Here are Sunday’s key March Madness 2022 games to watch:
No. 5 Houston vs. No. 4 Illinois: 12:10 p.m., CBS
The final day of the first weekend gets underway with two teams with very different March experience. Houston, coming off a Final Four appearance, steamrolled UAB on Friday and has lost just once since Feb. 17. Meanwhile, after being upset in the second round last year as a No. 1 seed, Illinois almost went out in the first round a year later, barely surviving vs. No. 13 Chattanooga.
No. 7 Ohio State vs. N. 2 Villanova: 2:40 p.m., CBS
Ohio State’s Chris Holtmann is hoping to finally break through to the Sweet 16 in his fifth season, but he’ll likely need more offense from EJ Liddell & Co. than the 54 points they put up in a low-scoring slugfest against Loyola Chicago. Big East Tournament champ Villanova is always a tough out this time of year, spearheaded by two-time NCA champion coach Jay Wright and a veteran point guard in Collin Gillespie.
No. 7 Michigan State vs. No. 2 Duke: 5:15 p.m., CBS
It’s hard to believe a coaching matchup of this magnitude is happening in just the second round, but here we are: Duke’s Mike Krzyzewski (1,199 career wins) vs. Michigan State’s Tom Izzo (666). Both are national champions and future Hall of Famers, with Coach K hoping his final ride doesn’t end before the Final Four.
No 11: Notre Dame vs. No. 3 Texas Tech: 7:10 p.m., TBS
Manhattan native Cormac Ryan had the game of his life in a first-round upset of Alabama, scoring a career-high 29 points with seven 3s. The Irish may need a similar effort against Texas Tech, which showed it can play a bit of offense to complement their lock-down defense, scoring 97 against Montana State in Round 1.
No. 10 Miami (Fla.) vs. No. 2 Auburn: 7:45 p.m., truTV
This is all about the Jabari Smith Show. The lanky Auburn freshman, in the running to be the No. 1 pick in the 2022 NBA Draft, showed out in the first round with 20 points, 14 rebounds and one incredible dunk in the closing minutes against Jacksonville State. What does he have in store for an encore?
(9) TCU vs. (1) Arizona: 9:40 p.m., TBS
East Coasters may not have caught much Arizona basketball this year, but the Wildcats are one of the prettiest offenses in the country. They’ve scored at least 82 points in six straight games, with guard Bennedict Mathurin leading the attack. TCU held Seton Hall to 42 points in a first-round win, but this will be a much tougher test.