NCAA South: Gators Outlast Plucky Great Danes; Flyers Shock Buckeyes; Pitt Demolishes Buffs; 'Cuse Too Much For Broncos

The second round of the NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament commenced on Thursday with 16 games, four in the South Region.

At Orlando, Florida:

In the opening contest at the Amway Center, Talib Zanna scored 16 of his 18 points in the first half as the ninth-seeded Pittsburgh Panthers (26-9) demolished the eighth-seeded Colorado Buffaloes (23-12) 77-48.

In the second game, Dorian Finney-Smith and Casey Prather each scored 16 points as the top overall seed Florida Gators (33-2) outlast plucky sixteenth-seeded Albany (18-15) 67-55 despite 21 points from the Great Danes' D.J. Evans.  After surviving a scare against Albany, the Gators will take on Pittsburgh on Saturday.

At Buffalo, New York:

In the first of two South Region contests at the First Niagra Center, Vee Sanford's layup with 3.8 seconds remaining lifted  Dayton (24-10) to the first upset of the tournament as the 11th-seeded Flyers knocked off the sixth-seeded Ohio State Buckeys (25-10) 60-59.  Dyshawn Pierre paced the Flyers with 12 points while Aaron Craft led the Buckeyes with 18.

In the second game, Trevor Cooney scored 18 points as the #3-seeded Syracuse Orangemen (28-5) dominated the #14-seeded Western Michigan Broncos (23-10) 77-53.  The Orangemen will face Dayon on Saturday.