The 2022 NCAA men's tournament marches on, with sixteen teams one step closer to making it to the final weekend of college basketball's grandest stage.
Chaos was the name of the game in men's college basketball during the 2021-22 season. And while the first weekend of the NCAA tournament wasn't as upset-minded as the 2020-21 edition, there were plenty of teams wearing glass slippers.
The belle of this year's ball belongs to none other than 15-seed out of the East region, the Saint Peter's Peacocks.
Saint Peters (21-11), out of the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference, got the party started in the first round with its 85-79 OT victory over the Kentucky Wildcats. Not only did the Peacocks ruin many a bracket, it was the second consecutive year a 15-seed notched an upset. (And only third all time, joining FGCU in 2013 and Oral Roberts last year.)
Oral Roberts, too, had advanced to the Sweet 16. Saint Peter's has joined the ranks of darlings and it's a safe bet many fans will be rooting for the underdog next weekend.
Underdogs didn't quite make as much noise as they did last season. However, the same number of double-digit seeds are remaining as last year at this point. Joining the Peacocks as double-digit seeds in the Sweet 16 are 11-seed Iowa State (Midwest), 10-seed Miami (Midwest), and 11-seed Michigan (South).
The Wolverines (19-14) might be the biggest surprise of them all. Considered to even be lucky to be in the tournament, Michigan has ridden the back of Hunter Dickinson to reach the Sweet 16 for the fifth-straight time.
For all the talk of how good the Big Ten was, however, only one other school from the conference made it this far. The 3-seed in the East, Purdue, joins the Wolverines, making it only two Big Ten schools to make it this far after nine made the tournament.
Close games were also a staple of the First Four games and first weekend of play, with six games going into overtime. Though it didn't quite equal the four OT games played in one day back in 2014, this year's edition is only 1 game away from tying the record for most in a single tournament.
Match-ups are set for weekend two, with plenty of intrigue on the agenda.
West region
The West region was the only region to survive with its top four seeds intact. It was, however, not without drama.
Special nod to the Gonzaga Bulldogs (28-3), who had a flair for the dramatic in both of their games. A first-round victory over Georgia State looked easy on paper, with Gonzaga winning 93-72. But it took a 21-0 run in the second-half to separate from the Panthers.
In the round of 32, Gonzaga found themselves down 10 at the half to 9-seed Memphis. A renewed effort to get Drew Timme involved, however, carried the Bulldogs to victory a four-point victory.
Timme is averaging 28.5 and 13.5 rebounds while fellow big man Chet Holmgren is also making his presence felt. Holmgren had 19 points, 17 rebounds, and 7 blocked shots in the opening game. Despite battling foul trouble in the first-half against Memphis, Holmgren delivered seven points, nine rebounds, and four more blocked shots.
Andrew Nembhard is also playing well, dishing out 11 assists in game one and scoring 23 points in game two.
The Bulldogs are averaging 87.5 per game in the tournament and shot better than 50 percent in each game. Free throws (29-54) and three-point attempts (12-45, however, have been a struggle.
Gonzaga's opponent will be the Arkansas Razorbacks (27-8). Numbers for Arkansas have looked quite different than Gonzaga's. The Razorbacks are averaging 64 points per game in the tourney, while holding opponents to 59.5.
Arkansas has struggled to shoot the ball well in the first two games. They were at a respectable 42 percent in an opening-round victory over Vermont but a chilly 27.5 percent against New Mexico State almost did the Razorbacks in.
Rebounding is even through two tournament games and have committed 17 turnovers.
JD Notae has scored 35 points in the tournament and had eight steals against New Mexico State. Jaylin Williams had 10 points and 15 rebounds against the Aggies while Stanley Umude is another player to keep an eye on. Umude had 21 points and 9 rebounds in the victory over Vermont.
A lot of eyes will be on the other game in this region, with every game holding the possibility it will be Coach K's last.
His Duke Blue Devils (30-6) took care of business last weekend, averaging 81.5 points while holding opponents to 68.5. The Blue Devils have been in a flow on offense, shooting better than 50 percent in both games and carry a +12 rebounding advantage into the Sweet 16.
Duke has had a balanced attack, with five players scoring in double figures in each game. Paolo Banchero has 36 points, 17 rebounds, and 8 assists in two games and Mark Williams is averaging 15 points per game. In Sunday's victory over Michigan State, three players scored 15 points behind team leader Banchero's 19.
Their opponent is the 3-seed Texas Tech Red Raiders (27-9). The Red Raiders had to hold off a pesky Notre Dame squad in the round of 32, winning 59-53 despite scoring only one field goal after a made 3-pointer at the 7:17 mark.
Texas Tech connected on 10-10 free throws down the stretch and played stingy defense to advance. Their 35.6 percent from the field was a far cry from an opening round rout of Montana State.
That opening game saw the Red Raiders shoot 66.7 percent from the field and made 12 of 20 from three-point range. While I don't expect that sort of effort against Duke, the Red Raiders should be a bit better on offense than they were against the Fighting Irish.
Players to watch include Kevin Obanor, who has 25 points and 26 rebounds in the tournament, and Bryson Williams. Williams is averaging 17 points per game in the tourney.
Texas Tech has 33 assists and 20 turnovers so far in two games.
East region
The East region not only lost 2-seed Kentucky but 1-seed Baylor fell as well. The Bears were knocked off by the North Carolina Tar Heels (26-9) in OT in the second round.
The 8-seed Tar Heels nearly let that game slip away from them. Leading by 25 with 10:08 left, Baylor mounted a furious comeback, tying the game with 15 seconds left.
Not a deep team, UNC was able to prevail in overtime. Brady Manek is averaging 27 points per game in the tournament, despite not playing the last 10:08 plus overtime due to an ejection thanks to a Flagrant 2 foul.
RJ Davis had 30 points against Baylor and is averaging nine assists per game in the tournament while Armando Bacot is averaging 16 points and 13 rebounds in two games.
The Tar Heels are putting up 94 points per game and have knocked down 24 threes.
Their opponents in the Sweet 16 are scoring at a lower clip in the tournament (64.5 ppg) but the UCLA Bruins (27-7) are back in familiar territory after last season's magical run.
The four key players from last season's run are all back and holding opponents to 54.5 points in two tournament games. In doing this, UCLA improved to 22-0 this season when holding opponents to under 66 points.
Tyger Campbell has been locked in so far, scoring 32 points and dishing out nine assists. Jaime Jaquez Jr. scored 30 points in the first game and had 15 in the second before leaving late with an ankle injury. The status for Jaquez playing this weekend is currently day-to-day.
In the region's other game, the Peacocks will have their hands full but that hasn't stopped them so far.
Dating back to the regular season, Saint Peter's has won nine straight games. They led wire-to-wire in their second-round victory over Murray State.
Doug Edert has scored 33 points off the bench to pace Saint Peters. Daryl Barnes III had 27 points against Kentucky and KC Ndefo had 17 points and 10 rebounds against Murray State.
To get the furthest a 15-seed has ever advanced, the Peacocks will need to get past the 3-seed Purdue Boilermakers (29-7).
Purdue is averaging 79.5 points per game in their two tournament victories. Ranked no. 1 at various times in the 2021-22 season, Purdue entered this tournament going 3-3 in their last six games.
The Boilermakers regained their confidence, holding opponents to under 40 percent from the field in the first two rounds. They also hold a plus 22 rebound advantage in those games.
Jaden Ivey has scored 40 points in two games to lead Purdue. Zach Edey had 16 points and 9 rebounds against Yale while Trevian Williams had 22 and 7, respectively, in the second-round victory over Texas.
South region
The major surprise of the South region is clearly the Wolverines. And they have won despite not having starting point guard DeVante' Jones for most of the first two games.
Jones took a hit to the head during practice last week and was placed in concussion protocol. Jones missed the victory over Colorado State and played only the first-half in the upset-victory over Tennessee.
Replacing Jones hasn't been easy. While freshman Frankie Collins has been in steady in two games, it is the play of Dickinson carrying the Wolverines. Dickinson has 48 points and 17 rebounds in two games, also blocking four shots in the first round and collecting four assists in game two.
Eli Brooks has stepped up, scoring 39 points, collecting 10 rebounds, and dishing out 11 assists.
To get one step closer to returning to the Final Four, Michigan will first have to get past the 2-seed Villanova Wildcats (28-7).
Villanova has been pretty locked in the first two tournament games, winning by an average margin of 15 points. The Wildcats like to shoot the three (21-51) and while the players aren't the same, these two programs are similar to the ones they were when they met for the National title in 2018.
Only Brooks for Michigan and Villanova's Connor Gillespie and Jermaine Samuels played in that contest.
Gillespie has 34 points in this year's tournament and Samuels has 32 points (on 12-18 shooting) and 17 rebound. Justin Moore is also a threat to disrupt a game, scoring 21 points and dishing out six assists in Villanova's opening-round victory over Delaware.
A 5-seed, the Houston Cougars (31-5) are on a mission to get back to the Final Four a year after doing so. The Cougars are again in the Sweet 16 despite having a completely new starting five.
It wasn't that way earlier in the season but after losing Tramon Mark and leading-scorer Marcus Sasser to season-ending injuries, the Cougars needed to refocus.
They've done so, and won 11 of their last 12 games. They are averaging 75 points per game in the tournament but are only 16-43 from three-point range. A mix of players can lead this team on any given night. Kyler Edwards had 25 points (6-8 from 3-pt) in the victory over UAB and Taze Moore had 21 points and seven rebounds against Illinois.
Their opponents in the Sweet 16 will be the 1-seed Arizona Wildcats (33-3). The Pac-12 champions are coming off a classic in the second-round, getting taken to the limit by TCU. Arizona prevailed in overtime as they advanced to the Sweet 16 for the first time since 2017.
Arizona is averaging 86 points in the tournament but had performances that were in many ways night-and-day.
The Wildcats were 11-20 from deep in the first round but were only 5-27 against TCU. The Horned Frogs also outrebounded Arizona by four.
Arizona is paced by two stars in Bennedict Mathurin and Christian Koloko. Mathurn had 30 points, 8 rebounds, and 4 assists against TCU while Koloko had 28.
On the tournament, Mathurin is averaging 24 points per game and Koloko averages 22.5 points and 12.5 rebounds.
Midwest region
One half of the Midwest region played out along seed lines, with top-seed Kansas Jayhawks (30-6) still standing.
It wasn't without trouble, though, as the Jayhawks had their hands full in the second round with and undermanned Creighton squad. In the end, they used a combination of rebounding and taking care of the ball to outlast the Bluejays and advance to the Sweet 16 for the first time since the 2017-18 season.
Kansas is averaging 81 points per game in the tournament and allowing 64. The Jayhawks hold a plus 29 rebounding advantage and have 34 assists. Kansas also only committed seven turnovers against Creighton.
Remy Martin has scored 35 points in the tournament and first-team All-American Ochai Agbaji as 26 points, 14 rebounds, and 9 assists. (Agbaji, by the way, is the only first-team selection whose team is still in the tournament.)
Kansas will play 4-seed Providence. The Friars (27-5) are coming off a second-round victory over 12-seed Richmond, 79-51. Providence held both of their opponents under 60 points while averaging 72.5 themselves. Their three-point shooting has been consistent (20-44) and they have 31 assists and 20 turnovers.
The Friars are paced by Noah Horchler (averaging 14.5 and 11 rebounds in the tourney) and Al Durham, who has scored 26 points, collected 12 rebounds, and dished out nine assists.
The other contest in the Midwest region features a contest between two double-digit seeds, guaranteeing the Elite 8 will be represented by at least one low seed.
After securing only two wins in the 2020-21 season, the 11-seed Iowa State Cyclones (22-11) are in the Sweet 16 for the first time since 2016.
The Cyclones have used defense to carry them this far, allowing only 51.5 points per game. Opponents have struggled to hit threes (6-39) and Iowa State has 24 steals in the two games.
Tyrese Hunter had an outstanding opening game against LSU, connecting on 7-11 from deep in route to 23 points. Hunter, however, struggled against Wisconsin, shooting only 1-10 overall (0-3 three-point). Izaiah Brockington had 19 in the opening-round win while Gabe Kalscheur had 22 against the Badgers.
Iowa State's opponents will be the 10-seed Miami Hurricanes (25-10). Miami knocked off 7-seed USC and 2-seed Auburn to reach this point despite a minus 20 deficit on the boards and hitting only 4-29 from three-point range.
The Hurricanes are efficient and do not turn the ball over, committing only seven in the tournament. They are also a stout defensive team, with 22 steals in two games, meaning we could see a low-scoring affair between them and the Cyclones.
Isaiah Wong has scored 43 points in the tournament while Kameron McGusty had 20 points, six rebounds, and four steals against Auburn.
Action in the Sweet 16 takes place on Thursday (3/24) and Friday (3/25), with berths in the Final Four on the line with game on Saturday (3/26) and Sunday (3/27).
2021-22 NCAA men's tournament full bracket
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