NCAA Scores 2012: Biggest Winners from Early Round of 64 Games

The first wave of NCAA Tournament games are in the books. It's amazing how quickly they fly by after nearly a week of anticipation leading up to tip off. Several teams have already picked up crucial victories and are now just five wins away from the ultimate prize.

Let's take a look at the biggest winners from the early games. For a complete list of scores from the opening round, visit the official NCAA web site.

Wisconsin Badgers

Montana was a trendy upset pick because of the team's depth, but the Grizzlies were no match for Wisconsin's suffocating defense. The Badgers held them to 38 percent shooting from the field en route to a 24-point victory.

Wisconsin poses a problem for opponents became it insists on slowing down the game. The slow pace allows it to take advantage of teams that become frustrated with the lack of flow, which ultimately leads to mental mistakes. Some of Montana's poor shots were a perfect example.

The Badgers will play either Vanderbilt or Harvard in the next round. The Commodores would clearly be a more difficult matchup, but if Wisconsin plays as well as today, it can beat just about any other team in the nation.

Louisville Cardinals

Rick Pitino and his Cardinals faced a tricky test against Davidson, but managed to survive and advance. Peyton Siva led the way once again with 17 points and six assists. His level of maturity has improved greatly even from earlier this season.

Following its terrific run to the Big East title, Louisville is riding a wave of momentum that has the potential to carry it deep into the tournament. It's difficult to call a power conference team Cinderella, but the Cardinals are certainly set up to surprise people.

The one thing they will need to improve moving forward is outside shooting. They knocked down just one three-point shot against the Wildcats. If the Cardinals remedy that issue, they will be a very tough out.

Murray State Racers

Murray State was actually trailing Colorado State at halftime. At that point, everybody was probably thinking its 30-1 record was a fluke. However, the Racers illustrated in the second half they are anything but.

They stepped up the intensity on defense, allowing just 17 points after the break, and cruised to victory. Their balanced scoring is what makes them dangerous to higher seeds. You can't key in on one star and think you'll slow the Racers down.

It will be interesting to see what happens when they go up against a more accomplished team, but all indications say Murray State will hold its own.