Half of the 32 second round games are in the books in the NCAA Tournament. Close finishes were the name of the game early in the day on Thursday as five games were decided by two or fewer points, tying an NCAA Tournament single-day mark. Whether it was upsets or favorites snatching victory from the jaws of defeat, March Madness lived up to its name on Thursday morning.
NCAA brackets were busted early and often on Thursday as upsets and close-finishes ruled the morning. Morehead State got it started with a late three-pointer to knock-off Louisville. Later in the day, Richmond knocked off Vanderbilt, setting up a third round game between a No. 12 and No. 13 seed. Kentucky had a near-miss, escaping Princeton's upset bid with a late lay-in. Temple pulled off a last second win, as well, when Juan Fernandez drilled a contest shot with time winding down.
The evening games were much less dramatic as blowout wins were the norm. UCLA almost coughed-up a 23-point lead in the second half, but hung on for a two-point win over Michigan State. Gonzaga ran St. John's out of the gym, using hot shooting to hand the Red Storm a 15-point loss.
The rest of the bracket can be below. Friday will solidify the final field of 32 as 16 more games get underway throughout the day. For a neater looking bracket, check out the latest printable NCAA Tournament bracket.
EAST REGION
No. 1 Ohio State vs. No. 16 Texas-SA
No. 8 George Mason vs. No. 9 Villanova
No. 5 WVU def. No. 12 Clemson, 84-76
No. 4 Kentucky def. No. 13 Princeton, 59-57
No. 2 UNC vs. No. 15 Long Island
No. 7 Washington vs. No. 10 Georgia.
No. 3 Syracuse vs.No. 14 Indiana State
No. 8 Xavier vs. No. 11 Marquette
WEST REGION
No. 1 Duke Blue Devils vs. No. 16 Hampton Pirates
No. 8 Michigan Wolverines vs. No. 9 Tennessee Volunteers
No. 4 Texas Longhorns vs. No. 13 Oakland
No. 5 Arizona Wildcats vs. No. 12 Memphis Tigers
No. 3 Connecticut Huskies def. No. 14 Bucknell, 81-52
No. 6 Cincinnati Bearcats def. No. 11 Missouri Tigers, 78-63
No. 7 Temple Owls def. No. 10 Penn State Nittany Lions, 66-64
No. 2 San Diego State def. No. 15 Northern Colorado, 68-50
SOUTHWEST REGION
No. 1 Kansas vs. No. 16 Boston University Terriers
No. 8 UNLV Runnin' Rebels vs. No. 9 Illinois Fighting Illini
No. 12 Richmond Spiders def. No. 5 Vanderbilt, 69-66
No. 13 Morehead St. Eagles def No. 4 Louisville Cardinals, 62-61
No. 6 Georgetown Hoyas vs. No. 12 VCU Rams
No. 3 Purdue Boilermakers vs. No. 14 Saint Peter's in Chicago
No. 7 Texas A&M Aggies vs. No. 10 Florida St. Seminoles
No. 2 Notre Dame Fighting Irish vs. No. 15 Akron Zips
SOUTHEAST REGION
No. 1 Pittsburgh def. No. 16 UNC-Asheville, 74-51
No. 8 Butler def. No. 9 Old Dominion, 60-58
No. 4 Wisconsin def. No. 13 Belmont, 72-58
No. 5 Kansas State def. No. 12 Utah State, 73-68
No. 3 BYU def. No. 14 Wofford, 74-66
No. 11 Gonzaga def. No. 6 St. John's, 86-71
No. 7 UCLA def. No. 10 Michigan State, 78-76
No. 2 Florida def. No. 15 UC-Santa Barbara, 79-51
For the full television lineup, check out our March Madness schedule in the Daily Drip. Be sure to check back in with our NCAA Tournament results StoryStream for updates throughout the day.