MILWAUKEE - Reggie Upshaw scored 19 points, Giddy Potts added 15 and Middle Tennessee State took down another Big Ten team in the NCAA Tournament, beating Minnesota 81-72 in a South Region contest.
Twelfth-seeded Middle Tennessee proved it was no one-year wonder after upsetting Michigan State as a No. 15 seed last March.
The Blue Raiders (31-4) instead played like seasoned NCAA veterans with the way they held off the Gophers' comeback attempt from a 17-point deficit in front of a loud and large contingent of Minnesota fans.
Upshaw responded with seven straight points, including a 3-pointer and a reverse layup during a 7-3 run to help give Middle Tennessee a 10-point lead with 3:40 left.
Coach Kermit Davis' club will move on to face No. 4 seed Butler in the second round Saturday.
A season of redemption came to an end for fifth-seeded Minnesota (24-10), which bounced back from an eight-win season in 2015-16 to return to the NCAAs.
Butler 76, Winthrop 64
MILWAUKEE - Avery Woodson scored 18 points and tied a career high with six 3-pointers in his NCAA Tournament debut to lead Butler to a 76-64 win against Winthrop.
Woodson, a graduate transfer from Memphis, hit five 3s in the first half to help the fourth-seeded Bulldogs build a 14-point halftime lead.
Xavier Cooks had 23 points to lead Big South champion Winthrop (26-7).
West Region
Northwestern 68, Vanderbilt 66
SALT LAKE CITY - Northwestern got its first-ever NCAA Tournament victory, 68-66 against Vanderbilt, after Commodores guard Matthew Fisher-Davis inexplicably grabbed Wildcats guard Bryant McIntosh on purpose, sending McIntosh to the free throw line for the go-ahead points with 15 seconds left.
Riley LaChance made a layup with 18 seconds remaining to put the ninth-seeded Commodores up by one after trailing by as many as 15.
But seconds after the in-bounds pass, Fisher-Davis reached out and grabbed McIntosh while he was in the backcourt. That put eighth-seeded Northwestern in the double bonus, and McIntosh went to the line and calmly swished the free throws with 15 seconds left.
LaChance missed a 3 on the next possession and eighth-seeded Northwestern (24-11) got another free throw.
Xavier 76, Maryland 65
ORLANDO, Fla. - Trevon Bluiett scored 21 points and Sean O'Mara had 18 to help No. 11 seed Xavier upset sixth-seeded Maryland 76-65 during the first round of the NCAA Tournament.
The Musketeers move on in the West region, marking the third straight year they have advanced to the second round. Maryland, which has started three freshmen for much the season, lost in the first round for the first time since 1997.
After a slow start, Bluiett came through with 18 second-half points to help the Musketeers rally from an early 6-point deficit.
Freshman Kevin Huerter led the Terps with 19 points while star guard Melo Trimble had 13 points.
Florida St. 86, Fla. Gulf Coast 80
ORLANDO, Fla. - Florida Gulf Coast never went away, but Florida State avoided the upset as the third-seeded Seminoles won 86-80 on Thursday in the first round of the NCAA Tournament.
Dwayne Bacon led Florida State with 25 points.
Notre Dame 60, Princeton 58
BUFFALO, N.Y. - Bonzie Colson scored 18 points and Notre Dame survived a first-round NCAA Tournament scare by pulling out a 60-58 win against Princeton.
The West Region's 12th-seeded Tigers had a chance to pull ahead on their final possession, but Devin Cannady missed an open 3-pointer just before the final horn. Notre Dame's Steve Vasturia pulled down the rebound and was fouled.
The Fighting Irish (26-9) nearly squandered an 11-point second half lead. Guard Matt Farrell scored 16 points, but missed the front end of a one-and-one with Notre Dame up 59-58.
Spencer Weisz led the Tigers with 15 points. The Ivy League champion Tigers (23-7) had a 19-game winning streak going into the NCAA Tournament.
Gonzaga 66, SD State 46
SALT LAKE CITY - Jordan Mathews scored 16 points to help Gonzaga slowly pull away from South Dakota State for a 66-46 victory and avoid the first 1 vs. 16 upset in the history of the NCAA Tournament.
It looked possible for a while.
The Jackrabbits (18-17), champions of the Summit League, led for the first 17 minutes of Thursday's game in the West region and stayed in range for most of the game.
They did it without a breakout game from Mike Daum. The nation's second-leading scorer finished 7-for-16 from the floor with 17 points - more than eight below his average.
West Virginia 86, Bucknell 80
BUFFALO, N.Y. - Nathan Adrian had 12 points and 10 rebounds, leading West Virginia to an 86-80 win against Bucknell in the first round of the NCAA Tournament.
Tarik Phillip scored 16 points for the West Region's fourth-seeded Mountaineers.
This win sets up a meeting against the region's fifth-seeded Notre Dame Fighting Irish, who hung on for a 60-58 win against Princeton.
Kimbal Mackenzie made 5-of-7 3-point attempts and led the Patriot League-champion Bison with 23 points.
Saint Mary's 85, VCU 77
SALT LAKE CITY - Jock Landale had 18 points and 13 rebounds as seventh-seeded Saint Mary's held on for an 85-77 victory against No. 10 Virginia Commonwealth in the opening round of the NCAA Tournament's West Region.
The Gaels led most of the way, but had to fight to hold on after the VCU defensive pressure started to become too much in the second half.
Joe Rahon and Calvin Hermanson finished with 16 points apiece for Saint Mary's.
JeQuan Lewis paced VCU with 30 points.
East Region
Villanova 76, Mt. St. Mary's 56
BUFFALO, N.Y. - Donte DiVincenzo scored 21 points and NCAA Tournament top seed Villanova shook off a slow start and stumbled forward in the East region with a 76-56 victory against No. 16 seed Mount St. Mary's.
The Wildcats (32-3) weren't themselves for much of the first half before they opened the second half with a 21-6 run to take the first step toward defending their championship.
Wisconsin 84, Virginia Tech 74
BUFFALO, N.Y. - The No. 8 seedWisconsin Badgers were able to hold of No. 9 seed Virginia Tech for an 84-74 win Thursday in the first round of the NCAA Tournament.
Bronson Koenig made eight 3s on his way to a game-high 28 points for Wisconsin.
Virginia 76, UNC Wilmington 71
ORLANDO, Fla. - London Perrantes scored 24 points, Marial Shayok added a career-high 23 off the bench and No. 5 seed Virginia rallied from 15 points down to beat 13th-seeded UNC Wilmington 76-71 in the opening round of the NCAA Tournament on Thursday.
Perrantes scored 19 points in the second half as the Cavaliers (23-10) got their slow-paced offense going.
Florida 80, E. Tennessee St. 65
ORLANDO, Fla. - Devin Robinson tied his career-high with 24 points, Kasey Hill added 14 and No. 4 seed Florida used a second-half surge to beat 13th-seeded East Tennessee State 80-65 in the opening round of the NCAA Tournament on Thursday.
Robinson, an NBA prospect who had been relatively quiet late in the season, scored his most points in nearly two months. He made 10-of-17 shots and chipped in seven rebounds.
Midwest Region
Purdue 80, Vermont 70
MILWAUKEE - Vincent Edwards scored 15 of his 21 points in the second half, and Purdue held off Vermont 80-70 on Thursday night for its first victory in the NCAA Tournament in five years.
Caleb Swanigan added 16 points, 14 rebounds and four assists for the fourth-seeded Boilermakers (26-7), who were upset by Arkansas-Little Rock in double overtime in the first round of last year's tournament. Dakota Mathias made three of Purdue's nine 3-pointers and finished with 13 points.
It was Vermont's first loss this calendar year. The Catamounts (29-6), the regular-season and tournament champions in the America East, had the nation's longest active win streak at 21 games. But they were unable to make up for a huge disadvantage inside against the bigger, stronger Boilermakers.