There will be a new men’s NCAA basketball national champion in 2022.
Defending champions No. 1 Baylor became the first top seed to lose in this year’s tournament, as the Bears fell to No. 8 seed North Carolina 93–86 in overtime in Saturday’s second-round tilt.
It was a monumental victory for the Tar Heels in Year 1 under Hubert Davis, but it was not easy and was certainly not without controversy.
North Carolina built a huge lead in this game behind hot shooting from guard R.J. Davis and forward Brady Manek, who scored 30 and 26 points respectively. Per ESPN, Davis became the second player in school history with 30 points in a game against a No. 1 seed in the NCAA tournament since seeding began in 1979. The only other Tar Heel to accomplish that feat was Al Wood in the Final Four against Virginia in 1981.
Baylor had no answer for Davis and Manek for a majority of the contest, trailing by as many as 25 points to the No. 8 seed Tar Heels. However, with 10:08 remaining in the second half, the game flipped.
Manek was fighting for a rebound underneath the basket and had his elbow clip Bears forward Jeremy Sochan. After a video review, the officials charged Manek with a flagrant 2 foul, ejecting him from the contest.
That’s when Baylor made its run.
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Carolina had a multitude of issues breaking the Bears’ full-court pressure defense, and had plenty of 50-50 calls go against it in the final 10 minutes of play.
In addition, the Tar Heels were without their second leading scorer in the game in Manek, and combo guard Caleb Love, who fouled out shortly after the Manek ejection.
The combination of issues for North Carolina led to a historic collapse, as Baylor improbably stormed back in a game that appeared well in hand.
After scoring just 42 points in the first 30 minutes of regulation, Baylor closed with 38 points in the final 10 minutes to tie the game at 80 and send it to overtime.
However in the extra frame, the Tar Heels used timely defense and rebounding to suffocate Baylor and outscore the Bears 13–6 in overtime to avoid an epic collapse in the unexpected thriller.
North Carolina will now play in the Sweet 16 on Thursday and awaits the winner of the matchup between No. 5 Saint Mary’s and No. 4 UCLA.
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