(AP) — Upset possibilities and close finishes highlighted the first set of second round action in the NCAA tournament today.
Gonzaga had to scramble to keep from becoming the first No. 1 seed that was knocked off by a 16th seed. The Bulldogs held off an upset bid from Southern 64-58, behind 21 points from Kelly Olynyk. The Jaguars tied the game at 56 on a jumper from Derick Beltran with 3:45 to go. But Southern would only get a pair of free throws from Beltran the rest of the way to squelch any ideas of making NCAA tournament history.
Third-seeded Marquette had to rally from a nine-point deficit to edge Davidson 59-58. Vander Blue's layup with one second left capped the Golden Eagle's rally. Blue and Jamil Wilson made consecutive 3-pointers to bring Marquette within 58-57 with 11 seconds left. The Golden Eagles then caught a huge break when De'Mon Brooks' long inbounds pass went out of bounds at midcourt with 5.5 seconds left, providing another opportunity.
Blue took full advantage after getting Wilson's inbounds pass, driving left and finding room for the winning basket.
No. 6 seed Memphis held on to beat 11th-seeded Saint Mary's 54-52. Matthew Dellavedova's 3-pointer from the right wing sailed long as time expired on the Gaels, allowing the Tigers to advance. Memphis led by 15 in the first half but nearly gave the game away in the final seconds.
In other second round play;
— third-seeded Michigan State moved past number-14 Valparaiso 65-54. Derrick Nix had 23 points and a career-high 15 rebounds for the Spartans.
— Damyean Dotson scored 17 points and Arsalan Kazemi added 11 points and 17 rebounds to help 12th-seeded Oregon knock off fifth-seeded Oklahoma State 68-55.
— Malcolm Armstead scored 22 points, Cleanthony Early added 21 and ninth-seeded Wichita State defeated eighth-seeded Pittsburgh 73-55. Freshman Steven Adams led Pitt with 13 points and 11 rebounds.
— fourth-seeded Saint Louis had little trouble with New Mexico State 64-44. Dwayne Evans scored 24 points and Cody Ellis added 12 points for the Billikens.
— Butler made its free throws down the stretch to hold off upset-minded Bucknell 68-56. Andrew Smith had 14 points and a career-high 16 rebounds while Roosevelt Jones added 14 points for Butler.
