2022 March Madness scores: Arizona survives TCU upset bid to cap thrilling NCAA Tournament opening weekend

The Wildcats and Horned Frogs gave us a thriller on Sunday to as attention now turns to the Sweet 16

Survive and advance. That's what No. 1 seed Arizona did Sunday night in San Diego, outlasting a tenacious TCU team in overtime 85-80 to avoid an upset in the second round and advance into the Sweet 16.

In what would have been the second-biggest upset of this year's NCAA Tournament, Arizona avoided an early exit after nearly collapsing in the second half. Up nine with under eight minutes to play in the second half, it allowed the No. 9 seed Horned Frogs to stage a furious comeback down the stretch to force an overtime period. Arizona nearly pulled off a walk-off dunk at the regulation horn but did not get it off in time. 

In overtime, the best player on the court rose to the biggest of occasions as Arizona star Bennedict Mathurin, a likely NBA Draft lottery pick, scored six of Arizona's points in the extra period to finish with 30 points in the game. Big man Christian Koloko, who finished with 28 points, was the only other Arizona player to score in overtime. Koloko, in a fun twist of irony after teammate Dalen Terry's potential walk-off winning dunk in regulation was late, delivered the dagger with a put-back dunk.

The final day of the first weekend had drama elsewhere that finished differently for a pair of underdogs. In the Midwest Region, both the No. 2 seed (Auburn) and the No. 3 seed (Wisconsin) took losses to double-digit seeds Miami and Iowa State, respectively, after the stars of each team -- Jabari Smith for Auburn and Johnny Davis for Wisconsin -- both struggled.

Second round action also saw a clash of Hall of Famers between Coach K's Duke team and Tom Izzo's Michigan State team in which the Blue Devils survived a scare to keep Krzyzewski's farewell tour alive. Meanwhile, in other non-Arizona drama in the South Region, Houston advanced past Illinois in a tight one and Villanova ousted Ohio State, setting up Arizona -- which struggled with TCU's offensive rebounding prowess -- with a matchup against a Cougars team that is elite in that particular area. Villanova will get No. 11 seed Michigan in the next round.

With only 16 teams left standing in the NCAA Tournament field after a frenetic four days of the first weekend, we'll see a break in the action until things pick up again with Sweet 16 play on Thursday and Friday.

2022 NCAA Tournament TV scores

(5) Houston 68, (4) Illinois 53 Recap	(3) Texas Tech 59, (11) Notre Dame 53 Recap
(2) Villanova 71, (7) Ohio St. 61 Recap	(10) Miami 79, (2) Auburn 61 Recap
(2) Duke 81, (7) Michigan St. 76 Recap	(3) Purdue 81, (6) Texas 71 Recap
(11) Iowa St. 54, (3) Wisconsin 49 Recap	(1) Arizona 85, (9) TCU 80 (OT) Recap

All times Eastern | NCAA Tournament schedule | LIVE bracket

[Mar 20, 2022 at 6:13 pm ET · Kyle Boone]

HALFTIME: Duke 39, Michigan State 35.

Incredible first half from Duke star Paolo Banchero. He has 10 points and five boards at the break. Even more incredible half from Michigan State's Gabe Brown, though. He went a perfect 4-for-4 from 3-point range and has 14 points. 

[Mar 20, 2022 at 5:15 pm ET · Kyle Boone]

FINAL: No. 2 Villanova 71, No. 7 Ohio State 61

After an ugly outing in the first round -- at least early -- against No. 15 seed Delaware, No. 2 seed Villanova put the pedal down on the floorboard Sunday against better competition. The Wildcats defeated No. 7 seed Ohio State 71-61 in a wire-to-wire win (and cover) powered by Collin Gillespie's 20 points. Three others -- including Caleb Daniels off the bench -- finished the game scoring in double figures.

Ohio State freshman Malaki Branham had a huge day with 23 points on 19 shots and E.J. Liddell added 17 of his own, but the rest of the team shot 8-of-25 from the floor and its depth got exposed against an experienced Nova team. 

Villanova will face No. 11 seed Michigan in the Sweet 16 next week playing for a potential showdown with the South Region No. 1 seed, Arizona.