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SALT LAKE CITY — The NCAA Tournament opened Thursday afternoon, including four first-round games at Vivint Smart Home Arena.
Auburn, Kansas, Gonzaga and Baylor each advanced to Saturday's second round.
While the Jayhawks and Zags won in blowout fashion, the Tigers held off a spirited charge from upstart New Mexico State.
Click each headline for a full report from each game, including highlights.
🎥: @AubietheTiger01 brings the 🔥🔥🔥for @AuburnMBB at #MarchMadness in SLC. pic.twitter.com/meMqUq1hI4
— KSL.com Sports (@KSLcomSports) March 21, 2019
New Mexico State nearly had the 12-5 upset college basketball fans expect during March Madness.
But free throws and missed chances in the final minute combined to help Auburn hold off a rally from the WAC champions.
"Right now, you can sit up here and second-guess his decision to kick it out to Terrell Brown instead of trying to lay the ball in," New Mexico State coach Chris Jans said. "And, you know, obviously at that point, it is out of your control and you have to trust your players, and players make plays.
"If he does make all three free throws or makes the three, it is an Ali Farokhmanesh moment and that will be remembered forever. That's what happens in the NCAA Tournament. I trust my players; players make plays, and it didn't work out for us this particular time."
Lawson scores 25, propels Kansas to 87-53 blowout win over Northeastern
Kansas forward Dedric Lawson was so excited to play in the NCAA men’s basketball tournament that he went to bed early Wednesday night because he figured it would help him get to gameday quicker.
He wanted to be a part of “such a great opportunity.”
It seemed to work.
"They did a decent job," Lawson said. "But as a team, we were locking in defensively. And the same thing for Saturday, another team, they shoot threes. It was a good preparing game for us."
Coming off its first NCAA Tournament win in school history, Fairleigh Dickinson’s tournament run came to a screeching halt against Gonzaga.
The Gonzaga defense shut down the Knights to claim an 87-49 win in the first round in Salt Lake City.
"It started on the defensive end in the first half," Gonzaga head coach Mark Few said. "They came in on quite a roll. Their guards were really shooting it well. … That led to us getting out and running"
Makai Mason poured in 22 points and four assists, and Baylor shot 53 percent from the field to out-duel the Orange 78-69 in the final game of the first round of the Salt Lake City regional Thursday night at Vivint Smart Home Arena.
Jared Butler added 14 points, four rebounds and four assists for the Bears (20-13), who advanced to face top-seed Gonzaga on Saturday.
"It was fun to go back and forth with them," Mason said. "We weren’t expecting them to hit shots like that. They hit some tough ones.
"At the end of the day, we ain’t supposed to be here — and we’re just happy to be moving on."