No. 4 Xavier had a big second half, especially on defense, to get past No. 12 Wisconsin 60-49. The Musketeers held the Badgers to 22 second-half points and 29 percent shooting from the field for the game. Senior swingman B.J. Raymond hit several clutch shots that helped Xavier grind ahead of Wisconsin.

No. 3 Syracuse dominated No. 6 Arizona State for nearly the entire game in a 78-67 win. The Orange held the Sun Devils’ top scoring threats, James Harden and Jeff Pendergraph, in check. They combined for only 19 points on 5-of-15 shooting. Junior guard Eric Devendorf led Syracuse’s offensive attack with 21 points.

Freshman guard Demetri Goodson sprint down the entire court with seconds to go to hit a running layup with less than a second to go, breaking an 81-81 tie to give No. 4 Gonzaga an 83-81 victory against No. 12 Western Kentucky. The Hilltoppers rallied from a seven-point hole in the final two minutes with clutch shooting, capped by sophomore swingman Steffphon Pettigrew putback off a missed three-pointer with less than 10 seconds to go.

Sophomore forward Blake Griffin dominated No. 10 Michigan with 33 points and 17 rebounds, leading No. 2 Oklahoma to a 73-63 win. Michigan’s 1-3-1 zone defense kept the Wolverines in the game in the first half, but Griffin and the Sooners took over in the second half.

No. 5 Purdue led from start to finish against No. 4 Washington in a 76-74 victory. However, the Boilermakers had to hold off the Huskies during the closing minutes when they cut a 14-point lead down to two.

Despite speculation that a toe injury would keep No. 1 North Carolina’s Ty Lawson out of today’s game, the senior point guard played and poured in 21 second-half points to lead the Tar Heels to an 84-70 win against No. 8 LSU. Lawson finished with 23 points, including 21 after halftime and seven during a decisive 17-2 run.

No. 1 Connecticut excelled against No. 9 Texas A&M in a 92-66 win. Senior point guard A.J. Price had 27 points, five rebounds and eight assists to pace the Huskies’ offense, which scored at will in shooting 58 percent from the field.

Memphis fired on all cylinders against No. 10 Maryland in an 89-70 blowout that wasn’t in doubt as early as midway through the first half. Memphis shot 59 percent for the game, including 70 percent in the first half. Freshman point guard Tyreke Evans led the Tigers with 19 points, four rebounds and five assists.

No. 3 Villanova started hot and built a double-digit lead that UCLA could never bounce back from in an 89-69 victory for the Wildcats. The win ends UCLA’s bid to reach a fourth consecutive Final Four. The Wildcats used a 19-2 run early in the game to pull ahead of the Bruins.