No. 2 Arizona is finishing the final minutes of a too-close-for-comfort game against North Dakota, but aside from that it was a quiet opening day of play. The round of 64 is where brackets are busted, but most should still be in tact.
MARCH MADNESS: Full interactive bracket
The night began with No. 6 Maryland falling to No. 11 Xavier in Orlando. But the rest went chalk as No. 7 Saint Mary’s beat No. 10 VCU, and No. 4 Purdue beat No. 13 Vermont, No. 3 Florida State beat No. 14 Florida Gulf Coast and No. 5 Iowa State beat No. 12 Nevada.
If you’re behind, this is what you missed from Thursday afternoon.
NCAA Tournament scores
(11) Xavier 76, (6) Maryland 65
Xavier knocked off Maryland, 76-65, in what is by seeding considered an upset, but felt anything but. The Muskateers will take on Florida State in the next round.
The game went been neck-and-neck throughout the first half, until Xavier pulled away late.
(1) Villanova 76, (16) Mount Saint Mary’s 56
Villanova came away with a 76-56 win over the Mountaineers of Mount Saint Mary’s, after a scary slow start. They led by just one point at the half, but it was smooth sailing from there. The defending champs turned on the jets quickly.
The Wildcats came away easily with a big win.
(7) Saint Mary’s 85, (10) VCU 77
Saint Mary’s knocked off VCU, 85-77, in a game runs. The Gaels saw a 17-point lead fade to two, halfway through the second half. But they held on.
(4) Purdue 80, (14) Vermont 70
Purdue survived against Vermont, winning 80-70. Caleb Swanigan finished with 16 points and 14 rebounds and his play was complemented by Vincent Edwards’ 21 points on 10-of-16 shooting.
(3) Florida State 86, (14) Florida Gulf Coast 80
Florida State beat Florida Gulf Coast, 86-80. Dwayne Bacon led the way with 25 points on 11-of-17 shooting and Jonathan Isaac scored 17 and added 10 rebounds and six assists. They’ll take on Xavier next.
Dunk city is back.
Different Florida school, same result.
(8) Wisconsin 84, (9) Virginia Tech 74
Wisconsin held on for an 84-74 win over Virginia Tech.
Bronson Koenig was everything for the Badgers, scoring 28 points on 8-of-17, 3-point shooting. Nigel Hayes added 16 points and 10 rebounds.
Virginia Tech caught up in the second half, and LOOK AT THIS POST-DUNK FACE!
(5) Iowa State 84, (12) Nevada 73
Iowa State beat Nevada, 84-73. They take on Purdue next.
Monte Morris led the Cyclones with 19 points, eight rebounds and eight assists.
(2) Arizona 100, (15) North Dakota 82
Arizon let North Dakota back in early in the second half, but it was a blowout most of the way to a 100-82 finish.
Projected lottery pick Lauri Markkanen went for 20 points on 8-of-12 shooting and Rawle Alkins matched him on a perfect 8-of-8 shooting. They’ll take on Saint Mary’s next.
