NCAAB

Thursday's March Madness action: Arizona has small scare in big win

USA TODAY Sports
Arizona guard Kadeem Allen (5) moves to the basket against North Dakota during the second half.

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Arizona survives small scare against North Dakota

No. 2 Arizona saw No. 15 North Dakota cut its big lead, which stood at 53-37 at halftime, down to 68-61 with 12:08 to go.

FOLLOW THE MADNESS: NCAA tournament brackets, scores, schedules, teams and more.

From there, though, it was all Wildcats. Arizona scored the next 12 points to take an 80-61 lead and cruised to a 100-82 win.

Lauri Markkanen and Rawle Alkins each had 20 points for Arizona, while Allonzo Trier added 18.

Florida State holds off Florida Gulf Coast

In a high-scoring affair, Florida State held off in-state foe Florida Gulf Coast 86-80 to move on to the second round.

The Eagles were gunning for the biggest upset of the day, but they could not complete a late, wild rally.

Wisconsin takes control late vs. Virginia Tech

The Badgers are moving on, thanks to some late clutch plays in the always close No. 8-No. 9 battle.

Wisconsin defeated Virginia Tech 84-74 behind Bronson Koenig's 28 points. Koenig was joined in double digits by Nigel Hayes, Ethan Happ and Khalil Iverson.

Iowa State downs Nevada

Iowa State moved on to the NCAA tournament's second round for the second straight year by defeating No. 12 seed Nevada 84-73.

The No. 5 Cyclones got balanced scoring, with five players scoring between 12 and 19 points.

The Wolf Pack had two players (Cameron Oliver and Jordan Caroline) break the 20-point plateau, but it wasn't enough to beat a Cyclones team that shot 55.6% from the field, including 42.1% from 3, and an 88.9% mark from the free-throw line.

Arizona puts together high-scoring first half

Things are clicking for No. 2 Arizona against No. 15 North Dakota.

The Pac-12 champion Wildcats scored 53 points on 61.1% shooting in the first half to enter the break with a 16-point lead.

Star freshman Lauri Markkanen leads all scorers with 16 points.

Iowa State in control

A balanced scoring effort has No. 5 Iowa State up 40-27 at halftime against No. 12 Nevada.

The Cyclones entered the break with six players having scored at least five points.

Bronson Koenig pacing Wisconsin

Bronson Koenig's game-high 11 points are pacing Wisconsin in its No. 8-No. 9 matchup with Virginia Tech.

The Badgers hit halftime up four, leading 34-30.

Florida State locked in tight battle with FGCU

No. 3 seed Florida State leads No. 14 seed Florida Golf Coast 40-36 at halftime.

Dwayne Bacon has led the way for the Seminoles, scoring 16 of the team's points — including the final four of the half to give Florida State its advantage of an in-state opponent.

Saint Mary's tops VCU

No. 7 Saint Mary's held off No. 10 VCU for its first NCAA tournament win since 2013.

The Gaels had a dominant first half (46-31) and held on in the second for the victory. Saint Mary's shot 64% from the field in the first half and 55.6% for the game.

Five players scored at least 12 points, led by Jock Landale's 18. Landale also added 13 rebounds.

Purdue powers past Vermont

Vince Edwards scored a game-high 21 points and Caleb Swanigan had a double-double as No. 4 Purdue topped No. 13 Vermont 80-70.

Swanigan had 16 points, 14 rebounds, four assists and three blocks in another dominant performance.

The Catamounts put up a good challenge, trailing by one point at halftime, but they were unable to win their 22nd game in a row against the Big Ten regular-season champions.

Villanova finds footing against Mount St. Mary's

After leading by only one point at halftime, No. 1 Villanova found its stride in taking down No. 16 Mount St. Mary's 76-56.

The Wildcats outscored the Mountaineers 46-27 after halftime. For the game, Villanova had a 43-27 advantage on the boards, and finished 51.7% from the field.

Hot-shooting second half helps Xavier past Maryland

Xavier pulled off the second-biggest seed upset of the day, taking down Maryland in the No. 6-No. 11 matchup 76-65.

Trevon Bluiett led the way with 21 points, including a 5-for-10 mark from three-point range.

Four of Bluiett's three-pointers came in the second half, which saw the Musketeers outscore the Terrapins 41-29.

Saint Mary's cruising against VCU

Saint Mary's shot 64% from the field in taking a 46-31 lead into halftime against VCU.

Purdue up 1 point at halftime against Vermont

No. 13 seed Vermont is in a battle with No. 4 seed Purdue.

The Boilermakers lead the Catamounts by one point, 37-36, at halftime thanks to P.J. Thompson's jump shot with 2 seconds to go.

Vermont's biggest first-half lead was seven points at 18-11.

Villanova off to slow start against Mount St. Mary's

The defending national champion's title defense got off to a rocky start, as the Wildcats did not score until around the 13:55 mark of the first half and entered halftime leading by just one point, 30-29.

The game-opening drought found the No. 1 seed in a 7-0 hole against the No. 16 seed that played in a First Four game on Tuesday.

The Wildcats did not hold their first lead until the 1:20 mark, and grabbed the halftime lead with Jalen Brunson's layup with 3 seconds to go.

Trimble's play gives Maryland 1-point lead at half

Melo Trimble's steal and score with 16 seconds to play sent Maryland into halftime with a 36-35 lead over Xavier in the No. 6-No. 11 matchup.

Northwestern tops Vanderbilt, advances to second round

What a wild end that was. What were you thinking, Matthew Fisher-Davis? After Vanderbilt scored the go-ahead basket with 18 seconds left, there was some sort of miscommunication and Fisher-Davis fouled Northwestern to put the Wildcats at the line. Northwestern won 68-66.

Middle Tennessee upsets Minnesota to keep on dancin'

There have only been four years since 1985 that a No. 12 seed hasn't upset a No. 5 seed. Welcome to the party, Middle Tennessee State University!

Florida takes down East Tennessee State 

After a bit of a slow start, the Gators clawed back to defeat East Tennessee State 80-65. Devin Robinson, who had been relatively quiet late in the season, tied his career-high with 24 points.

Boy are Northwestern fans excited! 

The Northwestern Wildcats are playing in their first NCAA tournament ever. They've been waiting 78 years for this moment.

Update: Notre Dame's Rex Pflueger got stitches 

And shared the gross photo on his personal Snapchat account.

Gonzaga starts slow, dominates South Dakota State in second half

A No. 16 seed topping a No. 1 seed for the first time in the NCAA tournament will have to wait at least another game. Gonzaga looked vulnerable during the first half, but picked it up to easily win the first-round matchup 66-46.

Oof. That's going to leave a mark

Butler handles Winthrop, 76-64

The Butler Bulldogs cruise past the Winthrop Eagles to advance to the second round. Butler will face 5-seed Minnesota or 12-seed Middle Tennessee State.

Virginia will likely be without forward Isaiah Wilkins for the second round

Virginia Cavaliers forward Isaiah Wilkins addresses the media during a press conference prior to the first round of the NCAA Tournament.

After playing through a progression of strep throat and a sinus infection over the past three weeks, Isaiah Wilkins said he has a “mono thing.”

“I’ve been playing through it but today it really caught up with me,” he said following Virginia’s 76-71 win over No. 12 North Carolina-Wilmington.

“I’m probably done for the rest of this weekend.”

Virginia fights off UNC Wilmington

The Cavaliers trailed by 15 points in the first half, but had rallied back by halftime and went on to beat the Seahawks 76-71.

Hustle, a play in three acts

Notre Dame survives

Princeton missed a go-ahead three-pointer in the closing seconds and Notre Dame held on for a 60-58 win, becoming the first team to advance to the second round.

Block party at Butler's

Who says Virginia can't score?

Indiana fires Tom Crean

Talk about a news dump! Minutes before Thursday's first game tipped off, the Hoosiers parted ways with their coach, who spent nine seasons with the program. USA TODAY Sports' Nicole Auerbach takes a look at candidates to replace Crean – all of whom are coaching in the tournament this year.

Not even 10 minutes in and we have blood ...

Notre Dame's Rex Pflueger suffered a cut on his head in the first half against Princeton.

Bracket trouble?

If you're problems accessing your bracket on CBSSports.com and its mobile app, you're not alone. A Twitter search shows there are many who couldn't make last-minute tweaks to their brackets.

Prepare for Day 1

Ranking Thursday’s 16 first-round matchups. From No. 12 Princeton vs. No. 5 Notre Dame to No. 2 Arizona vs. No. 15 North Dakota, here are the games that should be most worthy of your attention.

Previewing every game on Thursday's slate. Get ready for all the action with our capsule previews for every game on the schedule as the field of 64 starts to narrow down on the road to Glendale, Ariz.

The 11 best individual player matchups in the tournament. The individual positional matchups can be the difference-maker in winning, losing and bracket-busting.

Eight hottest tournament teams poised for a run. The teams that are heating up at the right time and could be primed to go deep.

Final Four? Arizona, Gonzaga on collision course. Here begins an opportunity to forever smash a narrative and untangle a name from the best/worst label in all of college basketball.

The highs and lows of college basketball's top freshmen. Harry Giles, Jayson Tatum, Lonzo Ball, Josh Jackson, Malik Monk, De'Aaron Fox, Lauri Markkanen are all likely one-and-done players.