2012 NCAA Tournament

Purdue holds off Saint Mary's 72-69 on Jackson FTs: March 16, 2012; By Eric Olson, Associated Press; Purdue made it through its NCAA opener again, but Saint Mary's made it interesting. Lewis Jackson made the go-ahead free throws with 22.8 seconds left after the Gaels had rallied from 11 points down late to take their first lead, and the Boilermakers won 72-69 in the Midwest Regional on Friday night.

Mitchell leads Saint Louis past Memphis 61-54: March 16, 2012; By Rusty Miller, Associated Press; Kwamain Mitchell looked pretty lucky when he banked in a 3-pointer to end the first half. Turns out, he had plenty more in store. Mitchell scored 22 points, including three big 3-pointers, and Saint Louis rode its gritty defense to a 61-54 victory over Memphis on Friday night in a West Regional second-round game.

Ohio upsets Michigan 65-60 in NCAA tourney: March 16, 2012; By Beth Rucker, Associated Press; Walter Offutt left Ohio State after not getting enough minutes. The guard was in the right place at the right time for Ohio's big win over Michigan.

McCollum leads Lehigh to 75-70 upset win over Duke: March 16, 2012; By Steve Reed, Associated Press; C.J. McCollum scored 30 points and Lehigh upset Duke 75-70 to become the second No. 15 seed to beat a No. 2 during a wild Friday in the NCAA tournament.

North Carolina routs Vermont without Henson; Creighton is next: March 16, 2012; By Andrew Carter, McClatchy Newspapers; In the moments after North Carolina's 77-58 victory against Vermont here on Friday, the Tar Heels gathered around a television in their locker room and watched the final moments of the most stunning upset this NCAA tournament has provided. More than 1,000 miles away, in Omaha, Neb., Norfolk State, a No. 15 seed, held on for an 86-84 victory against No. 2 Missouri.

Here's how you could have turned $10 into $400 at a Las Vegas sports book: March 16, 2012; Staff and wire reports; A wager on Norfolk State in the NCAA Tournament could have given your sports betting bankroll a boost. Kyle O'Quinn had 26 points and 14 rebounds, making several big plays in the closing minutes to help No. 15 seed Norfolk State stun second-seeded Missouri 86-84 on Friday in the West Regional.

Florida State rallies to avoid upset against Bonnies, fails to cover betting spread: March 16, 2012; By Teresa M. Walker, Associated Press; Bernard James scored 19 points and Florida State barely avoided a big upset, rallying to beat St. Bonaventure 66-63 on Friday in the NCAA tournament.

Jones' block lifts Creighton over Alabama 58-57: March 16, 2012; By Steve Reed, Associated Press; Josh Jones figured he owed his teammates one. After missing two crucial free throws with 8.7 seconds left, the junior guard blocked a 3-point attempt by Trevor Releford on the other end of the floor to help Creighton end its 10-year NCAA tournament drought with a 58-57 victory over Alabama on Friday.

Georgetown moves on 74-59 over Belmont: March 16, 2012; By Tom Withers, Associated Press; Jason Clark scored 21 points, Otto Porter added 16 and Georgetown's ruthless defense bottled up Belmont's shooters during a 74-59 NCAA tournament win Friday, sending the Hoyas into the next round after early exits the past two years.

Beal, Prather lead Gators to 71-45 win over Cavs: March 16, 2012; By Eric Olson, Associated Press; So much for Virginia's vaunted defense shutting down Florida's up-tempo offense. Even on a day when the Gators couldn't find the basket with their 3-pointers, they had no trouble beating the Cavaliers 71-45 Friday in the NCAA Midwest Regional.

Cincinnati holds off Texas 65-59 in NCAA tourney: March 16, 2012; By Beth Rucker, Associated Press; With Texas shooting poorly, Cincinnati grabbed a comfortable lead early — maybe a little too comfortable. The Bearcats faded but still managed to withstand a late rally by Texas to win 65-59 on Friday in the second round of the NCAA tournament's East Regional.

Howell leads 'Pack past Aztecs 79-65: March 16, 2012; By Rusty Miller, Associated Press; Getting into the NCAA tournament is the hard part for North Carolina State. Winning a first game? Not that difficult, apparently.Howell leads 'Pack past Aztecs 79-65

The Rebels face five major tasks this off-season for getting better in 2012-13: March 16, 2012; By Taylor Bern; Dave Rice sat down at the podium, his first season as UNLV’s head coach suddenly complete. The fanfare and criticism, successes and failures all in the past tense in regards to the 2011-12 team.

A look at UNLV's tournament loss as seen through the social media lens: March 16, 2012; By Michael Squires; From Twitter, Facebook, YouTube and other social media, we offer a Storify-style look at what people are saying about UNLV's 68-64 loss to Colorado in its first — and only — game of this year's NCAA Tournament.

The Rebels' furious rally an example of what UNLV could have been this season: March 16, 2012; Taylor Bern; UNLV’s attempted comeback wasn’t a slow build, steady drips of water slowly eroding away the surface. This was an avalanche, fast, hard and out of control. The Rebels trailed 57-41 with 8:27 left in their season when UNLV coach Dave Rice substituted sophomore forward Mike Moser in for junior forward Carlos Lopez.