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          Best of 2019 NCAA tournament Thursday

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          • ESPN.com
          Mar 22, 2019, 12:30 AM ET

          BRACKET | SCOREBOARD | TV CHANNELS AND TIMES

          The round of 64 in the 2019 NCAA tournament tipped off Thursday. Here's a look at some of the top sights and sounds as the first round began.

          Thursday's results

          No. 3 Purdue 61, No. 14 Old Dominion 48

          Purdue started hot and held off Old Dominion's second-half runs to end up with a comfortable victory -- mostly due to the Boilermakers' defense. Old Dominion shot just 26.9 percent from the field and 24 percent from 3-point range. Carsen Edwards finished with 26 points, but he might need to be more efficient (he shot 7-for-23 from the field) to beat Villanova on Saturday. -- Jeff Borzello

          Tournament Challenge update: After 16 games, 42,828 (0.25 percent) of our 17.2 million brackets remain perfect.

          No. 9 Baylor 78, No. 8 Syracuse 69

          Scott Drew continued his tremendous coaching job this season, ending Syracuse's eight-game first-round winning streak. Elijah Hughes kept Syracuse in the game for the first half, but Baylor made 16 3-pointers -- led by Makai Mason's 22 points and four makes from behind the arc. The Orange missed point guard Frank Howard, who was suspended Wednesday. -- Jeff Borzello

          No. 2 Michigan 74, No. 15 Montana 55

          There was no repeat of last season's first-round battle, when Montana hung for a half before fading. Michigan put this one to bed early on, led by Charles Matthews' 22 points. Ahmaad Rorie hurt the Wolverines last season, but struggled Thursday, shooting 3-for-13 from the field and finishing with 10 points. Michigan will take on Florida on Saturday. -- Jeff Borzello

          No. 7 Wofford 84, No. 10 Seton Hall 68

          Fletcher Magee (24 points) vs. Myles Powell (27 points) turned out to be one of the best individual matchups of the day -- but Magee got more help, especially during the Terriers' clinching 17-0 run late in the game. Nathan Hoover had 18 points and Cameron Jackson went for 14, with Wofford shooting 13-for-28 from behind the arc as a team. Magee set the NCAA career record for 3-pointers made Thursday, hitting his 505th career 3 early in the second half. -- Jeff Borzello

          Wofford guard Fletcher Magee set the NCAA career 3-point record against Seton Hall. Magee needed three 3-pointers against the Pirates to set the record, and the anticipation in the arena mounted each time he touched the ball. He got his third in the second half to give him 505 for his career, breaking the mark Travis Bader set in 2014 at Oakland.

          Andrea Adelson, ESPN Senior Writer6y ago

          No. 6 Villanova 61, No. 11 Saint Mary's 57

          Jay Wright and the Wildcats started their title defense with a solid victory over a hot Gaels team. Villanova was paced by its two seniors, Phil Booth and Eric Paschall, who combined for 34 points. Saint Mary's closed the gap late in the game, but the heroics from the West Coast Conference title game could not be repeated. Jordan Ford shot just 1-for-7 from 3-point range. -- Jeff Borzello

          No. 1 Gonzaga 87, No. 16 Fairleigh Dickinson 49

          This was never close. Gonzaga scored 53 before halftime and Fairleigh Dickinson didn't hit double figures until there was less than eight minutes left in the first half. It was the largest victory in an NCAA tournament game in program history. Rui Hachimura had 21 points and 8 rebounds; Killian Tillie, who has missed most of the season with injury, played 18 minutes and scored 17 minutes. That's noteworthy for the Zags moving forward. -- Jeff Borzello

          No. 10 Florida 70, No. 7 Nevada 61

          Nevada's uneven season comes to an end. The Wolf Pack simply couldn't make outside shots when it mattered Thursday, going 5-for-24 from 3 -- and just 2-for-18 in the second half. Florida's switching defenses caused issues for Nevada, especially late in the game. The Gators were led by Kevarrius Hayes' 16 points, while Keyontae Johnson also posted a double-double. -- Jeff Borzello

          No. 2 Kentucky 79, No. 15 Abilene Christian 44

          The absence of PJ Washington wasn't a factor for the Wildcats on Thursday. Abilene Christian never led. Keldon Johnson was terrific, with 25 points for the Wildcats; Reid Travis was also productive down low, finishing with 18 points and 9 boards. He led all players with 16 points in the paint. Washington's health could be a bigger issue against Wofford. -- Jeff Borzello

          No. 12 Murray State 83, No. 5 Marquette 64

          Ja Morant vs. Markus Howard evolved into the Ja Morant Show awfully quickly. Morant ran the game from the opening tip, finishing with 17 points, 11 rebounds and 16 assists. It was the fourth 15-point, 15-assist game in NCAA tournament history; the first triple-double in the NCAA tournament since Draymond Green in 2012; and the second 15-point, 15-assist, 10-rebound game in the past 20 seasons, regular season included. It was a special performance. -- Jeff Borzello

          Tournament Challenge update: After eight games, 856,681 of 17.2 million brackets (5 percent) remain perfect.

          No. 4 Kansas 87, No. 13 Northeastern 53

          It took until 6 p.m. ET on Thursday, but we got our first true blowout of this NCAA tournament. Kansas consistently held a 20-plus-point lead for the final 13 minutes of the game, as Dedric Lawson dominated the paint with 25 points and 11 rebounds and Kansas held Northeastern to 28.1 percent shooting. The Jayhawks are now one victory from playing a regional in Kansas City, Missouri. -- Jeff Borzello

          No. 6 Maryland 79, No. 11 Belmont 77

          Belmont had chances in the final seconds to win, but the Bruins turned it over with 2 seconds left, then missed a half-court heave at the buzzer. Belmont's Dylan Windler had 35 points and 11 rebounds, but Maryland was just too big inside. Jalen Smith -- who had a vicious dunk late in the game -- and Bruno Fernando combined for 33 points and 25 rebounds for the Terrapins. -- Jeff Borzello

          No. 2 Michigan State 76, No. 15 Bradley 65

          For much of Thursday's game, it looked like we might see a repeat of 2016, when Michigan State won the Big Ten tournament and promptly lost to 15-seed Middle Tennessee in the first round of the Big Dance. But the Spartans -- Cassius Winston, in particular -- got stops down the stretch to pull away after Bradley led with less than seven minutes remaining. Winston finished with 26 points. -- Jeff Borzello

          No. 4 Florida State 76, No. 13 Vermont 69

          After Vermont jumped out to a nine-point lead in the first seven minutes and held its own for most of the first 30 minutes, Florida State began to pull away down the stretch thanks to free throw shooting and rebounding. The Seminoles got big efforts from Terance Mann and Mfiondu Kabengele, while Vermont star Anthony Lamb struggled with Florida State's size and length. -- Jeff Borzello

          No. 5 Auburn 78, No. 12 New Mexico State 77

          New Mexico State made a furious comeback in the final minute but missed two of three free throws with 2 seconds remaining, then missed a potential game-winning 3 at the buzzer. Auburn's hot shooting from the SEC tournament carried over to Thursday, with the Tigers making nine 3-pointers after halftime. Jared Harper led the way with 17 points and four 3-pointers before fouling out. -- Jeff Borzello

          No. 3 LSU 79, No. 14 Yale 74

          LSU jumped out to a 16-point lead but couldn't truly put the Bulldogs away in the second half -- despite Yale shooting just 8-for-37 from 3-point range. Yale star Miye Oni struggled, scoring 5 points on 2-for-16 shooting. LSU's length and athleticism was overwhelming at times, though, with Nazreon Reid and Kavell Bigby-Williams both notching double-doubles. That -- and Skylar Mays' clutch free throw shooting -- ended up being the difference. -- Jeff Borzello

          No. 10 Minnesota 86, No. 7 Louisville 76

          Minnesota came out hot from 3-point range, making 11 3-pointers -- only the fourth time all season the Golden Gophers had double-digit makes from behind the arc. Louisville made a late run to cut the lead but couldn't get within striking distance. Freshman Gabe Kalscheur led the way for Minnesota with 24 points, while Louisville's Christen Cunningham had 22 points in the loss. -- Jeff Borzello

          Tournament Challenge update: Just 33.6 percent of brackets had Minnesota upsetting Louisville in the first round.

          News and notes, odds and ends

          One bettor is very invested in Michigan-Montana, having wagered $500,000 on the Wolverines to win at -1800 odds at CG Technology. Bet would win $27,700.

          Ben Fawkes, ESPN Staff Writer6y ago

          Pregame excitement and presidential picks

          Expert picks for the tournament