A new March Madness is upon us. Two, in fact, as the NCAA is adding the women’s tournament to the March Madness brand in 2022. Both tournaments will also feature a 68-team field.
New champions will be crowned in just a few weeks. But first, take a look back at how the men’s and women’s Final Fours ended last year.
In the men’s tournament, Baylor handled Houston 78-59 in the first semifinal. But it was the second semifinal that was an instant all-time classic.
No. 1 overall seed Gonzaga and upstart No. 11 UCLA went back-and-forth in regulation and went to overtime tied at 81. With the final seconds ticking down in the extra period, UCLA’s Johnny Juzang missed a floater but got his own rebound and put it back in the bucket to tie the game at 90.
Juzang left 3.3 seconds on the clock — enough time for Jalen Suggs to put up the game-winning 3-pointer from nearly mid-court, giving Gonzaga a win for the ages, 93-90.
Two nights later, Baylor’s defense smothered Gonzaga and ended the Bulldogs’ hopes at an undefeated season. The Bears opened the game with an 11-1 run, built a 19-point first-half lead and never looked back on the way to an 86-70 win.
On the women’s side, Arizona handled Connecticut, building a 10-point lead at halftime and maintaining it on the way to a 69-59 win in one semifinal.
In the other, it came down to the final play between South Carolina and Stanford. Down by one with less than 10 seconds left, the Gamecocks stole the inbound from the Cardinal. Brea Beal missed a layup and Aliyah Boston’s put-back on the rebound bounced off the rim as time expired.
It set up an all Pac-12 title game between Arizona and Stanford. The Cardinal got out to a 16-8 1st quarter lead but the Wildcats spent the next three quarters chipping away.
A pair of free throws by Arizona’s Aari McDonald with 36.6 seconds left pulled the Wildcats within one. Stanford milked the clock as much as they could, but couldn’t get a shot off, resulting in a shot clock violation.
As time expired, McDonald was double-teamed as she threw up a prayer from the top of the arc that bounced off the rim, giving Stanford the title, 54-53.