George Mason 61 Villanova 57
CLEVELAND — George Mason has another fantastic March story to tell.
Luke Hancock hit a three-pointer with 21 seconds left, capping the Patriots’ comeback and keeping the one-time NCAA tournament darlings playing with a 61-57 win over Villanova on Friday.
Villanova missed its last shot and Mike Morrison slammed home one final basket for the Patriots (27-6), who will play Ohio State on Sunday in the East region.
Hancock scored 18 points, and Morrison had 10 points and 11 rebounds for George Mason, which won its opening tournament game for the first time since its Final Four run in 2006.
Ohio State 75 Texas-San Antonio 46
William Buford scored 18 points, freshman Jared Sullinger added 11, and Ohio State looked every inch the part of a No. 1 overall seed in rolling to victory.
Devin Gibson scored 24 to lead UTSA.
Ohio State will play George Mason, a 61-57 winner over Villanova, on Sunday.
Marquette 66, Xavier 55
Darius Johnson-Odom scored 19 points, Jimmy Butler had 15 and Marquette squashed Xavier’s bid for a fourth straight round of 16 appearance.
Xavier’s Tu Holloway, the Atlantic 10 player of the year, missed his first seven shots and scored only five points.
Notre Dame 69, Akron 56
CHICAGO (AP) — Ben Hansbrough scored 15 points despite another sub-par shooting game and Tim Abromaitis added 14 as second-seeded Notre Dame fought off scrappy Akron in the Southwest region.
Notre Dame (27-6) will meet Florida State on Sunday at the United Center.
Florida State 57, Texas A&M 50
CHICAGO (AP) — Derwin Kitchen scored 15 points, and the 10th-seeded Seminoles won an NCAA tournament game for the first time in 13 years.
Khris Middleton led Texas A&M (24-9) with 16 points.
Florida State will play Notre Dame on Sunday.
Purdue 65, St. Peters 43
CHICAGO (AP) — E’Twaun Moore scored 19 points and JaJuan Johnson added 16 with 16 rebounds to help the Boilermakers advance in the Southwest region.
The Boilermakers (26-7), who made the round of 16 the previous two seasons, will face Virginia Commonwealth on Sunday for a return trip.
Texas 85, Oakland 81
TULSA, Okla. (AP) — Canada’s Tristan Thompson had 17 points, 10 rebounds and seven blocked shots, and Texas survived a second-half comeback by high-scoring Oakland in a West regional.
Reggie Hamilton had 25 points to lead Oakland (25-10). Benson finished with 15 points and 11 rebounds.
Texas will play Arizona on Sunday.
Arizona 77, Memphis 75
TULSA, Okla. (AP) — Derrick Williams had 22 points and 10 rebounds, and blocked a potential tying shot in the final seconds to seal Arizona’s win in the second round.
Lamont “MoMo” Jones added 18 points for Arizona (28-7), including the go-ahead three-pointer with 1:35 to play.
Antonio Barton led Memphis (25-10) with 17 points, and his brother Will Barton scored 12.
Arizona will play Texas on Sunday.
VCU 74, Georgetown 56
CHICAGO (AP) — Brandon Rozzell led four players in double figures and VCU made 12 three-pointers to stun Georgetown with a win that showed any remaining doubters the Rams do, indeed, belong in the NCAA tournament.
Rozzell tied his career high with six three-pointers and finished with 26 points, while Joey Rodriguez had 17 points and seven assists. Bradford Burgess and Jamie Skeen added 12 each.
Kansas 72, Boston University 53
TULSA, Okla. (AP) — Marcus and Markieff Morris combined for 31 points as Kansas found its shooting touch in the second half.
John Holland led Boston (21-14) with 19 points, with 15 coming in the first half. The loss snapped the Terriers’ 11-game winning streak.
Michigan 75, Tennessee 45
CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) — Zack Novak scored 14 points, including two 3-pointers in a decisive spurt to start the second half and carry Michigan in a West regional.
Michigan found a way to stop Tennessee freshman Tobias Harris, who was scoreless in the second half after scoring 19 in the first 20 minutes.
Michigan will play Duke on Sunday.
Duke 87, Hampton 45
CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) — Kyrie Irving scored 14 points in his first game in three months in top-seeded Duke’s rout in the West region the that gave coach Mike Krzyzewski his 899th career victory.
Andre Dawkins added 13 points, Mason Plumlee had 12, Kyle Singler finished with 11 and Miles Plumlee had 13 rebounds for the Blue Devils (31-4).
Duke will play Michigan on Sunday.
North Carolina 102, Long Island University 87
CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) — Tyler Zeller scored 32 points, John Henson added 28, and North Carolina used its hulking size to overcame sloppiness in its return to the NCAA tournament.
Harrison Barnes added 24 points and 16 rebounds for the second-seeded Tar Heels (27-7) who eventually wore down the 15th-seeded Blackbirds (27-6).
Julian Boyd scored 18 points, C.J. Garner added 16 and Jamal Olasewere had 15 for LIU.
Illinois 73, UNLV 62
TULSA, Okla. (AP) — Mike Davis tied his season high with 22 points, Demetri McCamey added 17 points and seven assists and Illinois dominated UNLV to set up another meeting between Fighting Illini coaches past and present.
Next up for Illinois is a clash against Kansas and Weber’s predecessor, Bill Self.
Oscar Bellfield scored 14 to lead the Runnin’ Rebels.
Washington 68,Georgia 65
CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) — Isaiah Thomas scored 19 points and No. 7 seed Washington held off a late rally to beat 10th-seeded Georgia.
Scott Suggs added 10 points for the Huskies (24-10), who shot 43 per cent and withstood a frantic final-minute push to win their fifth straight NCAA tournament opener. Trey Thompkins had 26 points and 11 rebounds for the Bulldogs (21-12).
Syracuse 77, Indiana State 60
Defensive stopper Rick Jackson scored a season-high 23 points, and C.J. Fair added 14.
Syracuse will play Big East brethren Marquette on Sunday.
Jake Kelly scored 12 to lead the Sycamores.