JACKSONVILLE, Fla.- With PJ Washington watching from the bench in a cast, second-seeded Kentucky romped to a 79-44 victory over NCAA Tournament newcomer Abilene Christian on Thursday night.
Keldon Johnson scored 25 points in a huge mismatch that was over by halftime. The Wildcats shot 60 percent in the opening period, held Abilene Christian to 5 of 26 from the field and went to the locker room with a 39-13 lead.
Even without Washington, who sprained his left foot in the Southeastern Conference Tournament, the Wildcats had far too many weapons for the Southland Conference representative, a No. 15 seed. Reid Travis added 18 points and Tyler Herro 14.
Kentucky advanced to the second round of the Midwest Regional on Saturday to face either Wofford or Seton Hall, who were playing in the final game of a long day in Jacksonville.
The big question: Will Washington be able to go?
Coach John Calipari tweeted before the game that a foot specialist confirmed the injury was only a sprain, not a fracture. But Washington certainly didn't look close to returning as he zipped around the arena on a scooter, a hard cast covering much of his lower left leg.
Kentucky could certainly afford to be cautious against their overmatched opponent in the opening round. Abilene Christian is also known as the Wildcats, but that was about the only thing these teams have in common.
The striking disparity-one of the nation's most storied programs vs. a small Texas school not far removed from playing in Division II-was best epitomized by the point guards. Kentucky started Ashton Hagans, a 6-foot-3 freshman who was one of the nation's top recruits. Abilene Christian countered with 5-7 freshman Damien Daniels, who struggled just to get up a shot and missed all five of his attempts.
Making the odds of an upset even more remote, Abilene Christian kicked two starters off the team for disciplinary reasons last month.
The biggest scare for Kentucky came with just under 2 minutes remaining when Nick Richards went down hard after getting his legs cut out from under him going for a rebound. After pounding the court several times in pain, he was able to get up, shoot a pair of free throws and finish the game.
FLORIDA STATE 76, VERMONT 69
HARTFORD, Conn.-Mfiondu Kabengele had 21 points and 10 rebounds, and Florida State held off a barrage of 3-pointers from 13th-seeded Vermont in a 76-69 victory Thursday in the opening round of the NCAA West Regional.
Terance Mann added 19 points for the fourth-seeded Seminoles (28-7), who were tied with the Catamounts at halftime but pulled away late.
Anthony Lamb had 16 points to lead a balanced, long-range attack for Vermont (27-7), which lost for the first time in seven games. Three Catamounts finished with 15 points.
The America East champions went small-no starter stood over 6-foot-6-and stayed close by hitting 16 of 32 3-point attempts. The Seminoles countered by wearing out Vermont down low, outscoring the Catamounts 30-14 in the paint.
A dunk by Kabengele gave Florida State a 50-45 lead with nine minutes left, part of a 6-0 run that put the Seminoles ahead for good. Another by the 6-10 sophomore made it 61-53, and the cheers of Vermont fans, who made the four-hour drive south from Burlington, gave way to the tomahawk chop from behind Florida State's bench.
Florida State led by 12 with just over a minute left and withstood a late run by Vermont.
AUBURN 78,
NEW MEXICO STATE 77
SALT LAKE CITY-After a teammate passed up an open layup that could have tied the game, New Mexico State's Terrell Brown was fouled behind the arc and missed two of three free throws as the Aggies dropped a 78-77 heartbreaker Thursday to fifth-seeded Auburn in the NCAA Tournament.
The Aggies were trailing 78-76 in the opening round of the Midwest Region when guard A.J. Harris had his defender beat and looked to be headed to the glass for the tying bucket. He instead lobbed out to Brown, who was spotted up at the elbow for a possible game-winner.
Brown missed but was fouled with 1.1 seconds left.
With Auburn's J'von McCormick grabbing his throat as Harris toed the line, Brown missed the first, made the second, then watched the third one rim out.
Auburn (27-9) knocked the ball out of bounds on the rebound and New Mexico State had one more good look, but Trevelin Queen's 3 at the buzzer was an air ball.
McCormick's three-point play gave the Tigers a 73-65 lead with 2:13 left, and this one looked like it was over.
But the Aggies (30-5), helped by their own good shooting and Auburn's sloppiness, kept chipping away and drew within 77-76 with 6.8 seconds left.
Auburn's Samir Doughty made one of two from the line to set up the last-second drama, and this one will be second-guessed down in Las Cruces for a long time. Harris clearly had a step on the defender and was heading to the glass. But he passed on the tie and gave Brown, who was 0 for 4 from 3, the chance for the win.
ARIZONA STATE 74,
ST. JOHN'S 65
DAYTON, Ohio-A freshman guard overcame a frightful fall and helped Bobby Hurley-a two-time champion guard at Duke-get his first NCAA Tournament win as a coach.
Luguentz Dort shook off knee and hip injuries from a hard fall, scored 21 points and led the Sun Devils to a long-awaited NCAA Tournament victory Wednesday night, 74-65 over St. John's in the First Four.
The 11th-seeded Sun Devils (23-10) will play Mid-American Conference champion Buffalo on Friday in the West Region, coming off their first NCAA tourney win in 10 years.
"It was just great," Dort said. "At the beginning of this year we knew that we wanted to do something special."
Hurley's first NCAA Tournament win as a coach was a family affair. Brother Dan, the head coach at UConn, was on hand for support.
"We're so close, and we talk so much," Hurley said. "And I'm sure he's very familiar with our team and our players. Just getting a chance to spend time with him this afternoon a little bit-it means everything that he took the time out."
Arizona State also provided a Pac-12 breakthrough: the conference's first NCAA Tournament win in two years.
The Pac-12 was 0-3 in the tournament last season, with two teams-Arizona State and UCLA-falling in the First Four. Arizona then got knocked out in the round of 64.
The Pac-12 got three teams in again this year, with Oregon and Washington joining the Sun Devils.
St. John's (21-13) was the last team picked for the tournament, sneaking in despite a late-season fade. The Red Storm wound up one of the first ones out as well.
MARYLAND 79, BELMONT 77
JACKSONVILLE, Fla.-Maryland's Darryl Morsell made a crucial defensive stop as Belmont went for a last-second upset in the NCAA Tournament, allowing the Terrapins to escape with a 79-77 victory Thursday in the East Regional.
Playing their second tournament game in less than 48 hours, the 11th-seeded Bruins left no doubt they belonged after receiving one of the selection committee's final at-large bids.
But the mid-major powerhouse from Nashville, Tennessee couldn't knock off the No. 6-seeded Terrapins (23-10) from the Big Ten, despite a 35-point performance by Dylan Windler.
Maryland was clinging to a one-point lead and the shot clock was off as Belmont (26-6) had a chance to win it at the buzzer. The Bruins didn't bother calling a timeout to set up a play; they knew what they wanted to do-a backdoor pass to Windler that had been one of their bread-and-butter calls all afternoon.
But Morsell anticipated the pass from freshman Grayson Murphy and stepped in front of Windler to pick off the ball while the Belmont star tumbled to the court. Morsell was fouled with 2.5 seconds to go, sending him to the other end of the court for a pair of free throws. He made the first and missed the second, and Windler heaved an unsuccessful desperation shot from midcourt.
The shot didn't come close to hitting the rim and set off a relieved celebration from the Maryland contingent. Windler sank to the court, thoroughly exhausted after playing all but 88 seconds after a victory over Temple in a play-in game Tuesday.
Maryland advanced to play No. 3 seed LSU in the second round Saturday.
MICHIGAN STATE 76, BRADLEY 65
DES MOINES, Iowa-For about 35 minutes, it felt like Bradley might pull off the first bracket-busting stunner of this year's NCAA Tournament.
Michigan State survived by leaning on the brilliance of Cassius Winston and a remarkably efficient performance at the free throw line.
Winston scored 26 points and second-seeded Michigan State, thanks in part to a season-high, 25-of-26 showing from the line, held off Bradley 76-65 on Thursday in the opening round of the East Region.
"Winston just wouldn't let us lose," Michigan State coach Tom Izzo said.
Xavier Tillman had 16 points with 11 boards for the Spartans (29-6), who'll face Big Ten rival, 10th-seeded Minnesota, on Saturday in search of their first trip to the Sweet 16 in four years. Michigan State throttled the Gophers 79-55 in East Lansing back on Feb. 9.
Bradley (20-15) gave the Big Ten champions all they could handle, though.
It was a one-possession game until Matt McQuaid drilled a crucial 3 to put Michigan State ahead 61-55 with 3:31 left. Aaron Henry followed with a layup to cap a 9-0 run.
Darrell Brown hit a 3 for Bradley to make it 65-60. But the Braves were forced to put the Spartans at the line-where they almost couldn't miss.
"The first game is always tough," Winston said. "That was a really good team. (In the) second half we kind of prided ourselves in dominating the game and doing what we do best, and that's rebounding and getting stops."
KANSAS 87, NORTHEASTERN 53
SALT LAKE CITY- Dedric Lawson had 25 points and 11 rebounds, and Kansas dominated inside for an 87-53 rout over Northeastern on Thursday in the opening round of the Midwest Region.
The fourth-seeded Jayhawks (26-9) had a notable size advantage inside and used it, outscoring the Huskies 50-16 in the paint while grabbing 17 more rebounds.
Kansas shot 56 percent and advanced to Saturday's second round against fifth-seeded Auburn.
The best shot for the 13th-seeded Huskies (23-11) was to make their 3-point tries.
They didn't.
The Colonial Athletic Association champions went 6 for 28 from the arc after finishing the regular season 17th in Division I at 38.6 percent. Sharpshooter Vasa Pusica had a hard time getting separation from the Jayhawks' athletic guards, finishing with seven points on 2-of-11 shooting.
Jordan Roland had 12 points to lead the Huskies, who shot 28 percent overall.
The Jayhawks had a regular season like few others in their storied history.
Kansas made the NCAA Tournament. That was no shock. This was its 30th straight year in the bracket.
But the Jayhawks were a No. 4 seed when they're usually a 1 or 2.
Kansas played all season without Silvio De Souza after he was connected to the federal probe into college basketball corruption. Center Udoke Azubukie was lost for the season in January to a wrist injury. Senior guard Lagerald Vick left the team for personal reasons in February.
MURRAY STATE 83, MARQUETTE 64
HARTFORD, Conn.- Ja Morant logged the ninth triple-double in NCAA Tournament history as Murray State trounced fifth-seeded Marquette 83-64 in the first round of the West Region.
Murray State continued a trend of a No. 12 seed winning at least one game in all but three tournaments since 2001-including last year's-but this looked nothing like an upset.
Morant had 17 points, 16 assists and 11 rebounds as he sliced through Marquette on Thursday and showed the Racers (28-4) were better in every way than their opponent from the Big East. The Ohio Valley Conference champions face fourth-seeded Florida State on Saturday as the Racers next try to take down an Atlantic Coast Conference foe.
Murray State can always count on having the best player on the floor no matter who they play.
With 4:36 left in the second half and Murray State up 20, Morant grabbed his 10th rebound. The Racers fans began chanting "triple-double" to mark the first one since Draymond Green did it for Michigan State in 2012 against LIU-Brooklyn.
The lanky 6-foot-2 Morant this season has rocketed to stardom and into a sure-fire NBA lottery pick-maybe second only to Duke's Zion Williamson-and answered the hype against Marquette.
The game was billed as a showcase of two of the nation's best point guards and Morant and Markus Howard delivered plenty of highlights. Howard scored 16 in the first half on a mix of 3s off screens and hard drives to the hoop.
Marquette promised to make Morant see walls of defenders. The Golden Eagles collapsed on Morant every time he went to the basket and often double-teamed on the perimeter instead of switching on screens. Time and again, Morant found an open shooter while surrounded by defenders. He had eight assists in the first half, five that led to 3-pointers for the Racers, who led 42-35 at the break.
Howard finished with 26 points and Sam Hauser added 16.
GONZAGA 87,
FAIRLEIGH DICKINSON 49
SALT LAKE CITY- When it comes to a 16 seed beating a 1, it's still true-anything really can happen in the NCAA Tournament.
Just not on Thursday night. And not against Gonzaga.
One year after dreamers and underdog lovers rejoiced at top-seeded Virginia's first-of-its-kind, first-round loss, the Gonzaga Bulldogs crushed any thought of a repeat with a wire-to-wire 87-49 thumping of Fairleigh Dickinson in the West Region.
Rui Hachimura led the Zags (31-3) with 21 points and eight rebounds, and this game looked every bit as lopsided as most of the 1-vs.-16 contests since 1985, when the bracket was expanded to 64 teams.
Gonzaga led by 10 after the first 4:12, by 20 after 10:25 and by the score of 53-17 at halftime.
By the time Gonzaga turned it over when Josh Perkins tried flipping a no-look pass backward to Killian Tillie, coach Mark Few looked barely awake-sitting in his chair, cheek cupped in his hand. The Bulldogs led 70-34.
Gonzaga is the only team to beat Duke and Zion Williamson at full strength this season, helping explain why the Bulldogs are the second favorite, at 5-1 behind the Blue Devils, to win it all. They put to rest any questions about whether they belonged on the 1 line over, say, Michigan State-a debate that picked up a bit of steam after the Saint Mary's loss.
Things should get more difficult come Saturday, when Gonzaga faces either Syracuse or Baylor.
Before that, there's potential for more 1-16 drama. Top seeds Duke, North Carolina and, yes, Virginia, all play their first-round games Friday.
FLORIDA 70, NEVADA 61
DES MOINES, Iowa- Florida nearly squandered a double-digit lead before finally stopping a Nevada comeback and pulling off a 70-61 upset in the first round of the NCAA Tournament.
Kevarrius Hayes scored 16 points, Jalen Hudson added 15 and the 10th-seeded Gators won their tournament opener for the third straight year.
Andrew Nembhard, whose last-second shot beat LSU in the Southeastern Conference Tournament last week, drove to the basket for a layup with 1 minutes left and Florida scored the last seven points after the seventh-seeded Wolf Pack had rallied from down 18 to cut the deficit to just two points.
The Gators (20-1) were the third double-digit seed to win on Thursday.
Cody Martin scored 23 points and twin brother Caleb Martin had 19 for the Wolf Pack (29-5). The two combined for 28 of their team's 33 points in the second half of the West Region matchup.
The Gators controlled the pace with their deliberate offense, often letting the shot clock run into single digits before shooting. The SEC's top-rated defense clogged passing and driving lanes and contested almost every shot.
KeVaughn Allen made back-to-back shots to start a 12-0 run early in the second half that swelled the lead to 51-33 with 14 minutes left.
That's when things started to turn.
The Wolf Pack began to bother Florida with their full-court press. After Caleb Martin stole the ball from Jalen Hudson in the backcourt and dunked, it was 58-51 with 6 minutes to play. Caleb Martin's two free throws made it 63-61 with 2:02 left, but Nevada could get no closer.