No. 1 Baylor fell in an overtime thriller to No. 8 UNC in the second round of the 2022 men’s NCAA tournament on Saturday afternoon, ending the program’s hopes of a repeat as national champions.
However, the Bears are far from the first of the previous year’s title-winner to stumble during the first weekend of next Big Dance. In fact, what happened to Baylor on Saturday has become somewhat of a normal occurrence in recent years.
According to ESPN’s Jeff Borzello, Baylor became the the fifth straight defending champion to get bounced in the first two rounds of the ensuing tournament. The last title-winner to advance past the first weekend and into the Sweet 16 the following year was Duke in 2015 and ’16.
