Round of 32, Midwest & East

MIDWEST
1. Kansas vs. 9. Marquette- The Markus Howard experience came to a crashing end as Kansas pummeled Marquette in a fashion similar to their 2003 Final 4 matchup. Kansas jumped out to a 20-point halftime lead and cruised to an easy 87-63 win.

5. Auburn vs. 13. Stephen F. Austin- The Lumberjacks Cinderella run continued as they shocked Auburn at the buzzer, winning 71-70. Auburn has played over their record for most of the season but this was still a shock. SFA senior Kevon Harris hit a runner at the horn and March proved its madness.

3. Kentucky vs. 6. West Virginia- Kentucky and West Virginia played a physical, shot-making averse game that saw UK come out with a 55-50 victory in a game no one will ever watch again.

2. Villanova vs. 7 Houston- In a mild upset, Houston beat Villanova 75-72 in a back and forth game where no team had more than a 6 point lead.

EAST
1. Dayton vs. 8. Virginia- A popular pick to make a deep run despite evidence to the contrary, Virginia was never in the game and failed to break 40 points in an embarrassing 71-38 loss. Any questions about Dayton were put to rest in this rout.

4. Michigan State vs. 5. BYU- Michigan State had made a bad habit of falling behind by many throughout the year and did so again against the Cougars, who jumped out to a 17-point halftime lead. The Spartans narrowed it to a single possession game with a minute left but BYU made their free throws and won 72-68.

11. East Tennessee State vs. 14. New Mexico State- Only 7 people picked this matchup in ESPN’s Bracket Challenge but all 7 had East Tennessee winning as well. Sure enough, the Buccs, like their NFL counterparts good week continued with a relatively stress-free 73-62 win and advance to the Sweet 16 for the first time since 1997.

2. Florida State vs. 7. St. Mary’s- In one of the better games of the opening weekend, FSU held off St. Mary’s in overtime, 85-82. Florida State had a ten point lead with five minutes left before the Gaels rallied.