The Associated Press
PROVIDENCE, R.I. — Who knew that all this time Ohio used the regular season as a warm-up act?
The Bobcats’ time to shine is March.
The MAC tournament champion Bobcats, who had a losing record in conference play, have found their way in the only month that matters and now boast an NCAA tournament win for the first time in 27 years.
Georgetown might want to skip the tourney next time it’s in Providence.
Armon Bassett scored 32 points to lead the 14th-seeded Bobcats to a convincing 97-83 win over the Hoyas in the Midwest Regional.
How about a standing O for Ohio!
“We may not be a better team, just got to be a better team on a given night,” Bassett said.
In early March, no one expected Ohio (22-14) to be in this position. The team had just finished a 7-9 season in Mid-American Conference play and entered the conference tournament as the ninth seed.
Four wins later, Ohio was in the 65-team field.
Forty minutes later, the Bobcats are in the second round.
Murray State 66, Vanderbilt 65
Danero Thomas hit a 15-footer as the buzzer sounded and 13th-seeded Murray State stunned No. 4 seed Vanderbilt 66-65 on Thursday in the NCAA tournament.
President Barack Obama must have been onto something picking the revved-up Racers (31-4) to get past the first round in the West Regional. It was the school’s first victory in the NCAA tournament in 24 years, and Murray State will play Butler in the second round.
For the second time in as many NCAA appearances, Vanderbilt (24-9) bowed out early as the higher seed. The Commodores were a first-round upset victim of Siena in 2008 when seeded fourth.
No. 7 BYU 99, No. 10 Florida 92, 2OT
Jimmer Fredette scored 37 points, including two 3-pointers in double overtime, to seal the Cougars’ thrilling win over 10th-seeded Florida.
Fredette made a 3 from the top of the key to put the seventh-seeded Cougars (30-5) ahead 90-83 with 2:42 left, then added another with just over a minute remaining to put the game away.
Michael Loyd Jr. added a career-high 26 points for BYU.
Kenny Boynton scored 27 points for the Gators (21-13), who rallied from a 13-point deficit in their first NCAA tournament game since winning back-to-back titles in 2006 and 2007.
No. 2 Kansas State 82, No. 15 North Texas 62
Denis Clemente had 17 points and six assists, and the second-seeded Wildcats had a 46-21 advantage inside to avoid becoming an opening-day upset victim.
Kansas State (27-7) gathered itself after a shaky start, riding its defense into the second round for the second time in three years. The Wildcats held the Mean Green (24-9) to 31 percent shooting and stymied Josh White to only three points.
Jacob Pullen and Curtis Kelly added 15 points each for Kansas State, which will play BYU and sharpshooter Jimmer Fredette.
South Regional
No. 3 Baylor 68, No. 14 Sam Houston State 59
Ekpe Udoh had 20 points and 13 rebounds, and LaceDarius Dunn scored 13 to help the third-seeded Bears win an NCAA tournament game for the first time in 60 years.
Udoh also had five assists, two blocks and two steals for Baylor (26-7), which broke open a close game down the stretch. It’s the school’s first tournament win since beating BYU in 1950.
Gilberto Clavell had 23 points and Preston Brown added 13 for 14th seed Sam Houston State (25-8), which tied it at 55 on a short floater by Ashton Mitchell with 3:48 to go.
The game remained tied until Quincy Acy dunked to put Baylor ahead for good with 2:30 left.
No. 7 Saint Mary’s 80, No. 10 Richmond 71
Omar Samhan had 29 points and 12 rebounds despite spending most of the game in foul trouble, and Saint Mary’s pulled away to win an NCAA tournament game for the first time in six tries since 1959.
The 10th-seeded Gaels (27-5) will play Saturday against Villanova in the second round.
Mickey McConnell, the West Coast Conference tournament MVP, scored 23 points for the Gaels, who had a 40-18 rebounding edge and 21-4 advantage in second-chance points.
David Gonzalvez scored 18 and Kevin Anderson had 16 for Richmond (26-9).
No. 2 Villanova 73, No. 15 Robert Morris 70, OT
Scottie Reynolds responded to his benching with a clutch performance at the foul line in the final minutes of regulation to help the Wildcats survive.
Coach Jay Wright sat Reynolds at the start of the game to make a “teaching point,” and he missed 13 of 15 shots from the floor for Villanova (25-7). But the senior star made seven of eight free throws in the final 3:06 to send the game into overtime, finishing with 20 points.
Karon Abraham scored 23 for Robert Morris (23-13), which had a shot at the buzzer to tie the game in overtime that was no good.
