March Madness 2022 is already pretty wild. Brackets, Cinderellas, a little trolling? The men’s and women’s NCAA basketball tournaments have it all, and we’re just a few days into the fun.
The conference tournaments and the Big Dance have already elicited numerous reactions from celebrities, school alumni and more. With them have come a healthy dose of trolling, jokes and heckling.
Here are some exceptional instances of social media trolling during the men’s and women’s hoops tourneys:
First round
Strut on, Peacocks. No. 15 seed Saint Peter’s outlasted No. 2 seed Kentucky in overtime to take down the Wildcats 85-79. Daryl Banks III and Doug Edert led the way with 27 and 20 points, respectively. According to ESPN Stats & Information, it’s the 10th 15-2 upset since the tournament expanded to 64 teams in 1985.
HAPPY SAINT PETER’S DAY!!#StrutUp🦚 pic.twitter.com/xoemdAKv6w
— Saint Peter’s Men’s Basketball (@PeacocksMBB) March 18, 2022
S̶a̶i̶n̶t̶ ̶P̶a̶t̶r̶i̶c̶k̶’̶s̶ ̶D̶a̶y̶ Saint Peter’s Day 🙃#MarchMadness pic.twitter.com/gejdKqGZis
— NCAA March Madness (@MarchMadnessMBB) March 18, 2022
A 12-5 upset came courtesy of New Mexico State. Junior guard Teddy Allen scored 37 points, the most by any player in an NCAA tourney game in NMSU history, per ESPN Stats & Information. He was the only Aggie to hit double figures in that department and his sensational night helped defeat UConn 70-63.
Unlike the Huskies’, the Aggies’ dreams of dancing to a championship are still alive.
We can still dance.
UConn’t.#AggieUp | #MarchMadness pic.twitter.com/V7eWkkLeOZ
— NM State MBB (@NMStateMBB) March 18, 2022
Iowa was fresh off a Big Ten tournament championship and entered the tournament as a No. 5 seed. None of that mattered to No. 12 seed Richmond, however.
The Spiders pulled off the famous 12-5 upset, defeating the Hawkeyes 67-63. Per ESPN Stats & Information, 85.6% of ESPN brackets had Iowa winning its round-of-64 matchup, the second-highest percentage for any non-top-4 seed in the tourney.
For Richmond, it’s the school’s ninth win as a 12th seed or lower, the most since tournament seeding began in 1979. After the upset, the Spiders reminded social media of their knack for busting brackets.
https://t.co/5nszysvWQ7 pic.twitter.com/XYiRET6rrC
— Richmond Basketball (@SpiderMBB) March 17, 2022
Longwood University, located in Farmville, Virginia, earned a No. 14 seed in the men’s tourney, and a 16-seed in the women’s bracket. The University of Virginia, roughly 60 miles north of the Lancers’ campus, however, didn’t have a basketball team in either NCAA tournament this season.
So Longwood’s Twitter account decided to post a thread explaining why UVA fans should root for its squads during March Madness.
Reason No. 5 references men’s basketball coach Griff Aldrich’s history against the Cavaliers. In 2018, he was the director of recruiting and development for the UMBC Retrievers, the first 16-seed to defeat a No.1 seed (Virginia) in the men’s NCAA tournament.
5. Longwood Coach Griff Aldrich was at @UMBC when they *ahem* motivated you to win a national championship. You’re welcome. pic.twitter.com/bDkaY7OgX3
— Longwood University (@longwoodu) March 16, 2022
The Lancers’ No. 1 reason was simple: They aren’t Virginia Tech. Simple reasoning for the Hoos out there.
…AND THE #1 REASON UVA FANS should adopt Longwood as their team this year?
1. We’re not @virginia_tech pic.twitter.com/o1eaExi16M— Longwood University (@longwoodu) March 16, 2022
However, trolling season in Farmville didn’t last long. The Lancers’ men’s team was crushed by Tennessee in the first round. Longwood’s women’s team, a No. 16 seed, faces No. 1-seed NC State Saturday.
First Four
Notre Dame’s First Four matchup against Rutgers Wednesday night was a double-overtime thriller. Senior Paul Atkinson Jr. scored a putback layup with a second left on the clock to propel the 11-seeded Fighting Irish to an 89-87 win. Atkinson finished with 26 points on 13-of-15 shooting.
The game lasted until the early hours of Thursday morning, also St. Patrick’s Day. Maybe the luck of the Irish was on Notre Dame’s side after midnight. Regardless, coach Mike Brey was in the spirit during his postgame interview.
HAPPY ST. PATRICK’S DAY BABAYYYY ☘️
— Notre Dame Men’s Basketball (@NDmbb) March 17, 2022
Conference tournaments
Kentucky’s women’s team played David to South Carolina’s Goliath, defeating the top-ranked Gamecocks in the SEC championship game. Forward Dre’Una Edwards scored a 3-pointer with five seconds on the clock to give the Wildcats their first postseason tournament title since 1982.
Led by senior guard Rhyne Howard, Kentucky knocked off three top-20 opponents en route to its tourney championship. The team’s Twitter account had the perfect bedtime story for those who slept on the Wildcats during the tournament.
They slept on us so we tucked them in and won an SEC Championship. 🤫
Goodnight. 💙 pic.twitter.com/dW8k34oVna
— Kentucky WBB (@KentuckyWBB) March 7, 2022