The remainder of March Madness will go on without Gonzaga.
The runner-up in the 2021 NCAA Tournament, No. 1 seed in the West Region, and No. 1 overall seed are out. The Bulldogs were upset in the Sweet 16 of the 2022 NCAA Tournament on Thursday, falling 74-68 to No. 4 Arkansas.
As the No. 1 overall seed, Gonzaga was naturally a popular pick. The Bulldogs going down drew a big reaction.
No sports book had more money on Gonzaga to win than @CaesarsSports.
A whopping 27% of the money was on Zags to win it all at that book.
— Darren Rovell (@darrenrovell) March 25, 2022
Bleak
Good job Arkansas https://t.co/eBfh3tcuVd
— Kenny Mayne (@Kenny_Mayne) March 25, 2022
Of course, there are two sides to an upset. While a lot of focus goes to the losing team, the winning team must get its proper credit. Arkansas got a lot of that on Thursday.
I respect Muss told his guys that if they didn't think they could win then don't get on the bus. Arkansas is playing like the more confident group tonight
— Tate Frazier (@tatefrazier) March 25, 2022
As is the case in every game, there was a third team on the floor. And in what has become an all-too-common theme during the tournament (and in college basketball in general), the officiating was a major talking point.
Arkansas to its credit is about 80-20 on the 50-50 balls, but the officiating . . . a shame.
— Brad Townsend (@townbrad) March 25, 2022
Gonzaga has long been one of the top college basketball programs in the country. The Bulldogs have made every NCAA Tournament since 1999 and have generally made deep runs. Gonzaga finished as the runner-up in 2017 and 2021 and made the Elite Eight in 2019. A National Championship victory, however, remains elusive.
The win over Gonzaga moved Arkansas into the Elite Eight for the second straight season. The Razorbacks are searching for the program’s second NCAA Championship, with the other coming in 1994.