Plus, a preview of Friday’s Sweet 16 games and a look ahead to the Elite Eight.
Thursday was not a good day to be a No. 1 seed.
Two of the three remaining top seeds—Gonzaga and Arizona—lost, and three underdogs won outright on the first night of the men's March Madness Sweet 16.
Duke kept on dancing, though, and Coach K’s dream sendoff scenario is well within reach as the Blue Devils stepped even closer to the Final Four in New Orleans with another win.
Action in the men’s bracket continues tonight, Saturday’s Elite Eight matchups are set and the women’s Sweet 16 gets underway this evening.
About Last Night
No. 1 Gonzaga came up short once again. This time, it was No. 4 Arkansas, a 9.5-point underdog, that sent the Bulldogs home in March. Gonzaga’s Chet Holmgren fouled out and Drew Timme, who scored a game-high 25 points, couldn’t take on Arkansas all on his own. Jaylin Williams had a double-double and JD Notae led Eric Musselman’s squad with 21 points in the 74-68 victory over the overall No. 1 seed.
In the other early time slot, No. 2 Villanova defeated No. 11 Michigan in a rematch of the 2018 championship game. The outcome was the same. The Wildcats gave Michigan big man Hunter Dickinson trouble all night and Collin Gillespie hit the biggest shot of the night with a little less than two minutes remaining to put Villanova ahead by nine. Villanova was a 5.5-point favorite and covered that spread with a 63-55 win.
No. 2 Duke played about as good as humanly possible down the stretch. The Blue Devils didn’t miss a shot for more than eight minutes with the game in balance and went on a late run to down No. 3 Texas Tech. Duke received 22 points from star Paolo Banchero and a few late buckets out of Jeremy Roach to score a 78-73 win over the Texas Tech, who was 1-point favorites.
Tony Avelar/AP
No. 5 Houston made life tough for No. 1 Arizona. Houston hounded the Wildcats all night and held their high-powered offense to a poor shooting performance (18-54 overall, 7-22 from three). Arizona star Benedict Mathurin was limited to just 15 points on 4-14 shooting and Kevin Sampson’s team scored a 72-60 win as 1.5-point underdogs.
Sweet 16 Continues
There are four more games in the men’s bracket taking place tonight:
7:09 p.m. ET (CBS): No. 15 Saint Peter’s vs. No. 3 Purdue (-13) | Betting Preview
7:29 p.m. (TBS): No. 4 Providence vs. No. 1 Kansas (-7.5) | Betting Preview
9:39 p.m. (CBS): No. 8 North Carolina vs. No. 4 UCLA (-2.5) | Betting Preview
9:59 p.m. (TBS): No. 11 Iowa State vs. No. 10 Miami (-3) | Betting Preview
And in the women’s bracket, the Sweet 16 gets underway with two No. 1 seeds taking the court.
Sean Rayford/AP
7 p.m. (ESPN): No. 5 North Carolina vs. No. 1 South Carolina (-11)
7 p.m. (ESPN2): No. 6 Ohio State vs. No. 2 Texas (-5)
9:30 p.m. (ESPN): No. 4 Maryland vs. No. 1 Stanford (-6.5)
9:30 p.m. (ESPN2): No. 10 Creighton vs. No. 3 Iowa State (-5.5)
Elite Eight
The two Saturday games in the men's tournament are set and spreads are out for both matchups.
6:09 p.m. (TBS): No. 5 Houston (-1.5) vs. No. 2 Villanova
8:49 p.m. (TBS): No. 4 Arkansas vs. No. 2 Duke (-4)
The winners of tonight’s games will play Sunday with a spot in the Final Four on the line.
Kansas (+375), the only No. 1 seed remaining, is tied with Houston for the best odds to win the national championship. Duke (+450) falls in line behind those two.
In Other News
Unvaccinated Athletes Can Now Play in NYC: Mayor Eric Adams announced athletes and performers no longer have to adhere to the vaccine mandate for private businesses. That means players for the Knicks, Nets, Mets and Yankees, most notably Kyrie Irving, can play home games. This dramatically affects Brooklyn’s chances in the upcoming playoffs.
Hill Trade is Part of NFL’s New Normal: The Dolphins sent five picks, including first- and second-round picks in this year’s draft, to acquire speedster Tyreek Hill from the Chiefs and promptly signed him to a lucrative extension. This aggressive approach to roster-building has become commonplace in the league and it’s more difficult to judge these moves as successes or failures in the moment. Here’s the fantasy impact of the big trade.
Suns Clinch No. 1 Seed, NBA’s Best Record: Chris Paul returned to the court for the first time in a month and Devin Booker scored 49 points Thursday night in Phoenix’s 60th win of the season. The Suns have now ensured home court advantage throughout the postseason.
2022 NFL Draft Receiver Rankings: Two Ohio State receivers are among the top pass catchers in this class and there’s a few SEC wideouts who are expected to be some of the first players drafted at their position, including Alabama’s Jameson Williams, who’s coming off a torn ACL.
That’s all for today. Thanks for reading, enjoy your weekend and I’ll be back in your inbox Monday morning to discuss the Final Four.