Roundup

WEST REGION

At Washington D.C.

2 Duke (28-5)…71 15 Belmont (26-8)…70

Mighty, mighty Duke let teeny, tiny Belmont play with the big boys. And, for stretches, get the better of them.

Duke actually trailed in the final 15 seconds before barely avoiding the monumental upset, using every last one of Gerald Henderson’s 21 points to edge Belmont.

While Belmont couldn’t quite pull off the stunner, it was surprising enough how close this game was. In a matchup between a school with three NCAA titles – that would be Duke, of course – and another that never has won a game in the tournament, it was Henderson’s driving basket with 11.9 seconds left that erased Belmont’s final lead.

After ACC defensive player of the year DeMarcus Nelson stole the ensuing inbounds pass, he was fouled, but he missed at the line. Belmont got the rebound, and one final chance to make history, with 2.2 seconds left. The Bruins’ leading scorer, Justin Hare, got a good look at the basket from about 35 feet away, but his shot clanged off the iron. He winced, and Duke celebrated as though it had won far more than an opening-round game – something it actually failed to do a year ago.

3 Xavier (28-6)…73 14 Georgia (17-7)…61

Derrick Brown’s 19 points and 11 rebounds led a balanced-as-usual offense, and Xavier avoided a big upset. Super-sub Josh Duncan scored 20 for the Musketeers, who trailed by as many as 11 points in the second half but conjured up a 22-6 run to come back.

6 Purdue (25-9)…90 11 Baylor (21-11)…79

Playing with the precision it habitually displays in the opening round of the NCAA tournament, Purdue quickly ended any hope Baylor had of sticking around for more than just a single game.

The Boilermakers built a 19-point halftime lead and cruised to their 10th straight win in the first round since 1993.

7 West Virginia (25-10)…75 10 Arizona (19-15)…65

Alex Ruoff scored 21 points, Da’Sean Butler had 19, and the Mountaineers defeated the Wildcats. West Virginia took the lead for good on a 3-pointer by Ruoff with 17:43 left, and another jumper by Rouff from beyond the arc made it 48-39. After Arizona closed to 60-59, two 3-pointers by Darris Nichols and another by Ruoff sealed the victory.

At Anaheim, Calif.

9 Texas A&M (25-10)…67 8 BYU (27-8)…62

Josh Carter scored 26 points, matching his career high, as the Aggies defeated the Cougars, handing the Cougars their sixth straight opening-round loss. Joseph Jones added 10 points and 12 rebounds for the Aggies.

1 UCLA (32-3)…70 16 Mississippi Valley State (17-16)…29

Freshman Kevin Love scored 20 points and Pac-10 champion UCLA cruised to win against the overmatched Delta Devils.

Midwest Region

At Omaha, Neb.

1 Kansas (32-3)…85 16 Portland State (23-10)…61

Brandon Rush scored 18 points, and top-seeded Kansas romped past a Portland State team that got quite a hazing in its first NCAA tournament appearance.

8 UNLV (27-7)…71 9 Kent State (28-7)…58

It wasn’t that UNLV was necessarily good. Kent State just made the Runnin’ Rebels look that way. Joe Darger made four 3-pointers and had 18 points, Wink Adams added 17 and UNLV tied an NCAA tournament record by holding Kent State to just 10 points in the first half.

11 Kansas State (21-11)…80 6 Southern Cal (21-12)…67

Turns out, Michael Beasley and O.J. Mayo weren’t the only freshmen on the court. Redshirt freshman Bill Walker scored 22 points, true freshmen Jacob Pullen (10) and Ron Anderson (11) also reached double figures for Kansas State’s Kiddie Corps.

Beasley overcame early trouble to have another big game for the Wildcats, scoring 23 points and grabbing 11 rebounds for the 27th double-double of the season.

3 Wisconsin (30-4)…71 14 Cal State Fullerton (24-9)…56

Washington State transfer Josh Akognon hit five 3-pointers and scored a career-high 31 points, but it wasn’t enough for the Titans to upset Wisconsin.

SOUTH REGION

At Denver

5 Michigan State (26-8)…72 12 Temple (21-13)…61

No longer a one-man show, Michigan State hopes its deeper bench will lead to a long run in this year’s NCAA tournament. Raymar Morgan led a balanced scoring attack with 15 points and the Spartans beat Temple.

4 Pittsburgh (27-9)…82 13 Oral Roberts (24-9)…63

Injuries have forced Pitt to shape and reshape its roster more this season than most teams do in two or three, but Levance Fields scored 23 as the Panthers won their sixth straight game.

At Anaheim, Calif.

6 Marquette (25-9)…74 11 Kentucky (18-13)…66

Jerel McNeal and Marquette cut short Kentucky’s record 49th NCAA tournament appearance. McNeal scored 20 points and Wesley Matthews hit eight free throws in the final 31 seconds to help the Golden Eagles beat the Wildcats.

3 Stanford (27-7)…77 14 Cornell (22-6)…53

It doesn’t take an Ivy League degree to figure out 30 percent field-goal shooting won’t win in the NCAA tournament. Kenny Brown scored 18 points and Stanford earned its first NCAA tournament win since 2004, routing Cornell.

EAST REGION

At Raleigh, N.C.

5 Notre Dame (25-7)…68 12 George Mason (23-11)…50

Looking for the next George Mason? Sad to say, but it won’t be George Mason. America’s NCAA darling two years ago was just another first-round underdog this time around – overmatched and never really in it against the Irish. Luke Harangody (18 points and 14 rebounds) and the Irish face Washington State on Saturday.