The 2022 NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament Final Four tips off from New Orleans tonight. This year’s Final Four features four of the most successful men’s college basketball programs ever. At 6:09 p.m. ET on TBS, Kansas and Villanova face off, followed by one of the most iconic rivalries in all of sports: Duke vs. North Carolina.
The winners of tonight’s games will face off Monday evening in primetime for the 2022 NCAA Men’s National championship game, again on TBS.
Speaking of iconic tournaments, what does the 2022 TVNewser Bracket Challenge leaderboard look like as we head into tonight’s Final Four matchups?
Right now, it’s former CNBC communications chief Brian Steel in the lead with 77 points. He’s in a strong position right now, six points ahead of his closest competitor and having chosen now-favorite Duke to win the tournament this year.
Steel, who happened to have won the 2017 Challenge, has a sizable lead right now, but can anyone catch him? It’s possible.
Bloomberg Radio news anchor Michael Barr currently sits second place with 71 points. Barr chose Kansas to win it all, and consequently has a decent shot at winning this year’s Challenge. Bloomberg QuickTake chief correspondent Jason Kelly, who was in first place heading into the Sweet 16 round, is now tied with Barr at 71 points as we head into the Final Four.
Kelly and Barr happen to co-host the Bloomberg Business of Sports radio show, so it’s more than likely they know a thing or two about college sports in 2022.
Steel, Barr and Kelly are followed by CNBC Closing Bell: Overtime executive producer Kevin Flynn with 70 points, CNBC Squawk Box senior producer Anne Tironi with 69 points, HLN Morning Express meteorologist (and longtime Bracket Challenge participant) Bob Van Dillen with 69 points, NBC Nightly News and NBC News Now boss Janelle Rodriguez, CNBC producer Jessica Golden, CNBC correspondent Contessa Brewer, CNBC correspondent Dominic Chu, and Bloomberg anchor Scarlet Fu all have decent chances to capture this year’s challenge as well.
PBS NewsHour anchor Judy Woodruff is the only participant who chose Villanova to win it all this year. If the Wildcats win tonight and Monday night, Woodruff wins the competition.
Here’s how the standings look going into tonight’s matchups:
| STANDINGS – 2022 Final Four | ||||||
| Rank | Network | Name | Score | Correct | Max Score | Champion |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | CNBC | Brian Steel | 77 | 38 | 141 | Duke |
| 2 | Bloomberg | Michael Barr | 71 | 39 | 135 | Kansas |
| 2 | Bloomberg | Jason Kelly | 71 | 38 | 87 | Arizona |
| 4 | CNBC | Kevin Flynn | 70 | 38 | 86 | Gonzaga |
| 5 | CNBC | Anne Tironi | 69 | 37 | 133 | Duke |
| 6 | HLN | Bob Van Dillen | 67 | 36 | 83 | Kentucky |
| 6 | NBC | Janelle Rodriguez | 67 | 36 | 83 | Arizona |
| 8 | CNBC | Jessica Golden | 66 | 34 | 114 | Duke |
| 9 | CNBC | Contessa Brewer | 62 | 36 | 62 | Arizona |
| 9 | CNBC | Dominic Chu | 62 | 37 | 62 | Kentucky |
| 9 | Bloomberg | Scarlet Fu | 62 | 36 | 62 | Gonzaga |
| 12 | Fox Business | Edward Lawrence | 61 | 37 | 109 | Kansas |
| 13 | ABC | Tracy Wholf | 60 | 32 | 108 | Kansas |
| 14 | CNBC | Sara Eisen | 59 | 36 | 59 | Arizona |
| 15 | N/A | Entry-69617 | 56 | 33 | 104 | Kansas |
| 15 | Fox News | Todd Piro | 56 | 35 | 56 | Arizona |
| 17 | TVNewser/Adweek | A.J. Katz | 55 | 35 | 71 | Kentucky |
| 17 | CNBC | Brian Sullivan | 55 | 31 | 55 | Baylor |
| 17 | Bloomberg | Mike Lynch | 55 | 34 | 55 | Gonzaga |
| 17 | Bloomberg | Romaine Bostick | 55 | 34 | 55 | Gonzaga |
| 21 | Weather Channel | Alex Wallace | 54 | 36 | 54 | Gonzaga |
| 21 | CNBC | Matt Rosoff | 54 | 32 | 54 | Arizona |
| 23 | Weather Channel | Paul Goodloe | 53 | 34 | 69 | Gonzaga |
| 24 | Bloomberg | Jonathan Ferro | 51 | 30 | 51 | Gonzaga |
| 24 | CNBC | Tyler Mathisen | 51 | 33 | 51 | Kentucky |
| 26 | CNBC | Matt Quayle | 50 | 32 | 66 | Purdue |
| 26 | CNBC | Sandy Cannold | 50 | 35 | 50 | Arizona |
| 28 | PBS NewsHour | Judy Woodruff | 48 | 30 | 96 | Villanova |
| 28 | CNBC | Todd Bonin | 48 | 32 | 96 | Kansas |
| 28 | Bloomberg | Tom Keene | 48 | 30 | 64 | Gonzaga |
| 28 | NBC | Vicky Nguyen | 48 | 34 | 48 | Gonzaga |
| 32 | CBS | Darius Walker | 47 | 32 | 47 | Gonzaga |
| 32 | ABC | Michael Huberman | 47 | 30 | 47 | Arizona |
| 34 | Bloomberg | Tim Stenovec | 45 | 29 | 61 | Kentucky |
| 34 | CNBC | Joe Kernen | 45 | 34 | 45 | Arizona |
| 34 | PBS NewsHour | Michael Rancilio | 45 | 32 | 45 | Gonzaga |
| 37 | Bloomberg | Kailey Leinz | 42 | 32 | 42 | Wisconsin |
| 38 | NBC | Peter Alexander | 39 | 31 | 39 | Gonzaga |
| 39 | CNBC | Jim Cramer | 37 | 27 | 37 | Gonzaga |
| 39 | Fox News | Joe Concha | 37 | 26 | 37 | Arizona |