AP

Live updates: Bracket has potentially juicy 2nd-round games

Mar 13, 2022, 1:47 AM | Updated: 4:50 pm

Baylor head coach Scott Drew catches a ball during the second half of an NCAA college basketball ga...

Baylor head coach Scott Drew catches a ball during the second half of an NCAA college basketball game against Oklahoma in the quarterfinal round of the Big 12 Conference tournament in Kansas City, Mo., Thursday, March 10, 2022. (AP Photo/Charlie Riedel)

(AP Photo/Charlie Riedel)


              Baylor head coach Scott Drew catches a ball during the second half of an NCAA college basketball game against Oklahoma in the quarterfinal round of the Big 12 Conference tournament in Kansas City, Mo., Thursday, March 10, 2022. (AP Photo/Charlie Riedel)
            
              Boise State's Abu Kigab (24) and Emmanuel Akot (14) celebrates with coach Leon Rice following their victory over San Diego State in an NCAA college basketball game in the finals of Mountain West Conference men's tournament Saturday, March 12, 2022, in Las Vegas. (AP Photo/Rick Bowmer)
            
              Gonzaga head coach Mark Few speaks with his players during the second half of an NCAA college basketball championship game against Saint Mary's at the West Coast Conference tournament Tuesday, March 8, 2022, in Las Vegas. (AP Photo/John Locher)
            
              Michigan State head coach Tom Izzo shouts during the second half of an NCAA college basketball game against Purdue in the semifinal round at the Big Ten Conference tournament, Saturday, March 12, 2022, in Indianapolis. (AP Photo/Darron Cummings)
            
              Duke head coach Mike Krzyzewski, left, hugs Virginia Tech's Storm Murphy (5) after the NCAA college basketball championship game of the Atlantic Coast Conference men's tournament, Saturday, March 12, 2022, in New York. Virginia Tech won, 82-67. (AP Photo/John Minchillo)
            
              Baylor head coach Scott Drew catches a ball during the second half of an NCAA college basketball game against Oklahoma in the quarterfinal round of the Big 12 Conference tournament in Kansas City, Mo., Thursday, March 10, 2022. (AP Photo/Charlie Riedel)
            
              Boise State's Abu Kigab (24) and Emmanuel Akot (14) celebrates with coach Leon Rice following their victory over San Diego State in an NCAA college basketball game in the finals of Mountain West Conference men's tournament Saturday, March 12, 2022, in Las Vegas. (AP Photo/Rick Bowmer)
            
              Gonzaga head coach Mark Few speaks with his players during the second half of an NCAA college basketball championship game against Saint Mary's at the West Coast Conference tournament Tuesday, March 8, 2022, in Las Vegas. (AP Photo/John Locher)
            
              Michigan State head coach Tom Izzo shouts during the second half of an NCAA college basketball game against Purdue in the semifinal round at the Big Ten Conference tournament, Saturday, March 12, 2022, in Indianapolis. (AP Photo/Darron Cummings)
            
              Duke head coach Mike Krzyzewski, left, hugs Virginia Tech's Storm Murphy (5) after the NCAA college basketball championship game of the Atlantic Coast Conference men's tournament, Saturday, March 12, 2022, in New York. Virginia Tech won, 82-67. (AP Photo/John Minchillo)
            
              Baylor head coach Scott Drew catches a ball during the second half of an NCAA college basketball game against Oklahoma in the quarterfinal round of the Big 12 Conference tournament in Kansas City, Mo., Thursday, March 10, 2022. (AP Photo/Charlie Riedel)
            
              Baylor head coach Scott Drew catches a ball during the second half of an NCAA college basketball game against Oklahoma in the quarterfinal round of the Big 12 Conference tournament in Kansas City, Mo., Thursday, March 10, 2022. (AP Photo/Charlie Riedel)
            
              Kansas head coach Bill Self abnd guard Ochai Agbaji hug after their NCAA college basketball championship game against Texas Tech in the Big 12 Conference tournament in Kansas City, Mo., Saturday, March 12, 2022. Kansas won 74-65. (AP Photo/Charlie Riedel)
            
              Arizona's Dalen Terry (4) celebrates after a play against UCLA during the second half of an NCAA college basketball game in the championship of the Pac-12 tournament Saturday, March 12, 2022, in Las Vegas. (AP Photo/John Locher)
            
              Gonzaga's Drew Timme (2) celebrates after cutting a piece of the net after Gonzaga defeated Saint Mary's in an NCAA college basketball championship game at the West Coast Conference tournament Tuesday, March 8, 2022, in Las Vegas. (AP Photo/John Locher)
            
              Gonzaga players celebrate after defeating Saint Mary's in an NCAA college basketball championship game at the West Coast Conference tournament Tuesday, March 8, 2022, in Las Vegas. (AP Photo/John Locher)

The latest on the NCAA Tournament bracket announcement:

___

The NCAA Tournament has some very interesting potential matchups in the second round, especially in the West Region.

Michigan State coach Tom Izzo could be facing off against Mike Krzyzewski in the Duke coach’s final NCAA Tournament in Greenville, South Carolina. Izzo’s seventh-seeded Spartans play 10th-seeded Davidson in the first round, while second-seeded Duke plays No. 15 seed Cal State-Fullerton.

The best season in Boise State program history would get better, and more interesting if the eighth-seeded Broncos can beat No. 9 Memphis in Portland. That would set up an almost certain second-round matchup against No. 1 overall seed Gonzaga.

Broncos coach Leon Rice was an assistant for 11 seasons under Mark Few at Gonzaga before leaving for Boise State 12 years ago. They’ve never coached against each other.

Boise State (27-7) set a program record for wins and swept the Mountain West regular-season and tournament titles.

___

The Big Ten leads all conferences with nine teams in the NCAA Tournament.

Tom Burnett is the chairman of the Division I men’s basketball committee and commissioner of the Southland Conference. Burnett said on the selection show that the Big Ten is “very deserving” of having that many teams in the tournament.

The Big East, Big 12 and Southeastern Conferences have six teams apiece. The Atlantic Coast Conference got five teams into the tournament, followed by the Mountain West with four. The West Coast and Pac-12 have three apiece. The American Athletic Conference and Atlantic 10 each have two.

The last four teams into the tournament were Indiana, Notre Dame, Rutgers and Wyoming. Indiana and Wyoming will play in Dayton, Ohio, for a 12 seed in the East Region. The winner of that game gets top-seeded Baylor on Thursday in Fort Worth, Texas.

The first four teams out of the tournament were Texas A&M, Dayton, Oklahoma and SMU.

Texas A&M already is being seen as the biggest snub of all after winning three straight games with upsets of Auburn and Arkansas to reach the SEC Tournament title game. The Aggies lost to No. 9 Tennessee earlier Sunday. The Aggies couldn’t shake the damage from their monthlong eight-game skid despite winning eight of their last nine games.

___

Defending national champion Baylor is a No. 1 seed for a second straight NCAA Tournament.

The Bears are the top seed in the East and open the tournament Thursday close to home in Fort Worth, Texas. Baylor will play Norfolk State.

Kentucky is the No. 2 seed and opens Thursday in Indianapolis against Saint Peter’s. Purdue is the No. 3 seed and plays Yale on Friday in Milwaukee.

Saint Mary’s is the No. 5 seed and plays Thursday in Portland, Oregon. Saint Mary’s will play either Wyoming or Indiana, who will meet first in Dayton, Ohio, for the No. 12 seed.

Marquette as coach Shaka Smart’s third different team in the NCAA Tournament plays No. 8 seed North Carolina on Thursday in Fort Worth.

Murray State is a seven seed and plays No. 10 seed San Francisco on Thursday in Indianapolis. This is San Francisco’s first tournament berth since 1998.

___

The Kansas Jayhawks are the top seed in the Midwest Region of the NCAA Tournament.

This is the 15th No. 1 seed for Kansas and the first since 2018. The Jayhawks open the tournament Thursday in Fort Worth, Texas. They will play either Texas Southern or Texas A&M-Corpus Christi. Those teams meet Tuesday in the First Four in Dayton, Ohio.

The Auburn Tigers are the No. 2 seed after winning the Southeastern Conference regular-season title and start Friday in Greenville, South Carolina. Auburn plays Jacksonville State with the ASUN Conference regular-season champ getting that league’s berth. Bellarmine wasn’t eligible due to its transition from Division II despite winning the ASUN tournament.

LSU is the No. 6 seed, playing Iowa State on Friday in Milwaukee. The Tigers will have an interim coach after firing Will Wade on Saturday.

Wisconsin is the No. 3 seed in the Midwest and starts close to home, playing Colgate on Friday in Milwaukee.

___

The Arizona Wildcats are the No. 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament’s South Region.

This is the seventh No. 1 seed for Arizona (31-3) and the first for the Wildcats since 2014. They will open the tournament Friday in San Diego. Arizona will play either Wright State or Bryant. Those teams will meet in the First Four in Dayton, Ohio, for the 16th seed.

Villanova is the No. 2 seed and will open Friday in Pittsburgh against Delaware. Tennessee is the No. 3 seed in the South Region after winning its first Southeastern Conference Tournament in 43 years. The Vols open Thursday, playing Longwood in Indianapolis.

Michigan made the NCAA Tournament bracket with an at-large berth despite a 17-14 record. The Wolverines are an 11 seed and play sixth-seeded Colorado State on Thursday in Indy.

___

The top-ranked Gonzaga Bulldogs are the top overall seed in the NCAA Tournament for a second straight year.

Gonzaga is a No. 1 seed for the fifth time in program history. The Bulldogs (26-3) will play Georgia State on Thursday in Portland, Oregon, in the West Region.

Duke is the No. 2 seed in the West, and the Blue Devils will start coach Mike Krzyzewski’s final NCAA Tournament on Friday in Greenville, South Carolina. They play Cal State-Fullerton. No. 7 seed Michigan State plays 10th-seeded Davidson in that bracket, setting up a potential second-round matchup between Spartans coach Tom Izzo and Krzyzewski.

Rutgers will play Notre Dame in Dayton, Ohio, for the chance to be the No. 11 seed playing sixth-seeded Alabama on Friday in San Diego, California.

___

The countdown is on for the unveiling of the NCAA Tournament bracket.

Top-ranked Gonzaga is expected to be named the No. 1 overall seed for a second straight tournament on Sunday when the bracket is announced. The Zags aren’t undefeated as they were a year ago. They are 26-3 with their eighth West Coast Conference Tournament title in nine seasons.

That gives the Zags one of the 32 automatic berths in the bracket with 36 at-large berths available. Defending champion Baylor is in the running for one of the other No. 1 seeds along with Arizona and Kansas.

No. 9 Tennessee grabbed one of the automatic bids available Sunday by beating Texas A&M for the Southeastern Conference Tournament title. Richmond stole a bid by winning the Atlantic 10 Tournament. Yale won the Ivy League tourney.

Iowa from the Big Ten and Houston from the American Athletic Conference won automatic berths within 30 minutes of the bracket release.

___

More AP coverage of March Madness: https://apnews.com/hub/march-madness and https://apnews.com/hub/college-basketball and https://twitter.com/AP_Top25

Copyright © The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

AP

Associated Press

Ex-Packer Guion gets 1 year for domestic violence assault

GREEN BAY, Wis. (AP) — Former Green Bay Packers defensive tackle Letroy Guion was sentenced to one year in jail after pleading no contest in a domestic violence assault at his home last fall. Brown County Circuit Court Judge Thomas Walsh also ordered Guion on Tuesday to serve three years’ probation and complete a domestic […]

1 year ago

Joe Jarzynka...

Associated Press

Durant eager for Suns debut vs. Hornets after knee injury

CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) — Kevin Durant has been through quite a bit during his 15-year NBA career — but joining a new team midway through the season is a new one for the 13-time All-Star. The 34-year-old Durant doesn’t seem all that worried. Durant makes his highly anticipated Phoenix Suns debut on Wednesday night against […]

1 year ago

FILE - Miami Dolphins head coach Brian Flores stands on the sideline during the second half of an N...

Associated Press

Judge: NFL coach can press discrimination claims in court

NEW YORK (AP) — NFL Coach Brian Flores can pursue some of his discrimination claims against the league and its teams in court rather than through arbitration, a judge ruled Wednesday. The written decision by Judge Valerie Caproni in Manhattan was issued months after lawyers for the league tried to get the lawsuit moved to […]

1 year ago

Chicago Blackhawks goaltender Alex Stalock cools off in the first period during an NHL hockey game ...

Associated Press

Kane trade reinforces hard reality of Blackhawks rebuild

CHICAGO (AP) — After days of speculation, the harsh reality of the Chicago Blackhawks’ situation was reinforced by one move in a flurry of transactions ahead of the NHL trade deadline. Showtime is over, at least in Chicago, and a seemingly bright future is, well, way off in the distance. The reverberations of Chicago’s decision […]

1 year ago

FILE -  Yves Jean-Bart, president of the Haitian Football Federation, wearing a protective face mas...

Associated Press

Disgraced ex-Haitian soccer president announces he’s back

PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti (AP) — Haiti’s former soccer federation president whose lifetime ban from sport over sexual abuse allegations was overturned last month announced Wednesday that he is reclaiming his position. Yves Jean-Bart’s defiant announcement could lead to a standoff with FIFA, which already has appointed an emergency management committee to lead the Haitian Football Association […]

1 year ago

FILE - Green Bay Packers' Aaron Rodgers walks off the field after an NFL football game against the ...

Associated Press

Rodgers says decision on future will come ‘soon enough’

GREEN BAY, Wis. (AP) — Aaron Rodgers says he will make a decision on his future “soon enough” as the four-time MVP quarterback ponders whether to play next season and if his future remains with the Green Bay Packers. Rodgers, 39, discussed his future while speaking on an episode of the “Aubrey Marcus Podcast” that […]

1 year ago

Live updates: Bracket has potentially juicy 2nd-round games