Is March Madness 2022 wild enough yet? How’s your bracket doing? Thursday’s first round NCAA tournament games saw No. 15 seed Saint Peter’s knock of No. 2 Kentucky. Two No. 12 seeds, Richmond and New Mexico State, downed No. 5 seeds Iowa and UConn, respectively.
Two No. 1 seeds — Gonzaga and Baylor — cruised through their first games while Tennessee and North Carolina put up big scores.
So, shall we do it again Friday?
Jabari Smith, a top NBA draft prospect, and No. 2 seed Auburn start the day’s action. Later, Mike Krzyzewski begins his final NCAA tournament as Duke’s head coach. The No. 2-seeded Blue Devils play Cal State Fullerton.
“I’m just going to go for it, and that’s what I’ve tried to do all season long,” Krzyzewski said Thursday. “I just want to be in the moment. I’m excited.”
NCAA tournament schedule (all times ET)
12:15 p.m.: 10 Loyola Chicago Ramblers vs. 7 Ohio State Buckeyes
12:40 p.m.: 15 Jacksonville State Gamecocks vs. 2 Auburn Tigers
1:45 pm.: 14 Montana State Bobcats vs. 3 Texas Tech Red Raiders
2 p.m.: 14 Yale Bulldogs vs. 3 Purdue Boilermakers
2:45 p.m.: 15 Delaware Blue Hens vs. 2 Villanova Wildcats
3:10 p.m.: 10 Miami Hurricanes vs. 7 USC Trojans
4:15 p.m.: 11 Notre Dame Fighting Irish vs. 6 Alabama Crimson Tide
4:30 p.m.: 11 Virginia Tech Hokies vs. 6 Texas Longhorns
6:50 p.m.: 13 Chattanooga Mocs vs. 4 Illinois Fighting Illini
7:10 p.m.: 15 CSU Fullerton Titans vs. 2 Duke Blue Devils
7:20 p.m.: 11 Iowa State Cyclones vs. 6 LSU Tigers
7:27 p.m.: 16 Wright State Raiders vs. 1 Arizona Wildcats
9:20 p.m.: 12 UAB Blazers vs. 5 Houston Cougars
9:40 p.m.: 10 Davidson Wildcats vs. 7 Michigan State Spartans
9:50 p.m.: 14 Colgate Raiders vs. 3 Wisconsin Badgers
9:57 p.m.: 9 TCU Horned Frogs vs. 8 Seton Hall Pirates
POTUS on their side
Sometimes you have to make bracket picks with your heart. President Joe Biden put aside seeds, odds and opponents and picked his alma mater, the Delaware Blue Hens, to win both the men’s and women’s tournaments.
I’m proud of all the athletes competing in this year’s NCAA tournament. But at the end of the day, I’m a @UDelaware guy. Go Blue Hens! pic.twitter.com/fG89BfvNAP
— President Biden (@POTUS) March 18, 2022
Texas AD’s wild ride
Everyone’s been on a long road trip. People take too many bathroom breaks. They try to take photos from moving cars. Souvenirs are bought. According to Chris Del Conte, the Longhorns’ athletics director, had travel issues with his flight from Austin, Texas, to Milwaukee for Texas’ first round game on Friday.
So Del Conte got a car with some Texas fans and headed north. According to the feed, Del Conte got pulled over in a traffic stop — in Oklahoma, of course.
Met these dude at Austin airport after two plane delays we decided to drive to Milwaukee., Wheels, Hodges and me rolling along 1-35 expected drive time 17 hours .. Keep the light on boys will be coming in late pic.twitter.com/AMhV6sLMtw
— Chris Del Conte (@_delconte) March 17, 2022
Escape Oklahoma with just a warning… Buford T Justice is on the prowl.🤘🏽 https://t.co/M4RCIzkqbd pic.twitter.com/cfVtN93fhB
— Chris Del Conte (@_delconte) March 17, 2022
Met up with some great Longhorn at Jimm’s in Springfield .. Thanks Cedric and Tony for the outstanding suggestion.. time to hit the road 🤘🏽 https://t.co/GQ6oq2bkRQ pic.twitter.com/iuMWKDRAHp
— Chris Del Conte (@_delconte) March 18, 2022
This is a first.. 😳 https://t.co/AgL4tFUaOu pic.twitter.com/SUbPL32cCG
— Chris Del Conte (@_delconte) March 18, 2022
Wheels with a solid hat purchase in Pontiac Illinois…😂🤘🏽 https://t.co/EBxAjRi1lB pic.twitter.com/eZiOIZsOKs
— Chris Del Conte (@_delconte) March 18, 2022
Pregame fun and intense prep
Go Green 🍀 🍀 pic.twitter.com/VL9T7aDlcR
— Michigan State Men’s Basketball (@MSU_Basketball) March 17, 2022
This is Anthony Walker on the mic.@Antgotclout #MarchMadness x Miami pic.twitter.com/y4mqi4HZCi
— Canes Hoops (@CanesHoops) March 18, 2022
March Mentality 🤘 pic.twitter.com/Z5vIH1MiIr
— First Round Friday @ 3:30 on TBS (@TexasMBB) March 17, 2022