NCAA Scores 2012: Thursday's Top Scores and Results

There's no feeling like waking up on the morning of the first day of the NCAA tournament.

And I don't consider the First Four to be a part of the tournament. (Although the BYU comeback was quite exhilarating, and may lead me to revise my stance in the future.)

Thursday, the greatest show on earth began in earnest.

Murray State and Colorado State got the day started at 12:15 p.m. EDT, and they did not disappoint.

That was followed by Kansas State and Southern Mississipi in Pittsburgh, where early risers got a glimpse of the first true one-man offensive explosion of the tournament (we're still waiting on Texas's J'Covan Brown and Creighton's Doug McDermott of course), with Wildcats swingman Rodney McGruder pouring in 18 first-half points—good for 60 percent of his team's entire first-half scoring.

A No. 1 seed (Syracuse) had a close call, and two teams belonging to institutions renowned for their academic standing fought it out. But it was a 5-12 matchup that was the best game on the day.

Wichita State was picked by many as a "shock" dark horse, but the Shockers found their way into the third round blocked by Virginia Commonwealth, last season's Final Four surprise.

Every shot was answered, every punch found its counter, but in the end the Rams proved that last season was no fluke, holding off a last-ditch charge to win 62-59.

The furious pace was indicative of the overall action of the day. It was a fitting start to the tournament season.

(6) Murray State vs. (11) Colorado State

The battle of the States couldn't have picked two teams more dissimilar to each other.

Where Murray State enjoys living up to its nickname (the Racers), jet-setting about the court and scoring with abandon—they averaged 74.2 points a game while going 30-1 during the regular season—Colorado State famously struggled throughout the season to get the ball in the hoop, slumping to 101st in that category.

When the Rams were able to dictate the pace of games, they had success—perhaps most significantly in their wins over San Diego State, New Mexico and UNLV this season.

Despite taking an early lead against the Racers, Colorado State soon found themselves playing catch-up, which, given their scoring deficiency, is never a good sign.

Murray State seized control with a 7-0 run to start the second half, going up by six after heading into the break down 24-23.

The Racers kept the scoring margin in that ball park through the second half, leading 34-26 with 14:22 to go in the game.

(8) Kansas State vs. (9) Southern Mississipi

Many pundits were worried about Southern Mississipi's cold streak heading into the tournament (Larry Eustachy's side had lost three of its last five games to close the regular season).

They showed no hangover against Frank Martin's Wildcats, however, battling to a three-point deficit (30-27) heading into the half.

You'd have thought Eustachy would have been reminding his team that their opponents had a history of blowing late leads in games. But in order to stop the Wildcats, they first had to stop Rodney McGruder, who poured in 18 first-half points on 6-of-11 shooting from the floor.

Considering that McGruder scored "only" 12 points in the second half, you could say that the Golden Eagles did a pretty good job.

Still, that wasn't enough, as Kansas State powered past Southern Miss 70-64 on the back of their star's game-high 30 points.

Freshman Angel Rodriguez also played well for the Wildcats, overcoming a torrid start to the game, where he'd air-balled two shots and committed three turnovers.

Rodriguez scored seven of his eventual 13 points in the decisive final two minutes of the game.

Those points from the freshman would prove crucial in a game that Southern Miss had led 45-40 midway through the second half.

But after the Wildcats went on an 18-6 run to take back the lead, there was little the Golden Eagles could do to battle back, particularly with Kansas State center Jordan Henriquez providing a crucial presence in the post.

Henriquez had 15 points, but, more importantly, six blocks.

With the win, Kansas State spoiled Southern Miss coach Larry Eustachy's return to the NCAA tournament. It was the first time he'd made it back to the collegiate pinnacle since leaving Iowa State to be treated for alcoholism following the surfacing of some pictures showing him partying with students.

The Wildcats face No. 1 seed Syracuse on Saturday.

(1) Syracuse vs. (16) UNC Asheville

No, your eyes weren't deceiving you.

Syracuse trailed UNC Asheville 34-30 at halftime.

Asheville would go on to lead by as many as six in the second half, and held the lead with just over six minutes to play before the Orange mounted a furious comeback to go on to win 72-65.

The Bulldogs, looking to become the first 16 seed in history to take out a No. 1, came awfully close to making good on that promise.

The CONSOL Energy Center in Pittsburgh, PA, lent a decidedly pro-Bulldog feel to the occasion, and booed for the final minute after a pair of controversial calls down the stretch both went the Orange's way.

J.P. Primm was called for a lane violation with 1:04 to play when he darted past the three-point line to grab Scoop Jardine's missed free throw. Since the officials deemed he had entered the area before the ball hit the rim, Jardine was allowed to shoot again, and this time, the Syracuse point guard made it to push the lead to 64-58.

The second questionable call came with 35 seconds remaining. The ball appeared to go off Syracuse's Brandon Triche last before going out of bounds, but the officials gave the Orange possession with a 66-63 lead.

(4) Louisville vs. (13) Davidson

In the end, Jake Cohen was no Steph Curry for Davidson.

Despite pouring in 24 points and pulling down 10 rebounds, the 6'10" junior could not lead his team—making its first NCAA tournament appearance since Curry led them to the Elite Eight in '08—to an upset of No. 4 ranked Louisville, who banished the ghosts of losing in the opening game of their past two NCAA tournament appearances with a 69-62 victory.

Point guard Peyton Siva led the way with 17 points, two assists and two steals.

Louisville had surprised many by making it all the way to the Big East tournament final a week ago. Now, it looks like a bad bet to pick against them.

Any hopes of a comeback were quickly swatted away by a tough-minded Louisville side, however, which led by as many as 14 at the Rose Garden in Portland, OR.

They did cut the lead to 59-51, but the Cardinals held them off.

(5) New Mexico vs. (12) Long Beach State

This one was close throughout, with Long Beach State only mustering a six-point advantage, and New Mexico an eight-point.

The final score would fall in between those two ranges, with the Lobos fighting past a pesky Miners side 75-58.

Kendall Williams had 16 points for New Mexico—including 14 in the second half—and Drew Gordon added a game-high 18 points and 13 rebounds.

Long Beach led 61-59 with five minutes remaining following a thunderous windmill dunk from James Ennis, but the Lobos kept their cool and took back the lead on a Williams three-pointer.

From then on, they hit their free throws and didn't turn the ball over.

It was a tough ending for 49ers guard Casper Ware, who slumped to 5-of-19 shooting from the field in his final game in the Long Beach gold.

(5) Vanderbilt vs. (12) Harvard

The smart jokes that abounded ahead of this intriguing matchup between two of the most prestigious education institutions in the US was all well and good, but in the end, it boiled down to simple arithmetic.

If you score more than the other team, you advance.

Harvard led 17-16 early on, but a 17-6 Vanderbilt run changed that in what seemed like a heartbeat.

The Commodores, led by star guard John Jenkins's game-high 27 points, were ahead for most of the second half by a comfortable margin, and even boosted their lead to 18 at one point.

Harvard countered with a furious fight-back in the closing minutes, wgich was spearheaded by Laurent Rivard's dead-eye shooting from deep. The Crimson cut the lead to as little as five with 1:51 remaining.

Rivard finished with 20 points on 6-of-7 shooting from three, but it was not to be a fairy-tale ending for Harvard, participating in its first NCAA tournament since 1946.

(5) Wichita State vs. (12) Virginia Commonwealth

VCU coach Shaka Smart is making quite a name for himself in March. That makes five wins in the past two seasons, and he's just getting started this time around.

The Rams went up early and held their lead for most of the game, but Wichita State mounted a comeback and eventually took the lead at 57-56.

That would be the last time the Shockers would have it, however, as VCU retook the advantage in the final minutes before going on to win 62-59.

Wichita State had a chance to tie it with just seconds left, but Garrett Stutz's heave was off target.