SALT LAKE CITY – Northwestern got its first-ever NCAA Tournament victory, 68-66 over Vanderbilt, after Commodores guard Matthew Fisher-Davis inexplicably grabbed Wildcats guard Bryant McIntosh on purpose, sending McIntosh to the free throw line for the go-ahead points with 15 seconds left.
Riley LaChance made a layup with 18 seconds remaining to put the ninth-seeded Commodores up by one after trailing by as many as 15.
But seconds after the inbounds pass, Fisher-Davis reached out and grabbed McIntosh while he was in the backcourt. That put eighth-seeded Northwestern in the double bonus, and McIntosh went to the line and calmly swished the free throws with 15 seconds left.
LaChance missed a 3 on the next possession and eighth-seeded Northwestern (24-11) got another free throw.
(11) Xavier 76, (6) Maryland 65
ORLANDO, Fla. – Trevon Bluiett scored 21 points and Sean O’Mara had 18 to help Xavier upset Maryland during the first round of the NCAA Tournament.
The Musketeers move on in the West region, marking the third straight year they have advanced to the second round. Maryland, which has started three freshmen for much the season, lost in the first round for the first time since 1997.
After a slow start, Bluiett came through with 18 second-half points to help the Musketeers rally from an early 6-point deficit.
(5) Notre Dame 60, (12) Princeton 58
BUFFALO, N.Y. – Bonzie Colson scored 18 points and Notre Dame survived a first-round scare by pulling out the win over Princeton.
The Tigers had a chance to pull ahead on their final possession, but Devin Cannady missed an open 3-pointer just before the final horn.
The Fighting Irish (26-9) nearly squandered an 11-point second half lead. Guard Matt Farrell scored 16 points, but missed the front end of a one-and-one with Notre Dame up 59-58. Spencer Weisz led the Tigers (23-7) with 15 points.
(1) Gonzaga 66, (16) So. Dakota State 46
SALT LAKE CITY – Jordan Mathews scored 16 points to help Gonzaga slowly pull away from South Dakota State and avoid the first 1 vs. 16 upset in the history of the tournament. It looked possible for a while.
The Jackrabbits (18-17), champions of the Summit League, led for the first 17 minutes of the West Region game and stayed in range for most of the night.
They did it without a breakout game from Mike Daum. The nation’s second-leading scorer finished 7-for-16 from the floor with 17 points – more than eight below his average.
(4) West Virginia 86, (13) Bucknell 80
BUFFALO, N.Y. – Nathan Adrian had 12 points and 10 rebounds, leading West Virginia to an the first-round win.
Tarik Phillip scored 16 points for the Mountaineers, who struggled at times with the outside-shooting Bison. West Virginia (27-9) avoided a repeat of last year’s first-round meltdown when the third-seeded Mountaineers lost to Stephen F. Austin.
(7) Saint Mary’s 85, (10) VCU 77
SALT LAKE CITY – Jock Landale had 18 points and 13 rebounds to help Saint Mary’s hold on for Virginia Commonwealth in the opening round of the NCAA Tournament’s West Region.
Joe Rahon and Calvin Hermanson finished with 16 points apiece for Saint Mary’s. JeQuan Lewis paced VCU with 30 points.
(4) Butler 76, (13) Winthrop 64
MILWAUKEE – Avery Woodson scored 18 points and tied a career high with six 3-pointers in his NCAA Tournament debut to lead Butler over Winthrop.
Woodson, a graduate transfer from Memphis, hit five 3s in the first half to help the Bulldogs build a 14-point halftime lead.
A 12-2 run in the middle of the second half gave Butler a 60-43 lead with less than 8 minutes left and put the game out of reach for the 13th-seeded Eagles.
Xavier Cooks had 23 points to lead Big South champion Winthrop (26-7).
One more win in Milwaukee and Butler (24-8) could advance to their fifth Sweet 16 since 2003.
(1) Villanova 76, (16) Mount St. Mary’s 56
BUFFALO, N.Y. – Donte DiVincenzo scored 21 points and top-seeded Villanova shook off a slow start to stumble forward in the East Region.
The Wildcats (32-3) weren’t themselves for much of the first half before they opened the second half with a 21-6 run to take the first step toward defending their championship. Villanova is trying to be the first back-to-back titleist since Florida in 2007.
The Mountaineers (20-16), who edged New Orleans in a First Four matchup on Tuesday, gave the defending champions all they could handle for 20 minutes. Freshman Miles Wilson scored 22 to lead Mount St. Mary’s.
(5) Virginia 76, (12) UNC Wilmington 71
ORLANDO, Fla. – London Perrantes scored 24 points, Marial Shayok added a career-high 23 off the bench and Virginia rallied from 15 points down to beat UNC Wilmington in the opening round.
Perrantes scored 19 points in the second half as the Cavaliers (23-10) got their slow-paced offense going. His biggest bucket was a driving bank shot with 1:37 remaining, which put the Cavs up 71-66.
Virginia advanced past the first round for the fourth consecutive year and won as a No. 5 seed for the first time in four tries.
(4) Florida 80, (13) East Tenn. State 65
ORLANDO, Fla. – Devin Robinson tied his career-high with 24 points, Kasey Hill added 14 and Florida used a second-half surge to beat East Tennessee State.
Robinson, an NBA prospect who had been relatively quiet late in the season, scored his most points in nearly two months. He made 10 of 17 shots and chipped in seven rebounds. The speedy Hill reached double figures for the fourth consecutive game. He also added six rebounds and five assists for his most complete game in a month.
(4) Purdue 80, (13) Vermont 70
MILWAUKEE – Vincent Edwards scored 15 of his 21 points in the second half, and Purdue held off Vermont for its first victory in the NCAA Tournament in five years.
Caleb Swanigan added 16 points, 14 rebounds and four assists for the Boilermakers (26-7), who were upset by Arkansas-Little Rock in double overtime in the first round of last year’s tournament. Dakota Mathias made three of Purdue’s nine 3-pointers and finished with 13 points.
It was Vermont’s first loss this calendar year. The Catamounts (29-6), the regular-season and tournament champions in the America East, had the nation’s longest active win streak at 21 games.