Daily Briefing — March 21, 2022: PERFECT TENS — Creighton, South Dakota pull off 10-over-2 upsets to reach Sweet Sixteen

But first, some daily upset* picks:

• Spokane: #6 Ohio State over #3 LSU
• Bridgeport: #11 Princeton over #3 Indiana, #7 UCF over #2 UConn

Watch List, Monday, March 21

(All times in Eastern, all rankings reflect tournament seeding)

Must-watch

#4 Oklahoma v. #5 Notre Dame, 6 p.m., ESPN2

#4 Arizona v. #5 North Carolina, 10 p.m., ESPN2

Good games

#4 Tennessee v. #12 Belmont, 7 p.m., ESPN

#3 LSU v. #6 Ohio State, 8 p.m., ESPN2

#3 Indiana v. #11 Princeton, 8 p.m., ESPNU

Also watchable

#2 UConn v. #7 UCF, 9 p.m., ESPN

Sunday, March 20 recap

(All rankings below reflect tournament seeding)

Greensboro

#1 South Carolina beat #8 Miami, 49-33. The Gamecocks led 23-10 after the first half and 31-15 after the third quarter. I’m feeling a little sick…

#3 Iowa State beat #6 Georgia, 67-44. The Cyclones won the first quarter 23-7. Combo guard Lexi Donarski led with 20 points on 4-for-9 from three (1-4 from two), three rebounds, and two turnovers.

#10 Creighton beat #2 Iowa, 64-62. The Bluejays led for 24 consecutive minutes, from the late-first through the early-fourth quarter; the Hawkeyes had a 92.2% win expectancy with a four-point lead and 1.5 minutes to go, before allowing six-straight Creighton points to close. Bluejay off-ball guard Lauren Jensen led with a team-high 19 points on 8-for-15 from the field and 3-for-7 from three and seven rebounds against three turnovers, including the game-winning three with four seconds left — oh, and did I mention she’s an Iowa transfer?

Hawkeye center Monika Czinano scored a game-high 27 points on 12-for-20 FG, six rebounds, and two assists; point guard Caitlin Clark had a 15-point, 11-rebound double-double on 4-for-19 shooting (3-10 3pt.), plus eight assists and two blocks.

Spokane

#1 Stanford beat #8 Kansas, 91-65. Cardinal wing Lexie Hull led with a career-high 36 points on 14-for-21 from the field and 6-for-11 from three, six rebounds, three assists, and six steals against two turnovers; center Cameron Brink notched a 13-point, 12-rebound double-double on 5-for-11 FG (1-2 3pt.), four assists, two steals, two blocks, and two turnovers without fouling in 30 minutes.

Over her last six games, Brink is shooting 6-for-11 from three while committing “only” 3.5 fouls-per-40. Be afraid, be very afraid.

#2 Texas beat #7 Utah, 78-56. The Longhorns shot 63.6% from the field. Backup center Aaliyah Moore led with a career-high 21 points on 9-for-10 FG and five rebounds in 21 minutes.

#4 Maryland beat #12 FGCU, 89-65. The Eagles led by three in the mid-second quarter, then the Terps scored 19 unanswered points. Maryland big Angel Reese and wing Diamond Miller combined for 45 points (Reese 5-6 FG, 11-14 FT; Miller 9-17 FG, 3-8 3pt.), 18 rebounds, five assists, and six turnovers, with Miller adding three steals.

Wichita

#1 Louisville beat #9 Gonzaga, 68-59. Combo guard Hailey Van Lith is averaging, through the first two rounds, 20.5 points, five rebounds, 1.5 steals, 0.5 turnovers, and one foul on 50.0% from the field and 50.0% from three (59.9% true-shooting) in 30.5 minutes. Big wing Emily Engstler had a quintessentially-Engstler statline of 12 points (3-13 FG, 0-3 3pt.), 11 rebounds (five offensive), three assists, five steals, two blocks, and four fouls.

#10 South Dakota beat #2 Baylor, 61-47. The Coyotes won the first quarter 16-4; the Bears assisted on 15 of their 17 buckets. South Dakota center Hannah Sjerven led with 16 points on 6-for-14 shooting (2-3 3pt.), four rebounds, and four steals against three turnovers while fouling-out in 34 minutes. The non-Queen Egbo Bears combined to shoot 23.4% from the field, and the non-Caitlin Bickle Bears shot 16.7% from three.

* I’m not saying these are going to happen, just that they’re worth monitoring. This is how I’m hedging, thank you.