The first round of the 2022 NCAA men’s tournament is in the books and while Day 2 delivered fewer big upsets than Day 1, it wasn’t without drama. No. 4 Illinois trailed for all but a few seconds of its game against No. 13 Chattanooga before somehow finding a way to pull it out in the end.
And a couple of lower seeds did actually pull off wins Friday, including 11-seed Notre Dame over 6-seed Alabama, 11-seed Iowa State over 6-seed LSU and 10-seed Miami over 7-seed USC. No. 7 Michigan State survived No. 10 Davidson by one point, setting up one last meeting between Tom Izzo and Mike Krzyzewski. And Sister Jean’s squad made its tourney debut, albeit a short one this time around.
Here’s a deeper look into all of that and more of what we learned on Day 2 of the tournament.
Sister Jean wasn't a good luck charm this time around
Loyola Chicago’s Cinderella run to the Final Four in 2018 did more than put the then-98-year-old nun and team chaplain Sister Jean on the basketball map. It opened a lot of eyes to the type of basketball the school was capable of playing. So when the Ramblers returned to the tournament last year, they were not only nationally ranked and seeded higher, but people were more wary of their potential to bust brackets. And they did. After winning the 8 vs. 9 matchup in the first round, Loyola took down No. 1 Illinois before falling to Oregon State in the Sweet 16.
Sister Jean is in the building ❤️ pic.twitter.com/WbLptAdL7B
— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) March 18, 2022
Considering the school’s recent tournament success, if you came into this year thinking there was a little more of that Sister Jean magic on the way, no one could blame you. The 102-year-old was once again accompanying the team, and the Ramblers were opening the tournament as 1.5-point favorites against a 7-seeded Ohio State that struggled mightily down the stretch of the season with four losses in its last five games. Loyola would at least get past OSU and give No. 2 Villanova a scare in the second round, right?
Wrong. Ohio State cruised to a victory in which it led by double-digits for most of the second half. This was probably a predictable outcome in the first year of new head coach Drew Valentine. It’s understandable if Sister Jean led you to believe a different outcome was possible, but as it turns out, her mere presence — while fun — doesn’t automatically equate to wins. Sorry to break the news.
Saint Patrick's Day never ended
The luck of the Irish didn’t end Thursday on St. Patrick’s Day, but instead extended into Friday as No. 11 Notre Dame knocked off No. 6 Alabama in impressive fashion. The 14-point victory was quite stunning considering the Irish were coming off a double overtime two-point win in the First Four against Rutgers.
Notre Dame went from barely making the tournament to barely surviving the First Four to blowing the doors off a top-six seed that was favored by 3.5 points.
Picking a No. 11 First Four team remains a good bet
Notre Dame’s win was just another reminder that picking a No. 11 First Four team in the first round remains a good bet. But seven times out of the last eight tournaments, a No. 11 First Four team has won its first round matchup. And the history of First Four teams winning in the first round regardless of seed extends beyond that.
The 11-seeds did well this time around with three of the four making it through to the second round. Shockingly, the one that didn’t make it through was arguably one of the hottest teams coming in, but No. 11 Virginia Tech didn’t fare well against Texas.
Nostalgia is better than chaos
Everyone loves a good underdog story, but as No. 7 Michigan State’s battle against No. 10 Davidson (+1.5) winded down with either side having a chance to claim victory, it was a little harder to pull for the Wildcats knowing what was at stake. Duke had already secured its win over CSU Fullerton, meaning a Michigan State win would pit head coach Tom Izzo against Duke’s Mike Krzyzewski one last time. And that’s exactly what happened.
THE STAGE IS SET 🔒
Mike Krzyzewski and Tom Izzo will face off for the SIXTH time in the NCAA tournament, the most common coaching matchup in men's basketball history 😳 pic.twitter.com/us4sLresJQ
— SportsCenter (@SportsCenter) March 19, 2022
If you aren’t a Duke fan, you love to root against the Blue Devils. And that probably won’t change against Michigan State (unless you like UM). But if you’re in my age range, this is the type of coaching matchup you grew up on and an era that’s slowly aging out. It’s great that the stars aligned for one more meeting between these two coaching giants. Duke is favored by 6.5 points, but it’ll be a game to appreciate no matter the result.
What is a Moc?
No. 13 Chattanooga came soooo close to pulling off the upset over No. 4 Illinois. The Mocs covered an 8.5-point spread, but fell by just one point in a game they led for all but 26 seconds. And they couldn’t have asked for a better look to win it at the end of the game.
WHAT. A. FINISH.
Illinois led for 30 seconds😳pic.twitter.com/HOm8dkWxFh
— Covers (@Covers) March 19, 2022
Unfortunately, Malachi Smith’s short jumper missed as time expired, sending Illinois forward into a meeting with No. 5 Houston. But this all leads to a question you might’ve asked yourself in past tournaments involving Chattanooga and forgot the answer to: What is a Moc? Well, I’m glad you asked. According to the team’s site, the simplest definition of a Moc is “a champion in the classroom, in competition and, most importantly, in life.”
And there you have it.
