The first round of the 2022 NCAA men's basketball tournament concluded Friday night without further casualties among contenders. After a Thursday of upsets, top-three seeds survived the second day of the first round without even a scare.
Arizona, Duke, Auburn and Villanova coasted to victories.
Texas Tech, with a 97-62 bludgeoning of Montana State, proved that it belongs in that same top tier.
But no team was more dominant on Friday than the best title bet of all: the South Carolina women.
They led 16th-seeded Howard 20-0, then 42-2, and later 63-8.