Top-seeded Alabama and No. 4 Stanford find themselves two wins away from Madison Square Garden and the NIT semifinals, and they will meet Saturday in the second round in Tuscaloosa, Ala. The Crimson Tide cruised past eighth-seeded Northeastern 62-43 in the first round while the Cardinal relied on a missed Stephen F. Austin shot to survive 58-57 in its opener.

Fourth-seeded Michigan meets No. 5 Virginia Commonwealth on Saturday in an NCAA Tournament third-round game at Auburn Hills, Mich., that features two up-tempo, guard-oriented teams. The Wolverines contained Nate Wolters and South Dakota State in their second-round matchup 71-56. Tim Hardaway Jr. and Glenn Robinson III scored 21 points apiece for Michigan, which shot 51 percent and 9-for-20 from downtown.

Third-seeded Michigan State looked dominant in an easy victory over Valparaiso in its NCAA Tournament opener Thursday. Things will get a little tougher Saturday when the Spartans take on No. 6 seed Memphis at Auburn Hills, Mich. The Tigers edged Saint Mary’s in their opener and will be able to match Michigan State athletically. Memphis has won seven straight games and showed Thursday it can win at a slower pace.

Top-seeded Louisville backed up its claim as the hottest team in the NCAA Tournament with a dominant showing in its opening game, but No. 8 seed Colorado State also is coming off an overpowering performance as the teams get set to clash in the Midwest Regional quarterfinals Saturday in Lexington, Ky. The Cardinals rolled past North Carolina A&T 79-48 on Thursday for their 11th consecutive win and had the luxury of resting their starters for much of the second half.

Harvard will try to become the third No. 14 seed to advance to the Sweet 16 when it plays sixth-seeded Arizona on Saturday in the third round of the NCAA Tournament in Salt Lake City, Utah. Chattanooga in 1997 was the last No. 14 seed to win its first two games. The Crimson have a shot if they play like they did in their tournament opener, shooting 52.4 percent in the 68-62 victory against New Mexico. The Wildcats looked strong as well, shooting 56.9 percent in an 81-64 victory against Belmont.

Saint Louis will try to extend its best season in school history when the fourth-seeded Billikens play No. 12-seed Oregon in the third round of the NCAA Tournament on Saturday in San Jose, Calif. Saint Louis won a program-record 28th game Thursday, smothering New Mexico State 64-44. Many felt the Ducks were under-seeded after they won the Pac-12 tournament title, and they went out and proved it with a 68-55 second-round victory over Oklahoma State.

After narrowly avoiding a second-round upset bid from Davidson, No. 3 Marquette plays No. 6 Butler on Saturday in the third round of the NCAA Tournament in Lexington, Ky. Vander Blue scored seven points in the final 1:33 - including the game-winning layup with one second left - as the Golden Eagles came back from a six-point deficit with 1:10 left to beat the Wildcats 59-58.

A shaky first outing was survived and top-seeded Gonzaga hopes to give a much stronger performance against ninth-seeded Wichita State with an NCAA Tournament Sweet 16 berth on the line Saturday in Salt Lake City. The top-ranked Bulldogs were given quite a scare by 16th-seeded Southern and didn’t secure the 64-58 victory until the final half-minute. The Shockers had a much easier time by routing Pittsburgh 73-55. Wichita State lacks star power, but is strong defensively.

Twelfth-seeded California scored an upset over Nevada-Las Vegas in the second round of the NCAA Tournament on Thursday. The Golden Bears’ reward for that is a date Saturday in San Jose, Calif., with No. 4 seed Syracuse, which put on one of the most impressive displays of the entire second round in a demolition of Montana. The Orange nearly set a school record with their 81-34 victory and will be looking to book a trip to the Sweet Sixteen for the fourth time in five years.