The 2022 NCAA Tournament is underway, with the First Four games taking place over the last two days. Here's a recap of the First Four action and what's next for the winners:
Notre Dame defeats Rutgers 89-87 in 2OT, will play
Alabama
After a scoreless final 1:50 in regulation, these two teams went to
overtime where Blake Wesley hit a huge bucket with :02 remaining to
send it to yet another overtime period. Paul Atkinson Jr. had a
putback basket with :02 to play that sealed the deal, capping off
his huge night with 26 points, 6 rebounds and 2 blocks. The energy
that Notre Dame exerted will be something to monitor in the next
round (especially if they come out looking fatigued), but what an
incredilble game to get the weekend started.
Indiana defeats Wyoming 66-58, will play Saint
Mary’s
Trayce Jackson-Davis continues his ridiculous postseason with a
29-point outing. The Hoosiers took control just before the break
and would hang steady the rest of the game. Even behind a poor
free-throw shooting night, they dominated the glass and won the
turnover battle, which ended up being the keys to victory. Indiana
now looks ahead to a tough matchup with the No. 5 seeded
Gaels.
Wright State defeats Bryant 93-82, will play
Arizona
Tanner Holden had a monster night, posting 37 points on 11-of-15
from the field. The Raiders held a two-point lead at the break, but
Holden and Co. would pull away for the rest of the contest. Trey
Calvin also had a strong outing for the Horizon League Tournament
Champions, finishing with 21 points, 5 rebounds and 4 assists. They
advance to the Round of 64 and now have a tough matchup with the
Wildcats.
Texas Southern defeats Texas A&M-CC 76-67, will play
Gonzaga
The Tigers’ bench scored 55 points while the starters scored only
21 in this one. Senior guard Bryson Etienne posted 21 points, and
the team as a whole connected on 26 free-throw attempts. The SWAC
Conference Champions trailed by four points with nine minutes to
play, but were able to battle back and win down the stretch. They
took the lead with 5:32 to play and never gave it back, securing
the win and a meeting with the No. 1 overall seed,
Gonzaga.