St. Louis cruises past New Mexico State in NCAA Tournament

Saint Louis is carrying on the memory of Rick Majerus the best way it knows how: by advancing in the NCAA Tournament.

Dwayne Evans had 24 points and six rebounds, Cody Ellis scored 12 points and the fourth-seeded Billikens overwhelmed New Mexico State, 64-44, in the second round Thursday in San Jose, Calif., behind a dominating defense.

"It was like Rick was up on top of the backboard slapping the ball out," Aggies coach Marvin Menzies said.

Playing with a heavy heart since Majerus died in December, Saint Louis reached another mark in March for its late coach. The Billikens (28-6) eclipsed the 1988-89 team's school record of 27 victories and are back where they were a year ago in the round of 32. They will play Oregon Saturday.

Saint Louis had no problem maneuvering around 7-5 freshman Sim Bhullar and New Mexico State. Evans shot 11 of 16 from the floor and finished a point shy of his career best.

Bandja Sy had 17 points and nine rebounds for the 13th-seeded Aggies (24-11), who shot a miserable 28 percent.

Memphis 54, Saint Mary's 52: Before he could celebrate his first NCAA Tournament victory as a head coach, Josh Pastner had to sweat out a couple of frantic seconds.

Matthew Dellavedova's three-pointer sailed long as time expired, allowing the sixth-seeded Tigers (31-4) to breathe a sigh of relief. Memphis beat 11th-seeded Saint Mary's (28-7) in Auburn Hills, Mich. after nearly blowing a five-point lead in the last few seconds.

It was the first win in the NCAA Tournament for Memphis since 2009, when John Calipari was still coach. D.J. Stephens had nine points and eight blocks for Memphis, which faces third-seeded Michigan State Saturday.

Michigan State 65, Valparaiso 54: Derrick Nix's strength and skill were much too much for Valparaiso. Nix had 23 points and a career-high 15 rebounds to help power third-seeded Michigan State (26-8) past the 14th-seeded Crusaders (26-8) in Auburn Hills, Mich.

While Nix dominated on the inside, Michigan State guards Keith Appling and Gary Harris gave the team offensive balance by making jumpers. Appling scored 15 points -- making three three-pointers -- and Harris had 10 points.

Oregon 68, Oklahoma St. 55: Dominic Artis had 13 points and four steals while fellow freshman Damyean Dotson had 17 points to give 12th-seeded Oregon (27-8) its first tournament win in six years in San Jose, Calif. Marcus Smart came into the game with the hype of a top NBA prospect but was held to 14 points on 5 for 13 shooting a disappointing finish to a stellar season for the Cowboys (24-9). -- AP