West Regional

Ja Morant logged the ninth triple-double in 30-plus years of NCAA Tournament history as the Racers trounced the Golden Eagles in Hartford, Conn.

Murray State continued a trend of a No. 12 seed winning at least one game in all but three tournaments since 2001 — including last year’s — but this looked nothing like an upset.

Morant had 17 points, 16 assists and 11 rebounds as he sliced through Marquette (24-10) and showed the Racers (28-4) were better in every way than their opponent from the Big East. The Ohio Valley Conference champions face fourth-seeded Florida State on Saturday.

Mfiondu Kabengele had 21 points and 10 rebounds, and the Seminoles held off a barrage of 3-pointers from the Catamounts in a victory Thursday in the opening round at Hartford, Conn.

Terance Mann added 19 points for the fourth-seeded Seminoles (28-7), who were tied with Vermont (27-7) at halftime but pulled away late.

One year after dreamers and underdog lovers rejoiced at top-seeded Virginia’s first-of-its-kind, first-round loss, the Bulldogs crushed any thought of a repeat with a wire-towire thumping of the Knights in Salt Lake City.

Rui Hachimura led the Zags (31-3) with 21 points and eight rebounds, and this game looked every bit as lopsided as most of the 1-vs.-16 contests since 1985, when the bracket was expanded to 64 teams.

Charles Matthews had 22 points and 10 rebounds in his best performance since coming back from injury, and the Wolverines put away the Grizzlies early in Des Moines, Iowa.

Michigan (29-6) is in the round of 32 for the third straight year and will play Florida on Saturday.

The Gators nearly squandered a double-digit lead before finally stopping a comeback by the Wolf Pack and securing an upset at Des Moines, Iowa.

Kevarrius Hayes scored 16 points, Jalen Hudson added 15, and Florida won its tournament opener for the third straight year.