2022 NCAA Men’s Tournament Top Moments: 1-seeds Arizona, Gonzaga out
Half of the Elite Eight in the 2022 NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament has been decided.
Tipping things off Thursday, No. 4 Arkansas upset top-seeded Gonzaga to advance to its second Elite Eight in a row. Arkansas is the first team to beat the No. 1 team in the regular season (Auburn) and the postseason (Gonzaga).
Elsewhere, No. 2 Villanova cruised to an easy victory over 11-seed Michigan.
In the evening window, No. 2 Duke outlasted 3-seed Texas Tech in a down-to-the-wire thriller to advance to the Elite Eight for the third time in the last four tournaments, and No. 1 Arizona fell to 5-seed Houston.
Here are the top moments from Thursday's Sweet 16 games.
No. 5 Houston 72, No. 1 Arizona 60
Cougars come out hot
Houston jumped out to an early 14-4 lead over Arizona, but the Wildcats still had a few tricks up their sleeve.
In transition
Houston was firing on all cylinders early, as Jamal Shead grabbed this rebound and found his shooter:
Denied by No. 35
Arizona went on a 6-0 run to pull within three points before letting things slip away once again.
Houston's Fabian White came up with a monster block as the Cats made a play at the basket. The Cougars lead 34-28 at the break.
Here come the Cats
Arizona center Christian Koloko threw down the alley-oop to make it a three-point game early in the second half.
Defense shows out
Houston made Arizona work for every basket, protecting the rim at all costs.
Upset alert!
Houston guard Kyler Edwards nailed a 3-point jumper to give the Cougars a double-digit lead over Arizona, and the Wildcats were never able to recover.
No. 2 Duke 78, No. 3 Texas Tech 73
Off and running!
Texas Tech's Bryson Williams came up with the first four points of the night for the Red Raiders.
What Tech does best
Adonis Arms did his thing with a big steal on the break and dunk to set the tone early.
On a roll early
Texas Tech had all the momentum after the first few minutes of the opening frame.
Blue Devils heat up
After a slow start, Duke got something going with a 7-0 run to make it a one-point game, 12-11.
Whoops!
Here's something you don't see every day. Red Raiders forward Daniel Batcho's free throw got stuck at the rim.
Throwing it down
Texas Tech's Kevin Obanor drained a 3, followed by a mean dunk courtesy of Terrence Shannon to give the Red Raiders a 27-24 edge.
Banchero slam
Duke closed out the first half in style with a Paolo Banchero dunk.
Despite shooting 37% from the floor in the first half, the Blue Devils trailed by just four points at the break.
On the move
Duke made it a two-point game after this connection between Blue Devils center Mark Williams and Banchero.
In fact, Williams got eight quick points for Duke in the second half, going 3-for-3 out of the gate.
Blue Devils get a spark
AJ Griffin tied things up with a huge 3, followed by a bucket from Banchero for the lead — Duke's first since the 7:48 mark in the first half.
Spin cycle
Texas Tech guard Kevin McCullar hit the Duke defenders with a spin move on the way to the basket, as the Red Raiders took a one-point lead.
McCullar continued to run the floor, coming up with a tough and-one for Texas Tech.
The Williams Show
Duke extended its lead to 64-61 thanks to this mammoth dunk from Williams:
No quit
But Texas Tech didn't let off the gas. It was a back-and-forth battle between these two squads until the end.
Sealing the deal
The Red Raiders were down 75-73 with 13.2 seconds to play after Arms drilled a 3-pointer, but it wasn't enough to pull off the win, and things ended there.
No. 4 Arkansas 74, No. 1 Gonzaga 68
Staying sharp
Gonzaga jumped out to a 5-0 lead early in this one, but Arkansas' JD Notae came up with a monster block just minutes into the action to get the Razorbacks fired up.
Hogs hustle
Notae followed up his block with a huge steal and slam for Arkansas. He had four points, three rebounds, one assist, one block and one steal midway through the first half, while the Hogs' defense forced four turnovers.
Timme for a spin
Gonzaga forward Drew Timme, who has scored the most points of any player in the tournament thus far with 57 points after the first two rounds, showed off some fancy footwork on his way to the basket.
Dunk alert!
Arkansas forward Trey Wade made it look easy when the Bulldogs left the rim unprotected.
And-one
Gonzaga guard Julian Strawther powered through contact to keep the Bulldogs' edge over Arkansas alive.
Neck-and-neck
It was a back-and-forth battle in the opening frame. Notae sunk a basket to end a 9-0 Gonzaga run, but the Bulldogs had more tricks up their sleeve when guards Andrew Nembhard and Rasir Bolton connected on this wild basket:
Returning the favor
The Razorbacks went on a 9-0 of their own late in the first half to keep things close.
The Notae Show
Arkansas carried a 32-29 lead into halftime, thanks to this last-second basket from none other than Notae.
Raining 3s
After Gonzaga forward Chet Holmgren sunk a 3-pointer to knot things up at 36 early in the second half, Arkansas' Wade went to work behind the arc to give the Hogs the lead once again.
Watch for Wade
The Razorbacks turned defense into offense to extend their lead in the second half.
Denied!
Holmgren came up with a huge block midway through the frame, tying the Gonzaga record for blocks in a single season in the process, as the Bulldogs battled to keep the Razorbacks within arm's reach.
Big buckets
Arkansas started to pull away in the final minutes of the second half, taking an eight-point lead.
Misfortune strikes
The Zags lost a key player when Holmgren fouled out. He had 11 points, 14 rebounds, one assist and two blocks on the night.
Time to shine
It was more of the same from Wade, who capitalized on the Razorbacks' momentum in the final minutes.
Stayin' alive
With 19 seconds to spare, Nembhard made 3-point jumper to make it a one-possession game, 68-65.
Down goes No. 1
In the end, Gonzaga wasn't able to come from behind, and Arkansas upset the No. 1 overall seed to advance to the Elite Eight.
Razorbacks guard Au'Diese Toney closed things out with a block and dunk.
No. 2 Villanova 63, No. 11 Michigan 55
Clawing back
Six points from Jermaine Samuels helped Villanova dig out from an early 5-1 deficit. Both squads were trading shots in the first half, but the Wildcats held a one-point edge six minutes in.
Within arm's reach
Villanova led Michigan near the midpoint of the first, thanks to back-to-back 3s from Collin Gillespie and Justin Moore. Then, after a scoring drought that lasted over five minutes, Samuels got things going again.
Staying strong
The Wolverines used a 7-0 burst, capped off by a 3 from DeVante' Jones, to reclaim the lead late in the first half, but the Wildcats got a scoring boost ahead of the break that put them back in the driver's seat.
Villanova led 31-28 at the half. Samuels (11), Moore (10) and Gillespie (nine) have 30 of the Wildcats' 31 points.
Big E
Villanova forward Eric Dixon nailed it from distance to put the Wildcats up nine points early in the second half.
Michigan struggled to score in the second half, but back-to-back 3s from Eli Brooks provided some life, as the Wolverines trailed by six with just under 11 minutes to play.
Show-and-go
Villanova's Caleb Daniels blew past the Wolverines' defense to extend the Wildcats' lead, 49-41.
Staying the course
Then, Gillespie drained a 3 late in the frame to put Villanova up 59-50 with under two minutes on the clock.
He'll take that!
Michigan center Hunter Dickinson came up with a huge block that stopped the Wildcats from extending their lead to double digits.
'Nova keeps dancing
In the end, the Wildcats outlasted the Wolverines to advance to their third Elite Eight.
