Bear down! Defending champ Baylor becomes first No. 1 seed to fall in March Madness
March Madness has officially arrived.
On Saturday, defending national champion Baylor became the first No. 1 seed to lose in this year’s NCAA Tournament. The Bears fell 93-86 in the Round of 32 to No. 8 seed North Carolina.
Saturday’s game provided plenty of entertainment, too. It just didn’t come until the last 10 minutes of the game.
North Carolina appeared to be well on its way to a huge upset win over Baylor in the second round. The Tar Heels owned a 25-point lead at 67-42 with 10:08 to play. That’s when things got wild.
UNC was crushing Baylor until this was called a flagrant 2 on Brady Manek and an ejection #MarchMadness pic.twitter.com/Gitg7Qf2yf
— Bad Sports Refs (@BadSportsRefs) March 19, 2022
UNC’s Brady Manek was ejected for throwing an elbow on Baylor’s Jeremy Sochan on a rebound and the game completely flipped. The Bears went on a 38-13 run to close the second half to force overtime, taking all the momentum into the final 5 minutes.
North Carolina made just enough plays in overtime to avoid a catastrophic collapse and advance to the Sweet 16. It means there will be no back-to-back champion in college basketball this year.
Below are some of the highlights from Saturday’s upset:
RJ Davis is cooking 🔥
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He's got UNC's first 8 points #MarchMadness pic.twitter.com/XcabH8UoB8
— NCAA March Madness (@MarchMadnessMBB) March 19, 2022
RJ DAVIS HEAT CHECK.
He's got 17 and extends @UNC_Basketball's lead #MarchMadness pic.twitter.com/MNAZG19Oyz
— NCAA March Madness (@MarchMadnessMBB) March 19, 2022
RJ Davis … again 😳
Sheesh @UNC_Basketball
| #MarchMadness pic.twitter.com/o76Z65GhiD— NCAA March Madness (@MarchMadnessMBB) March 19, 2022
COMEBACK IS BREWING! 🍿
James Akinjo + the foul @BaylorMBB #MarchMadness pic.twitter.com/1QRFbKWpqw
— NCAA March Madness (@MarchMadnessMBB) March 19, 2022
Sochan banks it in! 🎯
We've got a three-point game #MarchMadness pic.twitter.com/0SXPCL94Cb
— NCAA March Madness (@MarchMadnessMBB) March 19, 2022
WHY NOT?! @BaylorMBB #MarchMadness pic.twitter.com/WVZZY89qxz
— NCAA March Madness (@MarchMadnessMBB) March 19, 2022
RJ Davis coming in CLUTCH 🔥#MarchMadness pic.twitter.com/b3933voAyQ
— NCAA March Madness (@MarchMadnessMBB) March 19, 2022
The Tar Heels have done it! 🐑🔥@UNC_Basketball is moving on to the Sweet Sixteen #MarchMadness pic.twitter.com/M8XLfZBzBR
— NCAA March Madness (@MarchMadnessMBB) March 19, 2022
North Carolina will advance to the Sweet 16. It will play the winner of the St. Mary’s-UCLA next weekend as the Final Four aspirations are still intact.
Baylor ends its season with a 27-7 record.