Are upsets contagious? Not in actuality, no, but you wouldn’t know it from checking the 2022 men’s and women’s NCAA tournament brackets.
In two otherwise very different championship events, 16 remaining teams can testify to the true madness of March. The average seeds of the Sweet 16s in both brackets are lower than their respective historical averages.
Is this going to be the new normal? Let’s consider what we’ve seen in both tournament fields thus far.
0:28
Hassan Drame’s easy layup grabs the lead late in overtime for Saint Peter’s in a shocking 85-79 win over Kentucky.
Peacocks and plenty of high-major low seeds
Average men’s Sweet 16 seed 1994-2022: 4.5
Average men’s Sweet 16 seed 2022: 5.3
