CLEVELAND - George Mason has another fantastic March story to tell.
Luke Hancock hit a 3-pointer with 21 seconds left, capping the Patriots' comeback and keeping the one-time NCAA tournament darlings playing with a 61-57 win over Villanova on Friday.
Villanova missed its last shot and Mike Morrison slammed home one final basket for the Patriots (27-6), who will play Ohio State on Sunday in the East region.
This was the latest and last collapse for the Wildcats (21-12), who end the season on a six-game losing streak. They were once ranked as high as No. 5 but failed to get out of the first weekend of the NCAA tournament for the second straight year.
Hancock scored 18 points, and Morrison had 10 points and 11 rebounds for George Mason, which won its opening tournament game for the first time since its Final Four run in 2006.
The eighth-seeded Patriots trailed by 10 in the first half only to inch their way back.
Ohio State 75,
Texas-San Antonio 46
CLEVELAND - William Buford scored 18 points, freshman Jared Sullinger added 11, and Ohio State looked every inch the part of a No. 1 overall seed in rolling to victory.
Playing just a two-hour drive from their Columbus campus, the Buckeyes (33-2) were cheered on by more than 15,000 fans, who made Quicken Loans Arena feel just like home. Ohio State built a 16-point halftime lead, ballooned it to 38 in the second half against the No. 16 seed Roadrunners (20-14). Devin Gibson scored 24 to lead UTSA.
Marquette 66, Xavier 55
CLEVELAND - Darius Johnson-Odom scored 19 points, Jimmy Butler had 15 and Marquette squashed Xavier's bid for a fourth straight round of 16 appearance.
The win was the first in the NCAA tournament for the 11th-seeded Golden Eagles (21-14) in two years.
The sixth-seeded Musketeers (24-8) and Michigan State were the only two programs to reach the round of 16 each of the last three tournaments.
Xavier's Tu Holloway, the Atlantic 10 player of the year, missed his first seven shots and scored only five points.
Notre Dame 69, Akron 56
CHICAGO (AP) - Ben Hansbrough scored 15 points despite another sub-par shooting game and Tim Abromaitis added 14 as second-seeded Notre Dame fought off scrappy Akron in the Southwest region.
Notre Dame (27-6) will meet Florida State on Sunday at the United Center.
The Irish led 34-30 at the half before scoring the first nine points of the second to build their lead to double digits, then held off the cold-shooting Zips.
Hansbrough, the Big East Player of the Year who shot just 3-for-16 in a loss to Louisville in the semifinals of the conference tourney, hit just 4-of-11 from the field but was 6-for-6 from the line and had six assists.
The 15th-seeded Zips (23-13) were appearing in just their third NCAA Division I tournament and second in three years.
Florida State 57, Texas A&M 50
CHICAGO (AP) - Derwin Kitchen scored 15 points, and the 10th-seeded Seminoles won an NCAA tournament game for the first time in 13 years.
Bernard James added 10 points, keying a go-ahead run in the second half, and Florida State (22-10) advanced even though star Chris Singleton struggled in his return from a broken right foot, finishing with five points and four fouls.
Khris Middleton led Texas A&M (24-9) with 16 points.
Florida State will play Notre Dame on Sunday. Purdue 65, St. Peters 43
CHICAGO (AP) - E'Twaun Moore scored 19 points and JaJuan Johnson added 16 with 16 rebounds to help the Boilermakers advance in the Southwest region.
The Boilermakers (26-7), who made the round of 16 the previous two seasons, will face Virginia Commonwealth on Sunday for a return trip.
Winning their first game in the NCAA tournament is commonplace for the Boilermakers. They've now captured their opener in their last 13 appearances. Texas 85, Oakland 81
TULSA, Okla. (AP) - Tristan Thompson had 17 points, 10 rebounds and seven blocked shots, and Texas survived a second-half comeback by high-scoring Oakland in a West regional.
Thompson controlled his head-to-head matchup with Summit League Player of the Year Keith Benson much of the game. The Longhorns' freshman standout also got plenty of help from Jordan Hamilton, his frontcourt partner, who finished with 19 points and 10 rebounds.
The No. 4 seed Longhorns (28-7) led by 15 with less than 5 minutes remaining, but the Golden Grizzlies cut the lead to 80-75 with 1:23 left. Texas then hit five free throws in the final minute to hold on for the win.
Reggie Hamilton had 25 points to lead Oakland (25-10). Benson finished with 15 points and 11 rebounds.
Texas will play Arizona on Sunday. Arizona 77, Memphis 75
TULSA, Okla. (AP) - Derrick Williams had 22 points and 10 rebounds, and blocked a potential tying shot in the final seconds to seal Arizona's win in the second round.
Joe Jackson hit the first of two free throws with 5 seconds left, then missed the second to give the 12th-seeded Tigers a shot at the tie. Wesley Witherspoon grabbed the offensive rebound at the right block, but Williams came over to swat it away and send the Wildcats into a Sunday game against fourth-seeded Texas.
Lamont "MoMo" Jones added 18 points for Arizona (28-7), including the go-ahead 3-pointer with 1:35 to play. He added two free throws with 7.4 seconds left to make it a three-point game.
Antonio Barton led Memphis (25-10) with 17 points, and his brother Will Barton scored 12.
Arizona will play Texas on Sunday.
VCU 74, Georgetown 56
CHICAGO (AP) - Brandon Rozzell led four players in double figures and VCU made 12 3-pointers to stun Georgetown with a win that showed any remaining doubters the Rams do, indeed, belong in the NCAA tournament.
Rozzell tied his career high with six 3-pointers and finished with 26 points, while Joey Rodriguez had 17 points and seven assists. Bradford Burgess and Jamie Skeen added 12 each.
It is the first time the 11th-seeded Rams (25-11) have won more than one game in the NCAA tournament.
Not even the return of point guard Chris Wright could help the sixth-seeded Hoyas. Wright had six points on 3-of-13 shooting and just two assists.
Kansas 72, Boston University 53
TULSA, Okla. (AP) - Marcus and Markieff Morris combined for 31 points as Kansas found its shooting touch in the second half.
The win was the first NCAA tournament game for the Jayhawks since being sent home by Northern Iowa in the second round last season.
They appeared to still be feeling some of the aftereffects of that loss in the first half against the Terriers. Kansas (33-2) led just 33-29 at halftime and shot 42 percent. The Jayhawks found their touch in the second, hitting 62 percent of their shots and pulling away.
John Holland led Boston (21-14) with 19 points, with 15 coming in the first half. The loss snapped the Terriers' 11-game winning streak. Michigan 75, Tennessee 45
CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) - Zack Novak scored 14 points, including two 3-pointers in a decisive spurt to start the second half and carry Michigan in a West regional.
The loss was the eighth in 12 games for the Volunteers (19-15), and coach Bruce Pearl's future is in question after his athletic director recently said "the jury is still out" on whether Pearl will return.
In only their second NCAA tournament appearance since 1998, the eighth-seeded Wolverines (21-13) turned a four-point halftime lead into a rout when they got hot from the outside. They also found a way to stop Tennessee freshman Tobias Harris, who was scoreless in the second half after scoring 19 in the first 20 minutes.
Michigan will play Duke on Sunday. Duke 87, Hampton 45
CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) - Kyrie Irving scored 14 points in his first game in three months in top-seeded Duke's rout in the West region the that gave coach Mike Krzyzewski his 899th career victory.
Andre Dawkins added 13 points, Mason Plumlee had 12, Kyle Singler finished with 11 and Miles Plumlee had 13 rebounds for the Blue Devils (31-4).
Duke never trailed and shot 53 percent while dominating from the start, winning their fourth straight and advancing to a third-round matchup with No. 8 seed Michigan (21-13) on Sunday.
Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference champion Hampton (24-9) had its five-game winning streak snapped. Its top three scorers - Darrion Pellum, Kwame Morgan and Charles Funches - were a combined 9 for 29.
Duke will play Michigan on Sunday. North Carolina 102, Long Island University 87
CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) - Tyler Zeller scored 32 points, John Henson added 28, and North Carolina used its hulking size to overcame sloppiness in its return to the NCAA tournament.
Harrison Barnes added 24 points and 16 rebounds for the second-seeded Tar Heels (27-7) who eventually wore down the 15th-seeded Blackbirds (27-6). The 2009 NCAA champions, relegated to the NIT last season, advanced to the third round of the East Regional.
Julian Boyd scored 18 points, C.J. Garner added 16 and Jamal Olasewere had 15 for LIU, which faded after rallying to tie with under 5 minutes left in the first half as its nation-best 13-game winning streak was snapped.
Illinois 73, UNLV 62
TULSA, Okla. (AP) - Mike Davis tied his season high with 22 points, Demetri McCamey added 17 points and seven assists and Illinois dominated UNLV to set up another meeting between Fighting Illini coaches past and present.
The ninth-seeded Illini (20-13) took control with an early 15-0 run and led by as many as 25 in a surprisingly easy rout.
Bruce Weber's squad led by double digits throughout the second half against eighth-seeded UNLV (24-9), with former Illini coach Lon Kruger in charge. Next up for Illinois is a clash against Kansas and Weber's predecessor, Bill Self.
Oscar Bellfield scored 14 to lead the Runnin' Rebels.
Washington 68, Georgia 65
CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) - Isaiah Thomas scored 19 points and No. 7 seed Washington held off a late rally to beat 10th-seeded Georgia.
Scott Suggs added 10 points for the Huskies (24-10), who shot 43 percent and withstood a frantic final-minute push to win their fifth straight NCAA tournament opener.
Trey Thompkins had 26 points and 11 rebounds for the Bulldogs (21-12), who trailed by 10 with 2 minutes left but made things interesting in the closing seconds.
Syracuse 77, Indiana State 60
CLEVELAND (AP) - Defensive stopper Rick Jackson scored a season-high 23 points, and C.J. Fair added 14.
The third-seeded Orange (27-7) want to make up for last season's disappointing tourney appearance. Jackson, the Big East's top defensive player, scored six straight during a crucial stretch in the second half when Syracuse finally pulled away from Indiana State (20-14).
Syracuse will play Big East brethren Marquette on Sunday.
Jake Kelly scored 12 to lead the Sycamores.