BUFFALO, N.Y. --- Matt Bouldin scored 14 of his 17 points in the second half to help eighth-seeded Gonzaga hang on for a 67-60 victory over No. 9 Florida State on Friday night in the first round of the NCAA Tournament's West Regional.
Steven Gray scored 15 points while Robert Sacre had nine rebounds for the Bulldogs (27-6), who nearly squandered an 18-point lead.
Deividas Dulkys scored 14 points for the Seminoles (22-10), whose second-half rally ran out of gas. Dulkys banked in a 3-pointer to cut Gonzaga's lead to 59-54 with 2:21 left. Florida State had a chance to pull closer but Michael Snaer missed two free throws a minute later.
Bouldin snared the rebound and the Bulldogs closed by making 8 of 10 free throws.
Gonzaga advanced to Sunday's second round and will face either top-seeded Syracuse or Vermont.
PITTSBURGH 89, OAKLAND 66
In Milwaukee, Jermaine Dixon and Gilbert Brown scored 17 points apiece and Pittsburgh avoided becoming the latest Big East power to get knocked off in the first round of the NCAA Tournament, overcoming a slow start to rout Oakland.
Brown's strong performance off the bench was a boost for the third-seeded Panthers (25-8), who are making their ninth consecutive NCAA appearance and have advanced to the round of 16 in five of the previous eight. They'll try to continue that streak Sunday against No. 6 seed Xavier, which defeated 11th seed Minnesota.
Big center Keith Benson scored 28 points for the 14th-seeded Golden Grizzlies (26-9), who played much of the first half without starting forward Derick Nelson after an elbow from Panthers center Gary McGhee opened a cut over his left eye.
Nelson returned to start the second half with a bandage under his black headband, but it was too late for the Grizzlies. Benson's points came while wearing a wrap on his right wrist and thumb from a previous injury.
XAVIER 65, MINNESOTA 54
In Milwaukee, Jordan Crawford made a strong return to the NCAA Tournament.
Crawford scored 17 of his 28 points in the second half and Xavier kept its run of tournament success going with its first-round victory.
Xavier (25-8) will be in the second round for the fourth consecutive year, this time under first-year coach Chris Mack.
Mack has a star in Crawford, the Indiana transfer playing in his first NCAA Tournament game in two years. But it was far from a one-man show.
Dante Jackson smothered the Gophers' best shooters on defense, Jamel McLean had 14 rebounds and Crawford provided the highlight plays for the sixth-seeded Musketeers.
Lawrence Westbrook scored 15 of his 19 points for Minnesota (21-14) in the first half, and the 11th-seeded Gophers went cold from 3-point range late.
The Musketeers seemingly had every answer down the stretch against Minnesota, which had played its way into the tournament by winning seven of its previous 10 under Tubby Smith.
Smith was looking for his 30th NCAA Tournament win and first with his fourth program after stops at Tulsa, Georgia and Kentucky, but Minnesota lost for the fourth consecutive time in the first round to join early exits in 1999, 2005 and 2009.
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