2022 NCAA Men's Tournament Top Moments: Gonzaga gets by Memphis
Fans were treated to an outstanding day of college basketball as the second round of the 2022 NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament kicked off on Saturday.
The first game of the day was one for the record books between top-seeded Baylor and No. 8 North Carolina in Fort Worth, Texas. UNC squandered a 25-point lead against the Bears but managed to rally in overtime and escape into the Sweet 16.
Kansas followed that up with a 79-72 victory over Creighton, while No. 15-seeded Saint Peter's continued its Cinderella run with a memorable 70-60 win over Murray State.
Gonzaga closed out the night with a hard-fought 82-78 victory over Memphis.
Here are the top moments from the Round of 32 games that concluded on Saturday.
No. 1 Gonzaga 82, No. 9 Memphis 78
Don't sleep on the Tigers
Memphis did not back down from the No. 1-seeded Zags in the first half. The Tigers took a 23-22 lead thanks to this must-see slam from Malcolm Dandridge.
It's comeback time
After trailing by 10 at halftime, Gonzaga came storming back in the second half. The Zags tied it up with just under 11 minutes to go on this Rasir Bolton layup.
From downtown
The Zags shot lights-out in the second half, including this huge 3-pointer from Andrew Nembhard to put them up five.
Gonzaga went on to win, securing the program's seventh straight trip to the Sweet 16.
No. 4 Arkansas 53, No. 12 New Mexico State 48
Hammer Time!
Arkansas big man Jaylin Williams threw down a thunderous two-handed flush to tie things up.
The steal, the pass, the finish.
Davonte Davis drops a dime to Au'Diese Toney who throws down a huge one-handed slam.
Arkansas is headed to the Sweet 16 for a second consecutive year following a 53-48 win.
No. 15 Saint Peter's 70, No. 7 Murray State 60
Cinderella story
The Peacocks and Racers were battling on the defensive side. Matthew Lee gave Saint Peter's an early 11-9 lead with this nice bucket.
Catching Up
Saint Peter's built a double-digit lead, but Murray State came racing back with back-to-back 3-pointers to make it 50-47.
Not so fast!
Right when it looked like Murray State was making a run, Doug Edert hit a huge 3-pointer for the Peacocks.
Saint Peter's held onto the lead and shocked the college basketball world yet again, punching its first-ever ticket to the Sweet 16.
No. 4 UCLA 72, No. 5 Saint Mary's 56
SPLASH!
UCLA got off to a slow start, but the Bruins caught fire late in the first half. Jules Bernard gave UCLA its first lead of the game with this nice step-back 3-pointer.
Feed the big man
Cody Riley used his 250-pound frame to get the bucket and the foul, giving UCLA a double-digit lead.
The Bruins proved to be too much for Saint Mary's, as Mick Cronin's team is moving onto the Sweet 16.
No. 4 Providence 79, No. 12 Richmond 51
He's heating up!
Noah Horchler was on fire in the first half, including his deep 3-pointer to give Providence a nice cushion.
Making history
Horchler finished with 16 points and Providence routed Richmond 79-51 to advance to the Sweet 16 for the first time in 25 years.
No. 11 Michigan 76, No. 3 Tennessee 68
Big man with the range
Hunter Dickinson hit his first two attempts from 3-point land against Tennessee to give the Wolverines an early lead.
Throw it down!
Uros Plavsic capped off a 13-2 Tennessee run to end the half with a tough jam through contact. The Vols went into the locker room with a 37-32 lead.
He did WHAT!?
Eli Brooks took it to the hoop, threw it up, and got the basket and the foul. The acrobatic shot gave the Wolverines the lead late in the second half.
Hunter Dickinson and the Wolverines held on and defeated the Vols to earn a spot in the Sweet 16.
No. 8 North Carolina 93, No. 1 Baylor 86 (OT)
Hot start
R.J. Davis came ready to play, scoring eight straight to start the game.
Davis hit four triples in the first half to help UNC build a stunning 42-29 lead over the top-seeded Baylor Bears at the break.
Blocked by Bacot
The Tar Heels did it with their defense, too, holding the Bears to just 35% shooting through the first 30 minutes and opening up an 18-point lead.
No quit in these Bears
After trailing by as much as 25, an ejection to Carolina's Brady Manek and 20 second-half points from Adam Flagler sparked a 20-4 Baylor run, cutting UNC's lead to single digits at the under-four timeout
Big-boy ball
Bacot used pure muscle to give the Tar Heels a six-point lead late in the game.
And-one for the tie!
James Akinjo converted a tough layup through contact and sunk the clutch free throw to bring Baylor all the way back from 25-point deficit to an 80-80 tie with 15.8 seconds left.
Clutch bucket
Davis got his 30-piece with the biggest basket of the game.
He shrugged off the contact and finished high off the glass for an and-one. Carolina led 91-85 with less than a minute remaining in overtime.
Carolina holds on!
After surrendering a 25-point lead, the Tar Heels rallied in overtime to knock out the top-seeded Baylor Bears, 93-86.
Baylor becomes the first one-seed eliminated from the tournament, while UNC advances to the Sweet 16 in Philadelphia next Friday, where it will take on No. 4 UCLA.
No. 1 Kansas 79, No. 9 Creighton 72
Early fireworks
Kansas and Creighton came out throwing haymakers — there's really no other way to say it.
Arthur-oop!
Arthur Kaluma with the oop and the harm!
Hanging tough
Alex O'Connell finds Kaluma again for another highlight finish above the rim to keep the Bluejays within striking distance in the second half.
Staying hot
Trey Alexander knocked down the off-balance 3-pointer, Creighton's 12th of the game, that pulled the Bluejays within one possession in the final two minutes.
Defense wins championships
Ochai Agbaji came up with the clutch steal and slam to put the Jayhawks up three in the final minute.
Kansas held on to win 79-72 and advance to the Sweet 16 for the first time since 2018. Bill Self's squad will face Providence Thursday.
