We love Cinderella stories and upsets, but the Sunday schedule for the 2022 NCAA Tournament is setting up to be a showcase for the big dogs. To be more specific, the final day of second-round action will prominently feature programs that have, as they say, been here before.
Of the 16 programs playing for the eight remaining spots in the Sweet 16, there are 15 that have made at least one Final Four, 10 that have reached the national championship game and six that have at least one NCAA Tournament title. Saturday's action guaranteed at least one Sweet 16 spot for a mid-major program based on the matchups, but when the closest thing to a "mid-major" program is Kelvin Sampson's Houston Cougars, a Final Four team a year ago with two Sweet 16 appearances in the last two tournaments, there's not an "underdog story" to be found on the board.
The action gets started with two standalone South Region games from Pittsburgh with No. 4 seed Illinois playing No. 5 seed Houston followed by No. 2 seed Villanova against No. 7 seed Ohio State. Then, attention will turn to arguably the biggest game of the day as Mike Krzyzewski's final NCAA Tournament campaign moves into the spotlight as No. 2 seed Duke takes on No. 7 seed Michigan State. The clash between the Blue Devils and Spartans kicks off a loaded Sunday evening that also includes another No. 2 seed in Auburn, three No. 3 seeds -- Wisconsin, Texas Tech and Auburn -- and the final No. 1 seed, Arizona, closing out the schedule in primetime action from San Diego.
So let's get down to it and explore the biggest storylines on Sunday as the Second Round reaches its conclusion with the Sweet 16 on the horizon.
One last time for Coach K vs. Tom Izzo
Mike Krzyzewski and Tom Izzo are icons of their respective programs, friends in competition and, on Sunday night, foes in coaching for the 16th and final time in their careers. The Duke coach holds a decided 12-3 edge in the head-to-head series that stretches back to the 1999 Final Four, but the last time these two met in the NCAA Tournament, it was Izzo who came out on top as the Spartans bounced the Zion Williamson-led Blue Devils in the Elite Eight. So, as if there wasn't enough intrigue packed into every Duke game from here on out as potentially Krzyzewski's last, now we get to see if it's his longest-lasting nonconference coaching nemesis that will send him home.
Our own Matt Norlander is on the ground in Greenville, South Carolina — the site of a second-round exit for No. 2 seed Duke in 2017, by the way -- and has a column on the Krzyzewski-Izzo rivalry in advance of their final chapter. In it he points out a contrasting trend for Coach K's upper hand against Izzo, and it's his 23-6 record on a two-day turnaround (one day of prep) in the NCAA Tournament. As the trend suggests, few coaches (and coaching staffs) have been better at developing and implementing a game plan in the short amount of time from game one to game two at a tournament pod. The combination of basketball acumen, ability to teach and instill confidence in the team has made the Spartans a tough out in the second round and Elite Eight -- just as they were for Duke three years ago. So between Krzyzewski's record against Izzo (12-3) or Izzo's record on the two-day turnaround (23-6), something has to give.
Big Ten vs. Big 12: Who gets more teams through?
The Big Ten and Big 12 have been among the most successful conferences in the tournament so far, each getting six teams through to the Second Round weekend action. Of the eight games across Sunday's second-round schedule, seven include a team from either the Big Ten or Big 12, including two head-to-head matchups with No. 3 seed Wisconsin facing No. 11 seed Iowa State in the Midwest Region at 6:10 p.m. ET and No. 3 seed Purdue playing No. 6 seed Texas in the East Region at 8:40 p.m. Both of those Big Ten vs. Big 12 matchups will be in Milwaukee, so if the seed line and point spread didn't already suggest the Big 12 would be underdogs, the setting should be an advantage for the Badgers and Boilermakers.
The Big 12 does have a favorite in action with No. 3 seed Texas Tech welcoming the challenge from No. 11 seed Notre Dame at 7:10 p.m. The Fighting Irish are rolling with two wins already this week against Rutgers and Alabama, but the Red Raiders showed no signs of a slow start in their 35-point trouncing of Montana State.
The other four teams in action from the Big Ten and Big 12 are all underdogs: No. 4 seed Illinois against No. 5 seed Houston (12:10 p.m.), No. 7 seed Ohio State against No. 2 seed Villanova (2:40 p.m.), No. 9 seed TCU against No. 1 seed Arizona (9:40 p.m.) and the aforementioned showdown between Izzo and Coach K as No. 7 seed Michigan State squares off with No. 2 seed Duke. After the First Round, the Big Ten and Big 12 still had six teams alive in the tournament while no other conference had more than four. Sunday will go a big way in determining which conference finishes as one of the big winners of the first weekend of the 2022 NCAA Tournament.
Will any double-digit seeds make it to the Sweet 16?
While we don't have any traditional Cinderellas in action on Sunday, there are three double-digit seeds trying to exceed seed line expectations and make it into the second weekend with an upset win. Double-digit seeds in the Sweet 16 is not unusual; in fact, we get an average of 2.3 double-digit seeds in the Sweet 16 every year (per NCAA.com) and had four double-digit seeds make it through the Second Round in last year's tournament. Sunday's action features one No. 10 seed in Miami and two No. 11 seeds with Iowa State and Notre Dame. Of the three teams, the oddsmakers say the Cyclones have the best chance to advance, listed as 4.5-point underdogs against No. 3 seed Wisconsin. Both Miami and Notre Dame have slightly longer odds as 7.5-point underdogs against No. 2 seed Auburn and No. 3 seed Texas Tech, respectively.
Sunday's live streaming schedule
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(4) Illinois vs. (5) Houston |
(3) Texas Tech vs. (11) Notre Dame |
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(2) Villanova vs. (7) Ohio St. |
(2) Auburn vs. (10) Miami |
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(2) Duke vs. (7) Michigan St. |
(3) Purdue vs. (6) Texas |
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(3) Wisconsin vs. (11) Iowa St. |
(1) Arizona vs. (9) TCU |
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March 20, 2022 at 03:16AM
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2022 March Madness live stream: NCAA Tournament TV schedule, watch basketball streaming online Sunday - CBS Sports
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