CHARLOTTE, N.C. — There were no big upsets in the first half of Day 2 of the NCAA Tournament. There will be, however, some good matchups in the round of 32, including one the state of Kansas has been anticipating for almost 20 years.

EAST REGION

MICHIGAN ST. 70, GEORGIA 63

Denzel Valentine scored 16 points and went 6 for 6 at the free throw line in the final 30 seconds to help Michigan State hold off Georgia 70-63 on Friday in the NCAA Tournament’s round of 64.

Travis Trice scored 15 points and Branden Dawson had a strong second half for the seventh-seeded Spartans (24-11), who answered a push from the Bulldogs with a poised run to take back control.

They weren’t so steady coming down the stretch, flirting with blowing a 10-point lead in the final 1:16. Valentine’s free throws were critical as Georgia (21-12) rallied to make it a one-possession game.

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Michigan State advanced to face second-seeded Virginia in Sunday’s round of 32.

Charles Mann scored 19 points to lead the 10th-seeded Bulldogs, who were playing in the NCAAs for the first time since 2011 and only the second time since 2008.

VIRGINIA 79, BELMONT 67

Malcolm Brogdon scored 22 points and Justin Anderson re-emerged as a scoring threat for second-seeded Virginia.

Anderson had 15 points on 4-of-6 shooting and Anthony Gill added 16 points as the Cavaliers (30-3) moved on to face No. 7 seed Michigan State on Sunday.

Anderson, playing with his broken left pinky taped to his ring finger, scored for the first time since Feb. 7 against Louisville. He failed to score in two ACC Tournament games.

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Like last year when Virginia avoided a historic upset and held on to beat 16th-seeded Coastal Carolina, the Cavaliers needed a late second-half push to advance.

Belmont (22-11) had clawed within two behind 25 points from Crag Bradshaw, but the Cavaliers outscored the Bruins 17-7 over the final 4:37 of the game.

IOWA 83, DAVIDSON 52

SEATTLE — Aaron White scored 13 straight points as part of Iowa’s 18-3 run early in the second half, and the seventh-seeded Hawkeyes rolled into the round of 32.

White finished with 26 points as Iowa (22-11) used its significant height advantage to overwhelm the champions of the Atlantic 10 Conference regular season. Mike Gesell added 15 points for the Hawkeyes.

Jack Gibbs and Peyton Aldridge scored 14 apiece for Davidson (24-8), but the Wildcats never overcame three early fouls on Tyler Kalinoski, the A-10 player of the year.

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NORTHERN IOWA 71, WYOMING 54

SEATTLE — Paul Jesperson led five Northern Iowa players in double figures with 16 points and Sean Tuttle added 14 and the fifth-seeded Panthers.

Northern Iowa (31-3) built a 21-point lead after scoring 11 of the first 12 points to start the second half. That lead was whittled to seven points twice but the Cowboys could get no closer. Wes Washpun scored eight of his 10 points in the final 9 minutes to help the Panthers advance to face fourth-seeded Louisville on Sunday.

Larry Nance Jr. led Wyoming (25-10) with 16 points. He had one point and one shot in the first half.

Northern Iowa won for the 20th time in the past 21 games.

LOUISVILLE 57, CAL-IRVINE 55

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SEATTLE — Freshman Quentin Snider hit the winning free throws and Terry Rozier made the saving steal for fourth-seeded Louisville.

With the game tied, Snider snagged a rebound in the corner off a long miss by Luke Nelson and drew a foul when Will Davis II crashed into him.

Snider made the free throws with 8.9 seconds left and the 13th-seeded Anteaters (21-13) never got a final shot, thanks to Rozier’s pick of Alex Young as he was moving up the court.

Wayne Blackshear had 19 points for the Cardinals (25-8), who will play fifth-seeded Northern Iowa on Sunday for a trip to the Sweet 16.

Anteaters 7-foot-6 center Mamadou Ndiaye, the tournament’s tallest player, finished with 12 points and five rebounds but didn’t touch the ball in the last 2 minutes.

MIDWEST REGION

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MARYLAND 65, VALPARAISO 62

Varun Ram played 13 seconds of Maryland’s first NCAA Tournament game since 2010 and with one timely swipe earned a place in Terrapins’ history.

The former walk-on thwarted Valparaiso’s last shot attempt with a steal in the closing seconds to help Maryland hold off the determined Crusaders.

The fourth-seeded Terrapins (28-6) advanced to face West Virginia on Sunday.

Terps star senior Dez Wells made the biggest offensive play for Maryland, converting a three-point play off an offensive rebound with 1:44 left to make it 65-61. And Ram, the 5-foot-9 senior who had played 55 minutes coming into the game, did what he does best on the final possession, checking in for the first time with 13 seconds left.

WEST VIRGINIA 68, BUFFALO 62

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COLUMBUS, Ohio — Tarik Phillip hit a 3-pointer with 28 seconds left while the shot clock was winding down, adding the clinching points for fifth-seeded West Virginia.

The Mountaineers (24-9) advanced to Sunday’s game against Maryland.

Devin Williams, who led the Mountaineers with 17 points and nine rebounds, hit two free throws with 2:10 left to give his team the lead for good.

Mid-American Conference Tournament champion Buffalo (23-10) did not score over the final 2:42.

OKLAHOMA 69, ALBANY 60

COLUMBUS, Ohio — TaShawn Thomas powered his way to 18 points inside and versatile Buddy Hield added 15 to carry the Sooners into the Round of 32 after early exits the last two years.

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The Sooners (23-10) led wire to wire, advancing to play Sunday against the winner of the late game between Dayton and Providence.

Peter Hooley had 15 points, Evan Singletary 13, Sam Rowley 12 and Ray Sanders 11 for No. 14-seeded Albany (24-8), regular season and tournament champs of the America East Conference.

WEST REGION

KANSAS 75, NEW MEXICO ST. 56

OMAHA, Neb. — Frank Mason III scored 17 points to lead a balanced attack, and the second-seeded Jayhawks gave the Big 12 its first win of the tournament after three losses on Thursday.

Perry Ellis added nine points for the Jayhawks (27-8), who will face seventh-seeded Wichita State in the round of 32.

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The schools, separated by a couple hours of highway, have not played since 1993 because of the Jayhawks’ stubborn refusal to schedule the Shockers.

DK Eldridge had 11 points and Remi Barry and Tshilidzi Nephawa scored 10 each for the Aggies (23-11), who had won 13 straight while sweeping the Western Athletic Conference regular-season and tournament titles.

WISCONSIN 86, COASTAL CAROLINA 72

OMAHA, Neb. — Big Ten player of the year Frank Kaminsky had 27 points and 12 rebounds for his 12th double-double of the season, and No. 1 seed Wisconsin was mostly unchallenged.

Sam Dekker had 20 points and Nigel Hayes added 15 against a Coastal Carolina team that gave a game effort but had no answer for the 7-foot Kaminsky or, for that matter, any of his hulking teammates.

Wisconsin (32-3), the Big Ten’s regular-season and tournament champion, will play eighth-seeded Oregon on Sunday in a round-of-32 rematch. Last year the Badgers, on their way to the Final Four, beat the Ducks 85-77 to reach the Sweet 16.

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WICHITA ST. 81, INDIANA 76

OMAHA, Neb. — Fred VanVleet matched his career high with 27 points and Ron Baker made big free throws late for seventh-seeded Wichita State.

By winning, the seventh-seeded Shockers (29-4) set up a much-anticipated Sunflower State showdown with second-seeded Kansas on Sunday.

Baker scored 15 points, making 7 of 8 free throws in the last 2 minutes to allow Wichita State to hold off the Hoosiers (20-14).

Freshman reserve Zach Brown had eight of his career-high 11 points in the second half, with six coming during the Shockers’ decisive run.

Kevin “Yogi” Ferrell scored 24 points for Indiana. James Blackmon Jr. added 14 points and Troy Williams and Collin Hartman had 11 apiece for the Hoosiers.

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OREGON 79, OKLAHOMA STATE 73

OMAHA, Neb. — Joseph Young and Oregon shined just a little bit brighter than Oklahoma State.

Young scored 27 points, Elgin Cook added 18 and the eighth-seeded Ducks beat the Cowboys.

Dillon Brooks had 17 points for the Ducks (26-9) and Dana Altman got the win in his return to Omaha and the same building where he once coached Creighton. Le’Bryan Nash had 18 points before fouling out in his final game for ninth-seeded Oklahoma State (18-14). Anthony Hickey added 17 points, and Phil Forte and Tavarius Shine finished with 12 each.

SOUTH REGION

SAN DIEGO STATE 76, ST. JOHN’S 64

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CHARLOTTE, N.C. — JJ O’Brien scored 18 points, Dwayne Polee II added 15 points on five 3-pointers against his former team and San Diego State picked up a relatively easy win.

Skylar Spencer added 10 points and seven rebounds for the Aztecs (27-8), who’ll face the South’s top-seeded Duke Blue Devils on Sunday.

The Aztecs never trailed in the second half and improved to 6-4 in NCAA Tournament play since 2011 under coach Steve Fisher.

GONZAGA 86, NORTH DAKOTA STATE 76

SEATTLE — For Gonzaga, it’s on to the next round. For North Dakota State, it’s back to the market.

Kyle Wiltjer scored 23 points Friday night to lift the second-seeded Bulldogs to a win over the team that lifts weights in an out-of-commission grocery store.

The Zags (33-2) will play Iowa on Sunday to try to make the second weekend of the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2009.

Dexter Werner had a career-high 22 points for North Dakota State.


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