hands following the Wolverines’ 76-68 victory, it was very apparent that the Volunteers’ Kennedy Chandler was having a hard time coming to terms with his team’s upset loss. The star freshman did all he could to get UT into the Sweet 16, scoring 19 points and dishing out nine assists.

Michigan head coach Juwan Howard, who experienced his fair share of heartbreak in the NCAA tournament, made it a point to console Chandler.

Juwan Howard showing real empathy. pic.twitter.com/ehXIVAcDvF

— Tyler Greever (@Tyler_Greever) March 20, 2022

“Kennedy is a special, special player, one of the best point guards in college basketball, in my opinion,” Howard said of Chandler before the game. “The way he’s able to make immediate impact right out of high school into the college level, that’s impressive. He’s always known as a playmaker, a guy that can get downhill and can make plays for others. But no one talked about his shooting, and you’ve just seen how he’s worked on it and that’s one of his strengths.

It’s not hard to see why Howard’s players speak so glowingly of him.

3. Drew Timme’s self-censoring ... and then lack of self-censoring

With his team trailing by 10 and staring the end of its season directly in the face, Gonzaga star Drew Timme reportedly lit into his teammates with a fiery halftime speech. Whatever he said worked, as the Zags roared back to take down Memphis, 82-78.

So what exactly did Timme say? Hearing him try and describe the speech without being able to use the actual words that he said was one of Saturday’s greatest joys.

@TheAndyKatz (reporter) postgame interview with Gonzaga’s Drew Timme #MarchMadness pic.twitter.com/eayrNNP0M3

— Announcer Schedules (@announcerskeds) March 20, 2022

I believe the transcript of the first part of that statement is: “I said I don’t give ... a flying F ... what happens at the end of the game whether we win or lose, we’re not going out as no ... uh ... soft guys.”

It was an admirable effort. Of course when you drop “shit” multiple times about 45 seconds later, it sort of defeats the purpose.

“Good shit. Good shit, boy.” DREW TIMME TRIED SO HARD NOT TO CUSS pic.twitter.com/Wf95uv5uV5

— Troy Machir (@TroyMachir) March 20, 2022

Tremendous night for March mustaches.

4. The standalone games

I’ll never understand the layout of the tournament’s first Saturday and Sunday. I mean I’m sure the explanation is rooted in something related to ratings and money, but it still defies basic logic from a fan perspective.

After being flooded with games at all hours for the previous 48 hours, we get just two games back-to-back for the first five hours of the day. No games going on at the same time. Even the first half of the third game is alone on an island. And then BAM, we’ve got six games hurled at us during the evening session.

There’s no reason to have second round games wrapping up after midnight on the East Coast. It’s an easy fix, and it blows my mind that it hasn’t happened yet.

BUT, the layout is far more tolerable when the standalone games are as entertaining as North Carolina-Baylor and Kansas-Creighton were. Thank you to all four basketball programs. You’re all March heroes to me.

5. Eric Musselman

For the first time since the Arkansas glory days of the mid-’90s, the Razorbacks are headed to back-to-back Sweet 16s. This thanks to a gritty, if not aesthetically pleasing, 53-48 win over 12-seed New Mexico State.

That stat mentioned initially also doesn’t account for the fact that from 1997 up until last year, the program went to the second weekend of the tournament a grand total of zero times.

Eric Musselman is now 5-1 in the NCAA Tournament at Arkansas. From 1997-2020 Arkansas was 5-10.

— JC Hoops (@JCHoopsPod) March 20, 2022

He kept his shirt on for this one.

Razorback fans showed up in Buffalo! Thank you Hog fans! #MarchMadness pic.twitter.com/ywHe0hf0v3

— Eric Musselman (@EricPMusselman) March 20, 2022

Not sure if the same will be true if the Hogs take down No. 1 overall seed Gonzaga Thursday night.

5 Day 3 Jeers

1. Tennessee

Despite decrying their status as a 3-seed, the public made Tennessee one of the trendiest Final Four picks in the field of 68 at the beginning of this week. It wasn’t hard to understand why. The Volunteers were coming off an extremely impressive run to the SEC tournament title, and entered the Big Dance having won seven straight and 12 of their last 13.

Against Michigan, Tennessee appeared to be less physical, less prepared, and less willing to embrace the urgency of the moment. The performance was an especially tough look for head coach Rick Barnes, who, despite a ton of regular season success in Knoxville, has been ousted in the first weekend of the NCAA tournament in nine of his last 10 appearances, and who has led a team to the Sweet 16 just one time since 2008.

2. Leaky Black’s ill-advised pass

There were no fewer than 7,167 moments from North Carolina-Baylor that could have found their way on this list. The Tar Heels blew a 25-point lead with just 10 minutes to play, Baylor’s decision-making in overtime left a ton to be desired, and you’ve likely heard all about the officiating. But the moment that stood out to be came in the waning moments of overtime, just when it seemed like some sort of order was finally going to take hold.

It seemed like, for the first time in about two hours, that the action in Fort Worth had finally eased to a nice, calm stall. North Carolina had stretched its lead to six, and with less than a minute to play, it seemed to go without saying that the Tar Heels would use as much clock as possible and either force Baylor to foul or try and deliver a knockout punch just before the shot clock horn echoed.

Leaky Black had a different idea.

pic.twitter.com/tfhC2BhWOb

— No Context College Basketball (@ContextFreeCBB) March 19, 2022

The reverse angle shows just how close this rocket came to actually going over (or maybe breaking) the backboard.

This pass would've been great in NBA Street tbh#MarchMadness pic.twitter.com/cUAkZbxutS

— NCAA March Madness (@MarchMadnessMBB) March 19, 2022

Thankfully for UNC, this ill-advised decision didn’t allow Baylor to, for the 75th time, get right back into the game when it seemed like the Heels had victory well-in-hand.

3. The SEC

There was talk by some going into this week that the SEC was so strong this season that it could wind up producing three Final Four teams. Instead, 2-seed Kentucky and 6-seeds Alabama and LSU were all bounced after round one, and 3-seed Tennessee bit the dust on Saturday. Only 4-seed Arkansas (which is through to the Sweet 16) and 2-seed Auburn (which faces 10-seed Miami in the second round on Sunday) are left standing.

So allow us to revisit a pre-tournament quote from Kentucky head coach John Calipari.

John Calipari a week ago: "The way you judge a league is what's their record in the NCAA tournament? "If half your teams are three-quarters losing the first game, it kind of tells you that maybe you weren't what everybody said." Kentucky, Tenn, LSU, Bama all upset already.

— Jon Hale (@JonHale_CJ) March 19, 2022

Yikes.

4. Friar Dom and the Richmond Spider

Two of America’s creepiest mascots in the same motherf—-ing place at the same motherf—-ing time? We done messed up now.

The Friar and Spider shake it out. #MarchMadness pic.twitter.com/EOP8NXelqM

— Mike Harrington (@ByMHarrington) March 19, 2022

pic.twitter.com/bgWh8IcAhh

— MattyRenn (@MattyRenn) March 19, 2022

Nightmare fuel.

5. The late Pete Gillen

Oh no, Rex.

pic.twitter.com/iD7txHo3Y5

— No Context College Basketball (@ContextFreeCBB) March 19, 2022

Pete Gillen, for those unaware, is not only alive and well, but he is currently a college basketball analyst for CBS.

All Day-3 Team

Hunter Dickinson, Michigan

Michigan’s man in the middle is the biggest reason the Wolverines are dancing to the Sweet 16 for the fifth consecutive tournament. Dickinson dominated Tennessee to the tune of 27 points and 11 rebounds. He knocked down eight of his 13 field goal attempts overall, including 3-of-5 from beyond the arc.

Dickinson’s 48 points through two rounds of the NCAA tournament are the most by a Michigan player since current head coach Juwan Howard poured in 62 over the first two games of the 1994 Big Dance.

R.J. Davis, North Carolina

Brady Manek carried the Heels early, but after his ejection, it was Davis who carried Carolina across the finish line. Despite playing with an injured thumb, Davis poured in 30 points and dished out six assists. He became just the second player in UNC history to score at least 30 points in an NCAA tournament game against a No. 1 seed.

R.J. Davis had himself a day vs. Baylor @UNC_Basketball | #MarchMadness pic.twitter.com/s6n7VO8x1W

— NCAA March Madness (@MarchMadnessMBB) March 19, 2022

Drew Timme, Gonzaga

Gonzaga’s star helped saved the day for the No. 1 overall seed, scoring 21 of his game-high 25 points in the second half of the team’s 82-78 win over Memphis. He added 14 rebounds and four assists for good measure.

Remy Martin, Kansas

There’s been talk all season long that the “Bad Remy Martin” could be what winds up ending Kansas’ season. Well, the “Good Remy Martin” is the biggest reason the Jayhawks are still chasing the national title. Martin was spectacular in KU’s win over Creighton, coming off the bench to score 20 points, grab seven rebounds, and dish out four assists.

"Remy Martin's a dawg! It's March. Remy's here!" - CB #KUbballpic.twitter.com/o3arJofpmX

— Dillon Davis (@dillondavis3) March 19, 2022

Arthur Kaluma, Creighton

Kaluma did everything he could to get the Bluejays past Kansas, scoring 24 points and grabbing 12 rebounds. The freshman forward is one of the biggest reasons why the future looks so bright in Omaha.

3 Best Day 3 Dunks

1. Trae Hannibal, Murray State

Once again, not a great crop of dunks from the Thursday/Saturday squads, but this from Hannibal was the best of the slams.

THE STEAL TO THE ALLEY-OOP RACERS ARE OFF TO THE RACES #MarchMadness pic.twitter.com/UGWfgSG2SY

— NCAA March Madness (@MarchMadnessMBB) March 20, 2022

2. Johnny McCants, New Mexico State

Hammer time.

HERE'S JOHNNY!!! The Aggies are down by two after the HAMMER by McCants @NMStateMBB #MarchMadness pic.twitter.com/7pA55JM2n5

— NCAA March Madness (@MarchMadnessMBB) March 20, 2022

3. Arthur Kaluma, Creighton

Alex O’Connell and Kaluma combined to do this like 13 times Saturday afternoon. Ok, maybe just twice, but it felt like more.

O'Connell to Kaluma AGAIN @BluejayMBB duo is showing out today #MarchMadness pic.twitter.com/3Eh292QMd0

— NCAA March Madness (@MarchMadnessMBB) March 19, 2022

3 Best Day 3 Images

1. Dancin’ Peacocks

The kings of the state of Kentucky are dancing into the Sweet 16.

Photo by Jamie Sabau/NCAA Photos via Getty Images

2. Extasy and anger

One team from California had more fun than the other Saturday night.

Photo by Ezra Shaw/Getty Images

3. Lookin’ for a Spider

Jacob Gilyard and Justin Minaya: Two athletic young men.

Photo by Elsa/Getty Images

5 Notable Quotes From Day 3

1. “I got guys from New Jersey and New York City. You think we’re scared of anything? You think we’re worried about guys trying to muscle us and tough us out? We do that. That’s who we are.” —Saint Peter’s head coach Shaheen Holloway

2. “All year we’ve just been hearing different things about us, how we’re a soft team, how we don’t like to fight. Today, I think we really showed that we can fight. To persevere in a moment like that and just come together, I’m just so proud of everyone.” —North Carolina forward Armando Bacot

3. “I can tell you from experience whether you lose on the first day, the second day, like we did today, or you lose in the semifinals, it’s the same feeling. People can say whatever they want to say about — you don’t every take getting here for granted. I mean, it is so hard to get here. So you don’t take that for granted, but is it frustrating? Yeah. I’ve been frustrated a lot in my career, but I’m also very thankful that I’ve been able to be here.” —Tennessee head coach Rick Barnes

4. “I said I don’t give ... a flying F ... what happens at the end of the game whether we win or lose, we’re not going out as no ... uh ... soft guys.” —Gonzaga’s Drew Timme paraphrasing what he said to his teammates at halftime

5. “The Drew Timme effect came into play.” —Memphis head coach Penny Hardaway on what changed from the first half to the second in his team’s loss to Gonzaga

Full Sunday schedule for 2022 men’s NCAA tournament

Last day of the first weekend. Can’t hold anything back now.