NBK 2022: Field of 64 is Set

In the second half of the First Four on Wednesday, Rutgers and Notre Dame battled in the game of the tournament thus far, taking it to double-overtime and past midnight before the luck of the Irish prevailed on St Patrick’s Day 89-87. This game was one of the more exciting and tension-filled of the entire campaign, per KenPom ($):

KenPom game flow ($) measures for First Four matchup of Rutgers-Notre Dame, a 2-OT win for the Irish on St Patrick’s Day 2022.

Cold comfort for the Scarlet Knights, however, as they will be expected to return to the Never Been Kissed (NBK) again next year, seeking their first Sweet Sixteen appearance since the field was expanded to 64 teams back in 1985.

The first game of the night was not as thrilling, as Wright St ran off an early 12-2 streak to get out in front of fellow NBKer and 16-seed (Erick) Bryant. The best the Bulldogs could do from there was briefly cutting the lead to five in the second half, and the Raiders maintained a safe social distance on their way to a 93-82 victory and a date with 1-seed Arizona on Friday. This matchup was not nearly as exciting nor tense:

KenPom game flow ($) measures for relative-snoozer First Four matchup of Wright St 93, Bryant 82.

Outside of that action, only slight movement in the rest of the NBK. The rankings are set going into the Round of 64 aka First Round.

THURSDAY
Today’s action for teams seeking their first ever — since 1985 — Sweet Sixteen appearance. Best of luck to these schools and to all your brackets, be they chalky or bold. The NBK is guaranteed to have at least one school in the Round of 32, as our top two squads square off in round one. San Francisco is a slight favorite vs red-hot Murray St. Mountain West reps Colorado St and Boise St are just about a coin-toss against Michigan and Memphis, respectively.

#1 San Francisco (56%) vs #2 Murray St (44%)
#3 Colorado St (50%) vs Michigan
#5 Vermont (33%) vs Arkansas
#6 South Dakota St (42%) vs Providence
#7 Boise St (51%) vs Memphis
#10 Saint Peter’s (9%) vs Kentucky
#14 Longwood (7%) vs Tennessee
#16 Akron (9%) vs UCLA
#17 Norfolk St (6%) vs Baylor
#19 Georgia St (4%) vs Gonzaga
#20 Texas Southern (6%) vs Kansas

FRIDAY
Looking ahead to Friday’s action in the NBK. These NBK rankings and game odds will change and be recalculated again Friday morning, based on Thursday’s results.
#4 TCU (50%) vs Seton Hall
#8 Colgate (22%) vs Wisconsin
#9 Cal St Fullerton (10%) vs Duke
#11 Delaware (9%) vs Villanova
#12 Jacksonville St (8%) vs Auburn
#13 Montana St (8%) vs Texas Tech
#15 Yale (12%) vs Purdue
#18 Wright St (5%) vs Arizona

NBK Rankings after the First Four, based on Sweet Sixteen Odds. KenPom rankings through Wednesday 3/16/2022. Sweet Sixteen Path assumes better-seed wins, and Win Probabilities are calculated based on KenPom Adjusted Offensive & Defensive Efficiency ratings.

Data courtesy Kenpom.com