(4) North Texas 79, (13) Florida Atlantic 73
No. 4 North Texas slipped past No. 13 Florida Atlantic 79-73 after squandering most of a 14-point second-half lead. The Owls trimmed the deficit to two before North Texas sealed the game with solid free throw shooting. Sophomore guard Josh White had two of the critical free throws in the closing seconds, part of his game-high 24 points. The Mean Green will play No. 5 Middle Tennessee State in the quarterfinals Sunday.
(5) Middle Tennessee State 69, (12) Arkansas State 62
The Blue Raiders beat No. 12 Arkansas State 69-62 thanks to a balanced attack that featured five players who scored between nine and 13 points. Senior guard Kevin Kanaskie led Middle Tennessee State with 13 points and played all 40 minutes.
(6) South Alabama 62, (11) New Orleans 60
No. 6 South Alabama edged No. 11 New Orleans 62-60 as senior guard Domonic Tilford hit two free throws with less than 10 seconds remaining to push a two-point lead to four. Tilford led the Jaguars with 13 points. South Alabama moves on to face No. 3 Troy, which the team lost to twice during the regular season.
(7) Denver 66, (10) Louisiana-Monroe 57
Junior swingman Nate Rohnert had a big game for No. 7 Denver, finishing with 28 points in the Pioneers’ 66-57 win against No. 10 Louisiana-Monroe. The Warhawks stayed with Denver until the final minute, when the Pioneers hit enough free throws to pull away. Neither team led by more than four points until the closing moments of the game. In the quarterfinals, Denver will play No. 2 Arkansas-Little Rock. The Pioneers lost by nine in the only regular-season game against the Trojans.
(9) Florida International 71, (8) Louisiana-Lafayette 69
No. 9 Florida International was the lone lower seed to win in its 71-69 victory against No. 8 Louisiana-Lafayette. However, the Golden Panthers had a better overall record and identical conference record, so this result cannot be considered an upset. Freshman center Freddy Asprilla picked up his 12th double-double of the season with 15 points and 11 rebounds. Florida International will play No. 1 Western Kentucky, which the Owls beat in one of two games this season.
