Duke guard Gerald Henderson shoots past Belmont's Matthew Dotson (30) and Justin Hare (24). Henderson's lay-in gave Duke a 71-70 victory Thursday in Washington.

UCLA's Kevin Love, second from left, jokes around with teammates James Keefe, left, Darren Collison and Josh Shipp, right. The Bruins annihilated Mississippi Valley State, 70-29, Thursday in Anaheim, Calif.

Texas A&M's Josh Carter dunks against BYU. Carter scored 26 points as the Aggies upset the Cougars, 67-62, Thursday in Anaheim, Calif.

Washington ? There it was, plain as could be on the overhead scoreboard, orange numbering on a black background: As the closing seconds ticked away Thursday night, Belmont was beating Duke.

Read that again, slowly: No. 15-seeded Belmont was beating No. 2 Duke. Belmont, the Atlantic Sun Conference school with zero NCAA Tournament victories to its credit, was leading Duke, the Atlantic Coast Conference school with three national championships on its resume.

And yet it was not to be.

Using every last one of Gerald Henderson’s 21 points, including the go-ahead basket with 11.9 seconds left, and one key steal by DeMarcus Nelson, Duke barely avoided what would have been a monumental upset, edging Belmont, 71-70, in the first round of the West Regional.

“The last two or three minutes, I was sitting there thinking, ‘We’re really in this game.’ We were so close to winning,” Belmont’s Henry Harris said. “There’s a bit of amazement in your brain, just sitting there: ‘Wow!'”

Teeny, tiny Belmont was long past wondering whether one of the biggest upsets in college basketball history was possible. Turns out, so was mighty, mighty Duke.

Yes, it occurred to the Blue Devils, too, that the seemingly impossible might somehow suddenly be possible.

“We wouldn’t be human if it didn’t,” Duke guard Jon Scheyer said. “We knew the situation. There was so much pressure on us. Pressure to win. Ninety percent of the building wanted us to lose.”

Instead, Duke snapped a two-game tournament losing streak and advanced to face West Virginia on Saturday.

West

UCLA 70, Mississippi Valley St. 29

Anaheim, Calif. – Freshman Kevin Love scored 20 points as top-seeded UCLA cruised.

Mississippi Valley State scored the fewest points in the tournament since 1946, when Baylor had 29 in a loss to Oklahoma State. The Delta Devils also set a tournament record for fewest points in a first-round game, breaking the mark of 32 by Wisconsin against Missouri State in 1999.

Xavier 73, Georgia 61

Washington – Derrick Brown’s 19 points and 11 rebounds led a balanced-as-usual offense, and No. 3-seeded Xavier avoided a big upset by rallying to overcome fading Georgia.

Super-sub Josh Duncan scored 20 for the Musketeers, who trailed by as many as 11 in the second half, but conjured up a 22-6 run to come back.

Terrance Woodbury had 16 points, and do-everything guard Sundiata Gaines’ finished with 13 for Georgia, which could not sustain the energy it summoned during last week’s run to the SEC tournament title.

Purdue 90, Baylor 79

Washington – Keaton Grant scored 17 points, and Purdue built a 19-point halftime lead, then cruised to its 10th straight victory in the first round since 1993.

E’Twaun Moore added 16 for the sixth-seeded Boilermakers, who have won 15 of 18.

Baylor, meanwhile, will have to wait another year before seeking to end a 58-year winless drought in the NCAA Tournament. The Bears were making their first trip to the tournament since 1988 and second since 1950.

West Virginia 75, Arizona 65

Washington – West Virginia’s prowess from long range made Arizona’s 24th consecutive trip to the NCAA Tournament another one-and-done performance.

Alex Ruoff scored 21 points, and Da’Sean Butler had 19 for WVU.

After Arizona closed to 60-59, two three-pointers by Darris Nichols and another by Ruoff sealed the victory.

Chase Budinger led Arizona with 23 points.

Texas A&M 67, BYU 62

Anaheim, Calif. – Josh Carter scored 26 points, matching his career high, as Texas A&M handed the Cougars their sixth straight opening-round loss.

Joseph Jones added 10 points and 12 rebounds for the ninth-seeded Aggies.

Jonathan Tavernari led BYU with 15 points.

South

Marquette 74, Kentucky 66

Anaheim, Calif. – Jerel McNeal scored 20 points, and Wesley Matthews hit eight free throws in the final 31 seconds to help Marquette beat Kentucky in the first round of the South Regional.

The Golden Eagles overcame 35 points by Kentucky senior Joe Crawford, who matched a career high before fouling out.

Ramel Bradley added 19 for the Wildcats.

Sixth-seeded Marquette earned its first NCAA Tournament victory since 2003, when it beat Kentucky in the regional final to go to the Final Four.

Pittsburgh 82, Oral Roberts 63

Denver – Levance Fields scored 23 points, Sam Young finished with 14, and Pittsburgh won its sixth straight game.

Fourth-seeded Pitt is making its seventh straight NCAA Tournament appearance, though none of those previous teams made it past the third round.

This team looks different, though – coming off the Big East tournament championship and playing its best basketball of the season in March, for once, instead of January or February.

Robert Jarvis had 16 points for the Golden Eagles.

Michigan State 72, Temple 61

Denver – Raymar Morgan led a balanced attack with 15 points, and Michigan State advanced despite a sudden shooting slump from spark plug Drew Neitzel.

Last year, Neitzel was the Spartans’ only option on offense. Now, he has scorers swarming all around. Chris Allen scored 12 points, and fellow freshmen Kalin Lucas and Durrell Summers each added eight for fifth-seeded Michigan State.

Mark Tyndale scored 16 points for Temple.

Stanford 77, Cornell 53

Anaheim, Calif. – Kenny Brown scored 18 points, and third-seeded Stanford earned its first NCAA Tournament victory since 2004, routing Cornell in a matchup of players as good with the books as they are with a basketball.

Lewis Dale, the Ivy League player of the year, scored 12 points, Adam Gore had 11 and Alex Tyler 10 for 14th-seeded Cornell, which had its 16-game winning streak snapped. The Ivy League hasn’t won an NCAA Tournament game since 1998.

The Cardinal outscored Cornell 43-11 over both halves for a 58-23 lead.

East

Washington State 71, Winthrop 40

Denver – Washington State broke away from a halftime tie to whip Winthrop behind 19 points and eight rebounds from Aron Baynes.

Kyle Weaver and Robbie Cowgill each had 14, and Derrick Low scored 11 for Washington State, which will play Notre Dame in the second round Saturday at the Pepsi Center.

The Cougars, who are 51-16 under Tony Bennett, broke open a 29-29 halftime tie with a 23-4 run to cruise to their second straight first-round victory in the NCAA Tournament.

Notre Dame 68, George Mason 50

Denver – Luke Harangody had 18 points and 14 rebounds to lead fifth-seeded Notre Dame to its first tournament victory in five years.

The 12th-seeded Patriots had two starters left from their magical run to the Final Four in 2006, a string of games that showed little guys still can break through and turn March Madness into a true free-for-all for more than just a game or two.

One of those players, Will Thomas, had a great game – 10-for-14 for 25 points and seven rebounds, and had his head buried in a towel as the clock ran down. But really, this George Mason was nothing like that George Mason, and the first day of the tournament ended with its big-name underdog on the way home.

Midwest

Wisconsin 71, Cal State Fullerton 56

Omaha, Neb. – Wisconsin couldn’t shake the 14th-seeded Titans until deep into the second half.

Brian Butch scored 14 points and Joe Krabbenhoft, and Jason Bohannon 13 apiece for the Badgers, who won for the 24th time in 26 games.

Frank Robinson added 11 points for the Titans.